Let's go

The #5TezCollection challenge comes at a time when public interest in cryptocurrencies and NFTs is particularly low. Most artists are struggling to make a living from their art.

I, too, have put my collecting mostly on hold—my family and I need to put some money aside, and even though NFTs on Tezos are affordable, the numbers quickly add up to significant amounts.

Even when @HAL09999 and @elout01 started the #5TezCollection challenge, I wanted to resist temptation and not actively participate, even though the artworks they and others collected are awesome.

My #5TezCollection

But when I stumbled upon "Cloud Chamber" by @testtesttestts5 (uesYn), I couldn't resist anymore. The generative artwork is a free mint on fx(hash), and it visualizes random events that create glitched sparks of activity on the screen in a way resembling an actual physical cloud chamber experiment. In a way, it sparked my participation in the #5TezCollection challenge by random interaction.

As the sparks in a cloud chamber are afterimages of ionization, "Afterimages" by @Kelvin_Koding creates afterimages of blurry shapes that we might see when we close our eyes while bathing in the sun. Geometrical shapes are reminders of a world that waits for us to open up our perception back to it—but let's enjoy the shapeless warmth a little longer.

"Doodle Hopscotch" by @HarchiNoushi draws pointilist images by randomly moving virtual crayons on a grid. I see it as a hands-on approach to the same topic as "Cloud Chamber", with a rather different approach, and (despite the playful inspiration) a rather static, even analytical appearance that combines the idea of physical drawings with algorithmical art.

Another artwork that combines two artistic styles is "Bohomalism: Whimsical Elegance" by Sodok (@punkamigosNFT). It combines the simplicity of minimalism with the free-spirited aesthetic of bohème. By juxtaposing clean lines and restrained colours (with a charming emphasis on soft pinks) with flowing, spontaneous brushstrokes, the piece prompts contemplation on the tension between restraint and liberation, conformity and individuality.

@NateNolting is one of the artists whose affordable works I have been collecting and enjoying for quite some time. Sub Section Patina is one of my favourite generative art pieces, and now, with "Sequentia", Nate makes his debut release for fx(params). Much like in the previous pieces I chose for #5TezCollection, the project renders its output following random paths.

The meandering digital brushes here result in graphical, often minimal and nostalgic images. I admit it: I cheated a bit and minted 4 editions, until I got a result that I wanted, and kept only that one for this event wallet (you can see the other ones in my main account).

The generative illustrations in @ValeenGLX's "Last poster" complement the colour palette and style of my iterations of "Sequentia" in a surprisingly seamless manner. I highly recommend exploring other artworks by this artist, such as the glitch-perfect animated piece Looking for a focus, the beautifully frayed Uncalibrat_d, and the dreamlike compositions of Walk in the field or Lakeview.

Anyway, the artwork's bold lines and flattened aesthetics evoke a vintage poster feel that spans a metaphorical bridge between the graphical, abstract artworks that I collected on fx(hash) and the representational, urban art from Objkt.

The AI-assisted works of post-photography by @ewitsoe are computer-generated—just as much as the previously mentioned generative artworks from fx(hash) are. However, rather than being abstract and non-representational, they encapsulate a cinematic essence that I deeply cherish in Erik's traditional photography. They exaggerate and stylize scenes from American Life, which is also the name of the series that the pieces belong to, and immerse us viewers in nocturnal urban street scenes that evoke a profound sense of déjà vu.

These captivating post-photography works evoke a sense of familiarity and nostalgia reminiscent of my first encounter with New York City. Like many, I experienced a peculiar feeling of having known its streets and felt its heartbeat, yet was aware that these sensations were largely shaped by countless Hollywood movies I had watched throughout my life.

As much as these works of post-photography expose the irreality of our pop-cultural heritages, @blackcollage_ (Thais Silva) uses her collage pieces "Hip Hop" and "Capoeira" to point out how the expressive traditions her works deal with were borne out of resistance and cultural resilience and are rooted in Black culture.

The strong, confident digital collages show up the rich cultural influences our society can benefit from when we open our eyes to the world beyond the walls of our individual communities. They also oppose (and, as affordable NFTs, mirror) the commodification of Black culture by the mainstream, making me once again aware of cultural appropriation and the heritage of colonialism.

I want to finish this write-up with @djkero's iconographically titled video artwork "📍▀▇╲❌ 🟥₂".

We started witch glitch, and we'll end with it. But while "Cloud chamber" is abstractly focused on the interaction of ideas with the physical, this final artwork is very human despite the artefacts of digital processing it displays. Lacking explanation and description, the challenging look of the glitched and looped Black model it shows manages to underline Silva's message, and (at least to me) through the meaningful tilt of her head seems to ask: "Now you know. So what are you gonna do?"

There's more

You can see all the artworks I collected (with links and prices) on Objkt. Click here to get to the wallet that I created for this.

The call to participate in the #5TezCollection challenge captivated me and made me think in depth about the art I presented here. To me, it shows that art is not about the price, but about what the artist has put into it. Though collecting artworks with high edition numbers is more akin to buying posters than paintings, the easy availability and low price of these NFTs don't devalue the art behind them. It should, however, make us question how we value art and being entertained by it.

The online gallery with the artworks from this collection is here (click link).

There are many more artworks available on both fx(hash) and Objkt that can be minted for free or for only a few cents. To find them, I recommend you to take a look at @fauxjebus (Brad Connell)'s #5TezCollection Fauxfive where he explains how to best filter the marketplaces accordingly (and he also collected a hammer of a bunch of wonderful art this way).

Take a look at Brad's fx(text) article here (click link).