✦ What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to collect digital art? ✦ @MattW_tez - My advice would be to ignore the narratives of the moment and wait until you find something you truly connect with. Take your time. Whenever I felt I had to rush or spend more than I was comfortable with, the better choice in hindsight was to wait. I bought a lot of work in the early days based on what some stranger on X had posted. I wouldn’t recommend that approach. I think this space rewards patience and reflection. There are a lot of flippers looking for exit liquidity, but there are also a lot of galleries, collectors, and artists whose interest in the art runs deep. Often their voices aren’t as loud, but there are plenty of them out there if you seek them out. I’ve learned a lot about my own taste just by following collectors I respect. Also, keep an eye on what your favorite artists collect. cacimbo27, by @shojironakaoka

✦ What would you like to see more of in digital art right now? ✦ @MattW_tez - I think what this space sorely lacks at the moment is serious critique from independent critics. Mostly, I just see collectors sharing what they've purchased or aspire to collect (this is 99% of what I share on X or Discord). But I would welcome deeper discussions around digital art. Maybe it's out there, but I just haven't encountered it frequently yet. Very Large Array #64, by @lennyjpg Childhood (yellow/experience), by Auriea. Presented in Basel 2024, at Matter & Data exhibition, curated by @kikanicolela for @objktone.

✦ How do you discover new artists and artworks? ✦ @MattW_tez - The open nature of the digital art scene makes discovery one of the bigger challenges due to the sheer volume of work to explore. I was surprised to learn that objkt currently hosts over 7 million artworks. I was actively involved in the fxhash Discord before the platform closed. It had, and actually still has, a very active collector scene so there was a lot of discussion around new collections and emerging artists. I would recommend joining the server to anyone interested in generative art. Verse has an active Discord server as well. I also keep an eye on some of the digital galleries, marketplaces or curatorial collectives like @verse_works, @_second_guess, @fakewhale_xyz, Unit London, @FeralFile, and others. I've also had success following what artists I respect collect. Tych #306, by @rudxane1 Reading a book #19, by @kimasendorf

Finally, there is Deathless Aphrodite by Bas Uterwijk, aka Ganbrood (@ganbrood). I have a self-portrait lithograph by abstract expressionist Sam Francis hanging on my wall at home. I often find myself staring at that work for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. I get the same response to Aphrodite by Ganbrood. It’s a captivating image. There is something about that face that rewards longer inspection. In describing his work, Ganbrood stated that it was a quest for timeless beauty in latent space using an early GAN model that was fed various images of ancient Venus and Aphrodite sculptures. It’s beautiful, detached, slightly aloof or cold. I find it as unsettling as it is interesting that a GAN tasked with creating an image of divine beauty succeeds so well in creating a synthetic face that holds your attention so thoroughly. I look forward to having a digital frame that does it justice so I can hang this one on my wall. Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers, Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress, With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit Lady, not longer!, 2021. By @ganbrood.

The second is Reasoning by Boris Eldagsen (@boriseldagsen), curated by @_second_guess. After several offers were declined, I reached out to the curatorial collective and learned that Boris had intended to keep it. Eventually, he kindly agreed to sell it to me, and I feel fortunate to have it. My own reading of the piece is a conversation around the emergence of artificial intelligence. I see man born of nature, disconnected from nature, and asserting dominance over nature through superior reasoning. He holds this ferocious head of the natural world yet pays no attention to it, as it is a known quantity. It has been understood and catalogued. His face is concerned with something on the horizon, a threat not understood but sensed. I like to interpret that as humanity’s collective anxiety around the rise of artificial superintelligence (ASI). One aspect of this piece I particularly like is that it can support so many different interpretations. Reasoning, 2025, by Boris Eldagsen

✦ Is there a work in your collection that is particularly meaningful to you? Why? ✦ @MattW_tez - I’m going to bend the rules here and choose three because I’m struggling to narrow it down to just one. Marcelo Soria Rodriguez & Andreas Rau — Toccata #308, 2022. Two stills showing emergence and decay I will begin with Toccata, a collaboration between artists Marcelo Soria Rodriguez (@msoriaro) and Andreas Rau (@Andreasrau_eu). The collection was released on fxhash back in 2022. Toccata was the collection that really got me hooked on generative art. It’s an animated piece with an audio element that explores emergence, decay, and death, continuing indefinitely. Being in my late 40s, I’ve started losing loved ones. At the same time, I have nieces and nephews just starting to experience the joys and sorrows of life. It’s wild how watching certain Toccata pieces emerge and decay can send my mind drifting back to childhood or thinking about watching loved ones grow older. I think Marcelo and Andreas created something special with Toccata. There is a great tool that allows one to time travel their output to any point in time. andreasrau.eu/toccata/text/e…

✦ How would you describe your collection today? Are there particular themes, aesthetics, artists, or ideas you find yourself drawn to? ✦ @MattW_tez - My collection is primarily focused on algorithmic art and art created with or influenced by AI. There is a magic in algorithmic art that’s hard to pin down. Minting a new work is a thrill, watching the piece render for the first time. But I also enjoy viewing a long-form collection as a whole. Artists who can cohesively explore a visual theme or concept over 200+ outputs, while still finding room for variation, are true masters of the craft. When done well, it’s a joy to witness. I also find it interesting how often we seek out the familiar in these works. That impulse to find the natural world, or some reflection of ourselves, in an artificial system interests me greatly. Taken a step further, I find I connect with works that use a rules-based approach to abstract nature or the human experience. Lately I have been interested in anxiety around the rise of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its impact on society. I went deep down the rabbit hole of AI safety/alignment. By this point I’m sure we’ve all heard the predictions of potential catastrophic outcomes from AI CEOs, engineers, technologists, and AI safety experts. Even more benign scenarios envision large-scale job displacement. Recently in its IPO filing Anthropic warned that its technology may pose “existential risks to humanity.” That is all quite heady stuff. But there is also a real possibility of beautiful outcomes. But beyond these headlines, what also interests me is how something that began as a tool may shape the human experience. Increasingly, people are turning to their favorite large language model (LLM) for guidance and interaction. What does it mean when we start seeking comfort from an AI system? What role are we assigning it, and how might that role change as we become more dependent on it? What happens as we increasingly outsource parts of the human experience itself? So I find myself drawn to works that explore questions along these lines. What will human connection and agency look like in a world increasingly shaped by AI? Where do we find our bearings when the technology we created exceeds our ability to understand it? I spend a lot of time searching Objkt for works and artists who explore these threads. Ironically, I’ve found that LLMs are a useful tool in that search. Collection: Human and (not vs) Machine, the pre dialogue. Name: no name VII., by @pointline_ 220324d13jKg, by @qubibien

✦ Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your journey as a collector? How did you first get into collecting digital art? ✦ @MattW_tez - First of all, thank you for the invitation. As you can probably guess from my rather uncreative X handle, my name is Matt. I live in the Pacific Northwest, I’m in my late 40s, and I travel quite extensively for work. I’m married, and we have a dog. My journey as a collector began during the digital art frenzy of 2021. If I’m honest, I initially only had a passing interest in collecting art long term and was caught up in the massive hype wave that engulfed the early Art Blocks era. I spent an inordinate amount of time following prices, rising floors, falling floors, and making lists of who sold at Christie’s, etc. I read books like The $12 Million Stuffed Shark and Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art. They shaped my early approach to collecting, and I had a strong conviction that the early creative scene at Hic et Nunc and fxhash was going to have a lasting impact. At the time, I imagined that, looking back decades later, the idea that many of these early works had once been available to mint for $50 would seem unbelievable. In retrospect, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit I initially viewed art primarily as an economic engine, almost like investing in an equity. I lost a lot of money chasing hype in some of the bigger Ethereum collections from that era. Fortunately, I found the fxhash community shortly after its inception, and somewhere along the way my perspective made a major shift that I’m grateful for. After the big hype wave receded and prices crashed, I found myself becoming much more interested in particular works and artists whose concepts and visual language resonated deeply, regardless of who, if anyone, was talking about them. I would still set my alarm for 3 a.m. to mint something, but it was because I wanted that piece on its own merit. I developed an allergy to the big X accounts that shilled the “grails” of the week. I look back at my entry to the space as an expensive education, but I’m thankful that it instilled what I believe will be a lifelong passion for art. These days, the economic question is mostly, “Can I afford this piece that I’ve been coming back to over and over?” I occasionally sell pieces to fund further purchases, but by and large I plan to hold my favorites. There is a phrase I like about planning a landscape: “You’re never supposed to see the whole garden at once.” I still look forward to discovering strange new back alleys of the Tezos art scene. Art For Walls In Public Spaces #121, by @annaluciacodes

✦ Collector of the Week #60 | @MattW_tez ✦ “My advice would be to ignore the narratives of the moment and wait until you find something you truly connect with.” A conversation with collector Matt about finding his taste, collecting generative + AI art, and learning to look beyond the hype. 〰 Meet this week’s collector ↓

✦ What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to collect digital art? ✦ @MattW_tez - My advice would be to ignore the narratives of the moment and wait until you find something you truly connect with. Take your time. Whenever I felt I had to rush or spend more than I was comfortable with, the better choice in hindsight was to wait. I bought a lot of work in the early days based on what some stranger on X had posted. I wouldn’t recommend that approach. I think this space rewards patience and reflection. There are a lot of flippers looking for exit liquidity, but there are also a lot of galleries, collectors, and artists whose interest in the art runs deep. Often their voices aren’t as loud, but there are plenty of them out there if you seek them out. I’ve learned a lot about my own taste just by following collectors I respect. Also, keep an eye on what your favorite artists collect. cacimbo27, by @shojironakaoka

✦ What would you like to see more of in digital art right now? ✦ @MattW_tez - I think what this space sorely lacks at the moment is serious critique from independent critics. Mostly, I just see collectors sharing what they've purchased or aspire to collect (this is 99% of what I share on X or Discord). But I would welcome deeper discussions around digital art. Maybe it's out there, but I just haven't encountered it frequently yet. Very Large Array #64, by @lennyjpg Childhood (yellow/experience), by Auriea. Presented in Basel 2024, at Matter & Data exhibition, curated by @kikanicolela for @objktone.

✦ How do you discover new artists and artworks? ✦ @MattW_tez - The open nature of the digital art scene makes discovery one of the bigger challenges due to the sheer volume of work to explore. I was surprised to learn that objkt currently hosts over 7 million artworks. I was actively involved in the fxhash Discord before the platform closed. It had, and actually still has, a very active collector scene so there was a lot of discussion around new collections and emerging artists. I would recommend joining the server to anyone interested in generative art. Verse has an active Discord server as well. I also keep an eye on some of the digital galleries, marketplaces or curatorial collectives like @verse_works, @_second_guess, @fakewhale_xyz, Unit London, @FeralFile, and others. I've also had success following what artists I respect collect. Tych #306, by @rudxane1 Reading a book #19, by @kimasendorf

Finally, there is Deathless Aphrodite by Bas Uterwijk, aka Ganbrood (@ganbrood). I have a self-portrait lithograph by abstract expressionist Sam Francis hanging on my wall at home. I often find myself staring at that work for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. I get the same response to Aphrodite by Ganbrood. It’s a captivating image. There is something about that face that rewards longer inspection. In describing his work, Ganbrood stated that it was a quest for timeless beauty in latent space using an early GAN model that was fed various images of ancient Venus and Aphrodite sculptures. It’s beautiful, detached, slightly aloof or cold. I find it as unsettling as it is interesting that a GAN tasked with creating an image of divine beauty succeeds so well in creating a synthetic face that holds your attention so thoroughly. I look forward to having a digital frame that does it justice so I can hang this one on my wall. Deathless Aphrodite, throned in flowers, Daughter of Zeus, O terrible enchantress, With this sorrow, with this anguish, break my spirit Lady, not longer!, 2021. By @ganbrood.

❖ Weekly Recap ❖ Here’s what artists + curators on objkt put into the world this week: ✦ @kentocards Season 01 is officially funded, closing its Kickstarter with just under 1,000 backers pledging more than $200,000. ✦ Stories We Tell Online: ✦ @kev_esh - Just Say Yes, coming October 8 to @objktone. The new homages create 12 browser-based love stories inspired by real human–AI relationships. Curated by @kikanicolela. + Two new exhibitions curated by @micolmicolmicol on @objktone: ✦ Context Collapse by @rheaplex imagining a social network where color + intensity replace language. ✦ Estados Posibles by @_juanrg92 exploring the relationship between information, culture + materiality. ✦ @_second_guess announced THE WEDDING: OONA & DAVID, ’Til the Cameras Do Us Part, the live finale of @madebyoona’s Dear David: A Surveillance Love Story. Curated by @postanika, the performance takes place on October 16 in London. ✦ Elevate, a new series of 1/1 works by @danctrl, is now live. ✦ monogrid 1.1 — Collectors Edition @kimasendorf was featured this week, where 16 simultaneous animations continually disrupt + reconstruct the grid. Top 5 Creators: - @rheaplex - @_juanrg92 - @CurioFringe - @KZ_LAB_E - @ex_mortal_ Top 5 Collectors: - @FlyingBeagle_ - @DagieDee - @durtis - @Sneketoshi - Stampfigang ✦ Current Mood II, curated by @tocame_munich: each of the 14 artists contributed a work expressing/interpreting their current emotional state or mood. ✦ @accomparts gallery launched SEARCHING FOR BALANCE, a generative art exhibition exploring the systems + expectations that shape how we define a balanced life. ✦ New on @dropdotart: - SUPERHEROES 8bit by @nhephex - Silver by @flintpope - TVRbø H34Dz by @O_Civit ✦ Featured on @bootloader_art ◉ Ground Truth, by @infinitypr0ject ◉ Turtle Vision, by @CassonTrenor & @eziraros ◉ 5UP3RP053D, by @alterebro ✦ Next Collector of the Week: @MattW_tez, coming this Sunday. Every release is the result of someone making + someone choosing to pay attention. Thank you for being here. ✦ State in Transition, by @KZ_LAB_E from @accomparts SEARCHING FOR BALANCE

The Adobe Room at the Lumberyard is presented by "the bearded travelers" @aventurine_eth and @tonyherrera . Check below their complete schedule.

ALL CONTRIBUTORS @_deafbeef, @CaballeroAnaMa, Byron Kives, @christianbok, @conniebakshi, David Fahl, Emberly Johnston, @Fingacode, @francis_ost, Grant Cummings, John Privett, Kate Armstrong, @kev_esh, Kiara Calloway, Lauren Jones, @margaretonline, Masako Shiba, Melinda Johnston, Mieke Marple, @knaack_nina, Peter Franklin, @pgervois, Samantha Arato, Sanin Dosa, Shannon Chen See, Shen Ge, SOLIENNE hulludarák, by @speciesofvalue the mad courage to love hullu [Finnish] (crazy, mad) + дар dar [Russian] (gift, blessing) + รัก rak [Thai] (love) Voiced by: @fingacode, Mieke Marple, Samantha Arato now part of @fndzionaversano collection

Marfa here we go! objkt presents Visual Voice, a solo exhibition by Elisabeth Sweet @speciesofvalue, curated by @KikaNicolela and Anika Meier @postanika, at The Adobe Room at the Lumberyard during @artblocks_io Marfa Weekend 2026. Saturday Oct 24 @ 12-2pm Huge thanks to @tonyherrera and @aventurine_eth for the invitation ✨

Order becomes chaos. ✦ monogrid 1.1 CE by @kimasendorf on @bootloader_art bootloader.art/collection/fx… collected by @VFunk0, @luchador_x, @joshys_eth, @drleenft, @thisistolo, @379two, @darbycrash58 & many more

monogrid 1.1 CE by @kimasendorf

What does balance look like on your terms? SEARCHING FOR BALANCE ✦ ▼ Folded Fire, by @i_dianov ▼ Interval of Quiet, by @MCHX17

How much of the way we live is truly our own? SEARCHING FOR BALANCE ✦ Curated by @Shendrik_NFT + @MCHX17 for @accomparts. Question the system shaping our choices now live ↓ ▼ Blu, by @eduxdux_ ▼ Cache Coherence, by @loackme_

Rise higher ↓ objkt.com/collections/KT1XGX… ▼ sleeps ▼ IN SHARP FOCUS

It rises up as far as it reaches. Elevate by @daniloxhema ↓ ▼ Linearly, red line. ▼ well-balanced

From quiet + contemplative to fractured + uneasy. Current Mood II featuring: @annaxmalina, @couldbeyou_u, @garyedwardblum, @theriosoma, @ernestoasch, @DDO__xyz, @Olga_f2727, @no_faith_left, @aempatia__, @mattiac, @fabriziobrarez, @_4ysan_, @ElhamYazdanian, @tocame_munich Find your current mood ↓ objkt.com/collections/KT1WwY… ▼ Splendor by @aempatia__

Mood is personal. Art makes it visible. Community Drop ✦ Current Mood II 14 different expressions of feeling through a shared visual atmosphere. ▼ suspended | Upright, by @no_faith_left ▼ Continual adjustment to loss, by @couldbeyou_u

Over on Telegram, @100collectors hosted a live AMA in a rather different format. @omgidrawedit answered questions about the four artworks he created for Kento Season 01, while @RaquelGaudard covered everything about the project.

“We wanted to reach a new audience with digital art. That’s the whole idea behind Kento: to bring digital art to more people, in keeping with our mission.” — Brian McAlister PULSE by objkt launched with a conversation featuring brothers @brianmca and Timothy McAlister @NFTPROTECTOR, moderated by @postanika and hosted by @KikaNicolela. They spoke about the ideas behind Kento, the journey from concept to Kickstarter, Web Nostalgia and what it takes to build a new way of collecting digital art. Watch the conversation here: piped.video/watch?v=kMmbi5lg…

"Nostalgia is almost like homesickness for an era that may not even really exist in the way you remember it. To me, it’s a very interesting and rich concept to dive into." - @adhd143 Kento Talks gave us even more room to dig in. The first episode looked back at Kento’s opening week with the team, @PERFECTL00P and our very first backer, @thejizel. The second asked: Why Is Web Nostalgia Having a Moment? @sabatobox, @adhd143, @canekzapata and @spogelsemaskine joined @KikaNicolela to answer that question from four very different perspectives. Watch both episodes on Youtube: Kento Talks #1: piped.video/watch?v=UZq266OD… Kento Talks #2: piped.video/live/XMfw9sIugow

We also went live on Instagram with eight Season 01 artists: @OMGiDRAWEDIt, @dielamaharanie, @adhd143, @riniifish, @spogelsemaskine, @kior_____ and @sabatobox. They shared the memories, references, and creative processes of the artworks that became their Kento cards. Missed one? The replays are waiting for you on our Instagram profile. 🟨 instagram.com/kento.cards/

"I was trying to look back and remember how much I enjoyed the internet when I first started using it. Back then, it felt like a treat. I think that’s the thing. It really felt like a treat to get to use it. And when something is a treat, you associate it with a good memory." - OMGIDRAWEDit At ART VOICES, @ARTANDVAULT brought together @justinaversano, @kikanicolela and @omgidrawedit for New Ways of Collecting Digital Art, moderated by @postanika. They spoke about ownership, patronage, community and the changing relationship between artists and collectors.

❖ Top Weekly Sales ❖ 1 ‣ Dear David, Spying in The City by @madebyoona Curated by @_second_guess ⇢ Collected by @fndzionaversano for 4,800 XTZ. 2 ‣ july7, 2022 @curiofringe by @CurioFringe ⇢ Collected by @DagieDee for 2,000 oXTZ. 3 ‣ Hunger by @whyparia ⇢ Collected by @_JustAziz_ for 480 USDt (~1,530 XTZ). 4 ‣ dec13a, 2021 @curiofringe by @curiofringe ⇢ Collected by @DagieDee for 1,250 oXTZ. 5 ‣ The Thousandth Skin by @stripedrop ⇢ Collected by Mack.flicks for 1,000 XTZ. + ‣ The Charred Fall by @minwjr ⇢ Collected by @Sneketoshi for 1,000 XTZ. + ‣ Nephilim Arctine by @chissweetart ⇢ Collected by @Sneketoshi for 1,000 XTZ. 6 ‣ ERROR A by @VonDoyl ⇢ Collected by @ilyabliznets for 999 oXTZ. 7 ‣ Please Buy My Art by @gulbakanozge ⇢ Collected by @jeantimoine for 777 XTZ. ✳ Congratulations to this week's artists and collectors.

PULSE by objkt Where internet culture goes next Friday, 25 September 2026 5 PM CEST

🔜 PULSE by objkt

Kento Season 01, Web Nostalgia, looks back at when going online felt like a treat, not an addiction. That familiar ritual of opening a pack may be exactly what helps a new generation discover, understand, and collect digital art. Because the future of collecting is about ownership, access, preservation, experimentation, personal taste, and public support. Collecting is part of how culture gets built. It’s an artwork’s journey.

So which is the “original”: the card or the digital work? For @OMGiDRAWEDIt, the answer is the digital piece—because that’s how he made it. For a card collector, the untouched physical card may matter most. The format expands the artwork instead of forcing one answer.

Collecting also preserves the culture of this moment. Today’s overlooked work may become tomorrow’s historical artifact. Onchain provenance records what was made, who supported it, when, and how it moved. Kento @kentocards approaches the same shift from another direction: 117 physical art cards by 40 digital artists, across 7 rarities. Each card connects via QR code to the original digital artwork—and collectors can optionally claim it. Image: Web Nostalgia with Kento Season 1, featuring @elna_frederick.

Then @KikaNicolela put it simply: you don’t fully understand digital ownership until you collect. A wallet makes a collection visible, portable and shareable. Other people can discover artists through what you collect. Collecting becomes a form of public curation. And increasingly, artists are collectors too. Creating, collecting and supporting peers are no longer separate roles. They reinforce one another—and can turn an online scene into a durable community. Image 1: Kika Nicolela, artist and head curator of @objktcom / @kentocards Image 2: Kika Nicolela, Octopus Mirage #05, 2024.

That doesn’t make the physical object obsolete. A physical work can live with its digital twin. If a photograph is lost to fire, flood or time, its NFT can preserve the work and its history. The question isn’t “physical or digital?” It’s: what does this artwork need? Image: @justinaversano, Twin Flames #83. Bahareh & Farzaneh Safarani, 2017–2018.

For @justinaversano, blockchain gave photography something powerful: native digital ownership. The work could finally be minted, traced and collected as an authored artwork with visible provenance. Image: Justin Aversano, Death from Smoke and Mirrors, 2018–21.

Digital art collecting became a way to build communities, preserve culture, support artists, and rethink what an “original” can be. Here’s what we learned from @justinaversano, @KikaNicolela, and @omgidrawedit in this recent talk presented by @ARTANDVAULT and @theHUGart and moderated by @postanika. 🧵

❖ Top Weekly Sales ❖ 1 ‣ Dear David, Spying in The City by @madebyoona. From Dear David, Spying in the City, curated by @_second_guess ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 4,800 XTZ. 2 ‣ Garden, Monoliths #92 by @zancan. ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 3,238.21 XTZ. 3 ‣ Sacred Order by @khwampa. From @accomparts curation The Obsolete Matters. ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 3,000 oXTZ. + ‣ Disaster Girl by @esraeslen. From the STILL WET exhibition @GalerieMet curated by @kikanicolela. ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 3,000 oXTZ. 4 ‣ Time by @lennyjpg ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 2,000 XTZ. 5 ‣ dream_amnesia_ by @ex_mortal_ ⇢ Collected by @absurdeity for 1,800 oXTZ. 6 ‣ Rhythm of Sorrow by @_4ysan_ ⇢ Collected by @FlyingBeagle_ for 1,300 XTZ. 7 ‣ NAZCA #111 by @kimasendorf. ⇢ Collected by @genjpeg for 1,200 oXTZ. + ‣ NAZCA #50 by @kimasendorf ⇢ Collected by @genjpeg for 1,200 oXTZ. + ‣ NAZCA #215 by @kimasendorf. ⇢ Collected by @genjpeg for 1,200 oXTZ. + ‣ nov5b, 2021 by @CurioFringe ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 1,200 XTZ. ✳ Congratulations to this week's artists and collectors.

✦ Which artists do you think more people should be paying attention to right now? @unityofmulti - @annaxmalina (Personal favorite with a unique style) @luluxxxbot (Super undervalued image manipulation and AI) @tarentulart (NSFW painter and self-portrait artist) @Merzmensch New Account Archive (AI pioneer) @manznano (Very cool AI videos) OG crypto-artists, who often also have minted a collection on Tezos like @moxarra @ilan_katin @MattiaC @BardIonson and so on. Do some research! schauer @annaxmalina

✦ What are you excited about in digital art right now, and what would you like to see more of? @unityofmulti - I'm excited about more and more artists creating and experimenting with on-chain art. Having seen so many marketplaces going down, it is a very difficult task to preserve the actual media files. I started working with a group called Digital Rescue Lab and have my own IPFS node running, where I pin most of my collection with an digital art display device called Vernis. And I sponsored them to partly revive AsyncArt, which was one of my favorite platforms, cause their approach of programmable art was very unique and deserves to be rescued. going back to work, by @K335hh R-Guard, by @RasaKolko

✦ How do you discover new artists and artworks? @unityofmulti - I discover new works mostly on X — it moves fast and rewards people who post constantly, which surfaces a lot of real practice, not just launches. Also following people whose taste I trust and seeing who they're collecting. I regularly check my notifications on objkt.com and see what other collectors are up to. Last not least real life meeting like NFC Lisbon are invaluable for making new connections. I usually collect a lot of pieces from the artists I've met in person. digital roaster by @Lbank_

✦ Is there a work in your collection that is particularly meaningful to you? Why? @unityofmulti - It's impossible to choose just one piece from my collection. Usually the last pieces I've collected are most meaningful to me. For example when I collected the last work of Anna Malina called schauer, she was so happy, that she also gifted me a scanner-art version of one of her PantyHead Polaroids. These kind of gifts are very meaningful and I hold them dearly. I also have to mention the early XCOPY pieces, that I was able to sell for life changing amounts. Most of what I made from that sales went right back into my collection. I wanted to give back to the community and share the love to keep the cryptoart spirit alive. Disaster Suit Death Wannabe by @XCOPYART

✦ What usually makes you decide to collect a work? Is it something immediate and instinctive, or do you tend to spend time with an artwork before making a decision? @unityofmulti - Instinctive. Gut, not spreadsheet. If a piece makes me stop scrolling, I usually don't mind the artist's background or follower count before I decide. But I usually check their X-profile or website, if I haven't heard of them before. I like collecting pieces from artists, who are more committed to this space, and collect and share other artist's works on their profile. Quantum indeterminacy 1, by @the_grecu back to 𝕗𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕤𝕪.•°*”˜, by @lesCogumelos

✦ How would you describe your collection today? Are there particular themes, aesthetics, artists, or ideas you find yourself drawn to? @unityofmulti - I've collected somewhere around 50,000 pieces at this point, mostly across Ethereum, Tezos, and Base. I see it as a digital archive of the cryptoart movement. I'm drawn to almost every style, anything where you can feel an authentic expression. A lot of what's in there right now are small, fast, weird pieces from artists most people haven't heard of yet. I rather collect 10 pieces in the low-budget range than buy one piece for thousands of dollars. Although there are exceptions, I know that an artist will pay it forward. I like to have an impact. Art is Over! (If You Want it), by @quasimondo Tiny Riots #2, by @Ann_ahoy

✦ Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your journey as a collector? How did you first get into collecting digital art? @unityofmulti - I'm Shortcut, a 57-year-old OG cryptoartist from Germany. I got into Bitcoin in 2014, started writing about my art on the Steemit blockchain in 2016, sold my first physical pieces for crypto in 2017, and by 2018 I'd met XCOPY and a handful of other early crypto artists and started minting on Ethereum — SuperRare, KnownOrigin, MakersPlace. Collecting was part of the DNA of early crypto artists. I was buying what the people around me were making because I wanted to support them and write blog posts about my experiences. Life Is Good, by @jaendotart UNDIES, by @deandradecarlos

✦ Collector of the Week #59 | @unityofmulti ✦ "Buy what stops you, not what's trending." Collecting since the early days of cryptoart, Shortcut has built an archive of around 50,000 works across Ethereum, Tezos + Base; guided by one rule: “Gut, not spreadsheet.” 〰 Meet this week’s collector ↓

❖ Weekly Recap ❖ The week moved fast. Here’s what stayed. ✦ @bootloader_art integrated marketplace trading directly into the platform, with listings + collection offers now available across fxhash and Bootloader collections. ✦ Stories We Tell Online continued with two releases, Curated by @micolmicolmicol on @objktone: ✧ howl by @_nonfigurativ_, transforming the structure of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl into an endlessly running language machine. ✧ The Trooth Archives by @omgidrawedit, turning three haunted internet-café machines into interactive paranormal case files. ✦ ART VOICES Episode 15 brought @justinaversano, @kikanicolela + @omgidrawedit together to discuss new ways of collecting digital art, moderated by @postanika. Presented by @ARTANDVAULT × @theHUGart × @Art_Domains. ✦ Dear David, Spying in the City by @madebyoona, continuing OONA’s surveillance series through NYC traffic cameras. Curated by @_second_guess. ✦ Featured Curations: ✧ ICONÆ – The Knot, curated by @CinziaGabrielPH, explored connection, holding, protection + entanglement through works by participating artists. ✧ #KIDPIXARTSHOW, curated by @SuijGR + @August35750182, brought together 25 artists + 25 unique worlds created through Kid Pix. Top 5 Creators: ✧ @madebyoona ✧ @_nonfigurativ_ ✧ @RebeccaRose ✧ @rheaplex ✧ @annaxmalina Top 5 Collectors: ✧ @FlyingBeagle_ ✧ @Sneketoshi ✧ @LegendOnlyBens ✧ @darbycrash58 ✧ @unityofmulti ✦ Featured on @bootloader_art ◉ Same, by @zolfaqqari ◉ Deconstructed Shibuya, by @aakizukii ◉ GRADI_ence, by @letsglitchit ✦ Featured on @dropdotart ✧ Synthetic Landscapes, by @O_Civit ✧ ICONIC GRLZ GLAM CARDS, by @x_Neol_x ✧ Forgotten Files, by @Asthenia_rainha ✦ Collector of the Week #58 @brain_sss reflected on a collecting journey from PFPs toward abstract, glitch + physical work, guided primarily by instinct. Another week of experiments, exhibitions + new ways of collecting and experiencing digital art. Thank you to everyone who is part of our world! See you next week. ✦ What did we miss? ↓ ▼Context Collapse (metallic), by @rheaplex - releasing on @objktone on 29 September

What can new ways of collecting digital art look like in practice? Across the objkt ecosystem, artists, collectors and curators are already experimenting with different answers. @kentocards, created by the team behind objkt, brings original digital artworks into physical trading cards that can be collected, exchanged and held, while the corresponding digital artwork can be claimed on-chain. Artist and photographer @justinaversano approaches collecting from another perspective. Through his nonprofit, @fndzionaversano, he collects works by other artists, including on objkt, creating a model of artists actively collecting and supporting fellow artists. Tomorrow, @justinaversano joins @kikanicolela, Head Curator at objkt, and artist George Goodwin (@omgidrawedit) for a conversation about New Ways of Collecting Digital Art, moderated by @postanika. Tune in! September 17 10 AM PDT · 1 PM EDT · 6 PM BST · 7 PM CEST ART VOICES Episode 15 Presented by @ARTANDVAULT × @theHUGart × @Art_Domains ↓

The performance by @madebyoona continues "Dear David: A Surveillance Love Story," her ongoing exploration of surveillance, visibility, and consent through an unlikely relationship with a CCTV data manager named David. ▼ Off Broadway

✦ 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 ✦ Dear David, Spying in the City by @madebyoona ✦ For her bachelorette weekend, OONA traveled through New York City under the gaze of NYC traffic cameras, making sure she was seen. Curated by @_second_guess ↓ ▼ Proof of Recklessness ▼ Dear David, Spying in The City

❖ Top Weekly Sales ❖ 1 ‣ Garden, Monoliths #198 by @zancan. From Garden, Monoliths on fx(hash) Genesis. ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 10,000 XTZ. 2 ‣ the myth dies of natural causes outside of a best buy in northern indiana by @toadswiback ⇢ Collected by @fndzionaversano for 6,666 XTZ. 3 ‣ beyond human by @toadswiback ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 4,500 XTZ. 4 ‣ Blink of an I 1 by @supperman. From Blink of an I, presented by @_second_guess as part of Stories We Tell Online. ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 4,400 XTZ. 5 ‣ Blood Pact by @RebeccaRose. From Salary Men — curated by @postanika, presented by @_second_guess as part of Stories We Tell Online. ⇢ Collected by Stu .art for 4,000 XTZ. 6 ‣ Context Collapse (metallic) by @rheaplex. From Context Collapse. ⇢ Added to an anonymous collection for 3,333 XTZ. + ‣ schauer by @annaxmalina ⇢ Collected by @unityofmulti for 3,333 XTZ. 7 ‣ Window Still Life 003 by @jjjjjjjjjjohn ⇢ Collected by @MattW_tez for 3,000 XTZ. ✳ Congratulations to this week's artists and collectors.

SOLD ✦ on objkt secondary market GenerativO Sov III, by @pointline_ for 600.00 ꜩ, to an anonymous collector. The artwork is part of a limited edition of 3 generative explorations.

Cuadros_cinthiaWhat advice would you give someone starting their own collection? @Brain_sss - Be yourself. Keep a cold wallet and a hot wallet at least, and don’t forget to enjoy the ride. There’s a lot to learn along the way, so have some fun with it. 1111, by @amorvobiscum

How has the digital art space changed since you began collecting? @Brain_sss - I think the digital art space ebbs and flows much like the market itself. Unfortunately, the scams are still there, and in some cases they’ve become almost as intricate and sophisticated as the art. But with what—and more importantly, who—is left at this point, I think the communities have become stronger. The people who are still here genuinely care about the art, the artists, and each other, and I think that has made those communities more meaningful. Monotype 80, by @AriniNathalie 共鳴 (Kyōmei) #56, by @Cuadros_cinthia Blue Angel, by @AstraVivid

Which artists or emerging voices are you especially excited about right now? @Brain_sss - There are a few artists I’m especially excited about: Designz — @designzbychance — his abstract work is incredible. Ex_Mortal — @ex_mortal_ — self-explanatory, glitch legend. Zlaserrr — @zlaserrrr — anything done by Z is master class. When Wicca Meets Water, by @designzbychance lost_vista 007, by @ex_mortal_ Comedown, by @zlaserrr

Is there a work in your collection that holds special meaning for you? Why? @Brain_sss - The pieces I have, “E.T. Drive By” and “Untitled Token,” both hold a special place for me. They were back-to-back releases that I grabbed around 3 AM because I couldn’t sleep. 😂 I’ll let you look up who made them—you’ll understand. They’re a pretty good example of how I collect, too. I’ve never really used a specific formula or basis for it. If something grabs me, it grabs me. Sometimes that initial reaction is all I need. untitled (e.t. drive by) untitled (token)

What do you look for when discovering new artists or artworks? @Brain_sss - I’ve never really used a specific formula or set of criteria when looking for new artists or work. As the collection represents, I tend to go with feeling. My initial reaction to a piece is usually all I need to know. If something grabs me, I’ll collect it or look deeper into the artist. There doesn’t necessarily have to be a reason I can put into words—it just has to make me feel something. Since that day, the pieces on the board have not moved., by @xo_xu0

How would you describe your collection and personal taste? @Brain_sss - In the beginning, it was definitely PFP madness. 😂 As I got further into collecting, though, I started realizing there was so much more out there and my collection naturally began to evolve. My personal taste ranges from the strange and unusual to abstract work and physical paintings. I also have a real love for glitch—it’s hard for me not to enjoy something with a good glitch. My collection has quite a bit of range, but I’d say it’s still centered mostly around abstract and glitch work, with more physical representations finding their way into the collection over time. Fanxiety, by @00bzy Self portrait, by @parvaneh_sanati Shelter, by @Daria_Rastunina ''Untitled, (Autumn evening Messier 42)'', by @micalnoelson from STILL WET @GalerieMet

What first drew you to collecting digital art? @Brain_sss - I’ve always been more visual and auditory than anything else, so digital art was pretty easy for me to get pulled into. What really grabbed me was the endless possibilities, both for the collector and the artist. The creative freedom and the different ways artists can experiment with digital mediums really fascinated me. The Silence of the Scream, by @GregorioZanard

Could you briefly introduce yourself and your collecting journey? @Brain_sss - I’m Jay, from Western New York. I originally got into NFTs through Ethereum around 2022 and spent some time browsing and figuring things out before I eventually found my home with Tezos. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a genuine passion for discovering artists and building a collection of work that I connected with. The road has been a bit bumpy getting here, honestly, but I’ve learned a lot through the experience. That journey is also a big reason why I’ve continued to stick with Tezos and everything its ecosystem has to offer. Without You, by @RemikzT process of primary field formation, by @motherlouisiane Here We Are Again?, by @skomra

✦ Collector of the Week #58 | @brain_sss ✦ “If something grabs me, it grabs me.” From PFPs to abstract, glitch + physical work, Jay’s collection has evolved by following one simple instinct: if something grabs him, it grabs him. 〰 Meet this week’s collector ↓

❖ Weekly Recap ❖ A week of stories moving between screens, cities + communities. ✦ @kentocards Season 01 continued its Kickstarter campaign with a livestream celebration. The project brings digital art into physical form through 110 collectible cards from 40 artists. ✦ Stories We Tell Online opened its first internet-café chapter in Linz at Game & Dine. @objktone × @_second_guess, curated by @postanika, @kikanicolela + @micolmicolmicol. Berlin and Vienna are coming. ✦ Six new releases for Stories we Tell Online curated by @postanika ( @_second_guess ): ✧ The Attempt to Overcome Gravity by @Georg_Eckmayr, ✧ Blink of an I by @supperman, ✧ The Last Acres of the Internet by @exonemo, ✧ The News by @malpractice_net, ✧ Spider Web by @martnbruc, ✧ Mythological Menagerie by Jonathan Monaghan. ✦ Three new releases for Stories we Tell Online curated by @micolmicolmicol (@objktone): ✧ replacement god by @LindaDouniaR, ✧ howl by @nonfigurativ, ✧ The Trooth Archives by @OMGiDRAWEDit. ✦ TERRITORIA, by @NewtroArts, went live on objkt bringing artists together to explore sovereignty across territory, culture, community + the digital sphere. ✦ Echoing the second drop from @rivoca_gallery's, No Requiem for Ghosts collection explored forgotten beauty through monochrome. The works by @Barbiares, @DDO__xyz, @mich_tom, @NastyaKprlv, @romandrits, and @tocame_munich suspended between memory, melancholy, and the quiet dignity of imperfection. ✦ WEIRD AFFAIRS went live on objkt, bringing @CinziaGabrielPH × @trapers_net together with 40+ artists around unresolved cases, strange encounters + impossible evidence. ✦ Top 5 Creators - @toadswiback - @zancan - @malpractice_net - @LindaDouniaR - @UBERMORGEN_COM ✦ Top 5 Collectors - @fndzionaversano - @DagieDee - @LegendOnlyBens - @FlyingBeagle_ - fabric.tez ✦ Featured on @dropdotart - Desktop Fodder, by @cryptolust_nft - Elastic Mind, by @MelihhKara - DEAD TECH | Series 3, by @lowbrowoutsider - SPACE BRICKS, by @flintpope - F r Λ c t Λ L : m ⟟ n d, by @somnambula_0x + NEW! only on OBJKTOR written by @ForgetDali ✦ @exonemo Belief Possible: exploring a three-decade practice + how we create meaning from technology. ✦ Collector of the week #57 @VilleDeVille discusses collecting as a form of world building. | Up next: @Brain_sss Another week of experiments, exhibitions + stories finding new ways to be told. See you next week. ✦ ▼ Window Still Life 003, by @jjjjjjjjjjohn

Video games taught us digital art could be a place. 🎮 #NationalVideoGamesDay What game has shaped how you see art? +++ Show us your favorite video game-inspired art :) From pixels + virtual worlds to interactive experiences, games continue to shape digital art. ↓ ▼ C o n t i n u e, by @axstonee ▼ Paraíso (40), by @sabatobox ▼ sleepover, by @e9Art

From the Stories We Tell Online exhibition, Fondazione Aversano @fndzionaversano collected hulludarák by @speciesofvalue, Flight 505 by @RebeccaRose, When I Have You by @madebyoona, and Psalm 29 by @LindaDouniaR. Check the fun retro's page where you can explore all the releases in this exhibition: browserviews.objkt.com/

STORIES WE TELL ONLINE On 9 September, an internet café in Linz became an exhibition space. Stories We Tell Online is an @objktone + @_second_guess exhibition exploring the worlds, myths, archives, identities and collective fictions produced online. Curated by @kikanicolela, @postanika and @micolmicolmicol. Powered by @artontezos_ Ph © @postanika

READ THE ROOM The first institutional mid-career retrospective of Colombian-American poet and artist @CaballeroAnaMa, curated by @Tschuuuuly at Francisco Carolinum Linz @ooeculture. ooekultur.at/exhibition-deta… ✦ On @objktcom, explore @CaballeroAnaMa’s Tezos work through her profile: objkt.com/@poemequalsart Pictured: Primordial, part of the collections of @HegelArtCollect, @Jdsears, @mr_merge, and more.

Georg Eckmayr is a Vienna-based artist, researcher + lecturer whose work explores the relationship between physical and machine-based worlds through animation, film, coded structures + installation. He studied digital art under Peter Weibel, holds a doctorate in media studies, and was awarded the Saatchi Gallery Showdown prize in 2008. What does your body look like to a machine? ✦ objkt.com/exhibitions/the-at… ▼ i_am CADENCE

✦ 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 ✦ The Attempt to Overcome Gravity by @Georg_Eckmayr The artist’s tracking data became a fragmented model of his body, revealing how devices measure and shape our physical behavior. Presented by @_second_guess Curated by @postanika For Stories We Tell Online Exhibited in Linz on 9 September in an internet café ▼ notifications ON #1 ▼ i_am ACCELERATION

Jonathan Monaghan is an artist whose prints, sculptures + video installations bring together ancient mythology, science fiction + consumer culture to explore power, wealth + technology in the digital age. His work has been exhibited at Sundance New Frontier, the Palais de Tokyo + the Walters Art Museum, and is held in collections including the Phillips Collection, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art + Microsoft Art Collection Ancient myths, modern labor. ✦ objkt.com/exhibitions/mythol… ▼ Cerberus

✦ 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 ✦ Mythological Menagerie by Jonathan Monaghan A reimagining of the Labors of Heracles How labor, power + technology take new forms in the digital age. Presented by @_second_guess Curated by @postanika For Stories We Tell Online Exhibited in Linz on 9 September in an internet café ▼ Ceryneian Hind

JOIN US FOR KENTO: ONE WEEK IN — A CELEBRATION OF WEB NOSTALGIA 📷 Hosted by Head Curator @kikanicolela, the livestream will feature conversations with @kentocards' very first backer, TheJizel, participating artist @PERFECTL00P, and with the Kento team about the project’s first week. We’ll explore the stories behind Web Nostalgia, the process of transforming digital artworks into physical art cards and what it has been like to see Kento out in the world. 📅 Thursday, September 10 ⏰ 7 PM CEST 📺 Watch live on YouTube: piped.video/watch?v=UZq266OD… Also streaming across Kento and objkt’s main social channels.

✦ SOLD ✦ on objkt secondary market ✦ NAZCA #133 - sold for 1,038.90 ꜩ to @_____gems_____ NAZCA #112 - sold for 1,000.00 ꜩ to GenJPG by @kimasendorf objkt.com/tokens/fxhash/9648… objkt.com/tokens/fxhash/9647…

Vuk Ćosić @supperman is a key figure in net art and co-founder of the nettime and Syndicate mailing lists, as well as the Ljubljana Digital Media Lab. With a background in archaeology and an avant-garde approach, his critical media art has been exhibited internationally at institutions including the Venice Biennale, Stedelijk Amsterdam, and ZKM Karlsruhe. What happens before an idea becomes meaning? ✦ explore the exhibition: objkt.com/exhibitions/blink-… Blink of an I 3 ▼

✦ 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 ✦ Blink of an I, by Vuk Ćosić @supperman Exploring the moment before signs become meaning, using ASCII graphics, early net art aesthetics + wordplay Presented by @_second_guess Curated by @postanika For Stories We Tell Online Exhibited in Linz on 9 September in an internet café 5:00 – 10:00 pm CET 📍 Game & Dine Blumauerstraße 9 4020 Look beyond the stories we tell to how they begin ✦ Blink of an I 1 ▼

✦ @Exonemo is an artist duo formed by Kensuke Sembo + Yae Akaiwa in 1996, exploring the boundaries between digital + physical worlds with humor and critical insight. Their work spans internet art, software + installations, including Internet Yami-Ichi, which has brought internet culture into physical spaces across 30+ cities worldwide. What if the internet still had wilderness? ✦ explore the exhibition: objkt.com/exhibitions/the-la…

✦ 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 ✦ The Last Acres of the Internet by @exonemo 63-character domain names turned into digital land, each paired with a randomly generated HTML wilderness for its owner to inhabit + reshape. Presented by @_second_guess Curated by @postanika For Stories We Tell Online. Exhibited in Linz on 9 September in an internet café 5:00 – 10:00 pm CET 📍 Game & Dine Blumauerstraße 9 4020 A tribute to the untamed internet of early netart ✦

✦ Was Sein Kann brings together @daniloxhema, @CurioFringe, @lm_netwebs, @AndreasGysin, Waffles, @no_hygiene, @toadswiback, Lee Mullican, and all these artists with works on objkt worth exploring, and more. The exhibition connects different histories of digital art: from Lee Mullican’s pioneering computer drawings and Lorna Mills’s GIF-based practice to artists formed by today’s networked image culture. Several possibilities for what digital art it can be.

✦ Ana María Caballero @CaballeroAnaMa approaches language as something to be read, performed and collected. In Berlin this week, she is curated by @office_impart. Check Ana María Caballero's works on objkt: objkt.com/@poemequalsart/cre… Image via artist's profile on X.

✦ Also with works on objkt and presented by @arabbankCH at @BerlinArtWeek, @CezarMocan is artist and programmer, working with real-time simulations as a way to understand the power structures that shape society’s engagement with technology. @yehwanyensong specializes in creating non-user-centric, unconventional, and diverse independent internet spaces. She satirizes and critiques overgeneralization in web design by creating non-generic interfaces and performing with these websites and devices. ✦ World Upstream: Field Diary #9, part of @zaphodok's collection ✦ Oh Yes, Everything's Fine, Yehwan Song, part of artiehandz.tez collection.

✦ At Silent Green, a screening of AI rants accompanied by @BorisEldagsen’s AI art commentary moves the argument into the room: not simply whether AI can generate an image, but how authorship, photography and institutional validation change when it does. Check AI rants on objkt: objkt.com/exhibitions/ai-art… - Curated by @postanika ( @_second_guess)