Read on Twitter
1/ On Collecting A Piece Of Art
This is the expanded version of "Buy what you like, at a level you can afford, plan to hold forever"
I am going to tell a story I have told before, as context.
I was 22 years old in NYC and was sharing an apartment with 2 other "analysts"
This is the expanded version of "Buy what you like, at a level you can afford, plan to hold forever"
I am going to tell a story I have told before, as context.
I was 22 years old in NYC and was sharing an apartment with 2 other "analysts"
2/ Back then, with the official/unofficial blessing of the building superintendent, he would help you with a fake, accordion-like divider to split the living room of your 2BR into a 3rd bedroom.
So, in any case, there was no art on any walls. We were broke dorks.
So, in any case, there was no art on any walls. We were broke dorks.
3/ Age 24: I moved out to my own rented apartment. Big move. A whole living room to decorate.
So, among other things, I bought the extra large Andy Warhol poster ($xx), paid to frame it ($xxx?) and up it went on the wall.
I ♥️ New York & I ♥️ soup can & I ♥️ my living room
So, among other things, I bought the extra large Andy Warhol poster ($xx), paid to frame it ($xxx?) and up it went on the wall.
I ♥️ New York & I ♥️ soup can & I ♥️ my living room
4/ I am living the exciting big city dream. Mostly the normal "analyst stuff" - Work all day and night at the office, get blind drunk on Friday and Saturday night on vodka sodas.
But NYC has a bit more than that, so relative to my peers, a bit of time went to...
But NYC has a bit more than that, so relative to my peers, a bit of time went to...
5/ ...I dunno, "for the culture" I guess. The MoMA has some young collectors/patrons type program, the junior league.
It was $ xxx/year, seemed pricey to me back then, but just within my range so I joined.
They sent me a newsletter, they invited me to events.
It was $ xxx/year, seemed pricey to me back then, but just within my range so I joined.
They sent me a newsletter, they invited me to events.
6/ Now my identity was:
✅Budding young professional at great firm
✅Party monster, with the whole NYC buffett at my disposal
but also, yes, a bit
✅Art connoisseur
It was good stuff, heady stuff for a 20-something
✅Budding young professional at great firm
✅Party monster, with the whole NYC buffett at my disposal
but also, yes, a bit
✅Art connoisseur
It was good stuff, heady stuff for a 20-something
7/ The MoMA had an event for us young patrons/[future donors].
I took a date, we dressed up, I think she wore a red dress and we went and stared at the MoMA's soup cans. They have the 1/1s (the rest of us get the editions).
So small, yet so big, much wow.
I took a date, we dressed up, I think she wore a red dress and we went and stared at the MoMA's soup cans. They have the 1/1s (the rest of us get the editions).
So small, yet so big, much wow.
8/ Years and years go by. I move to SoHo. Lots of galleries there.
I would pop in, browse, generally too poor to buy anything, but (mostly) they were nice to me.
"ooh, a black bean, ohh, a cream of mushroom"
Still a right-click, save-as-er, it is just fine
I would pop in, browse, generally too poor to buy anything, but (mostly) they were nice to me.
"ooh, a black bean, ohh, a cream of mushroom"
Still a right-click, save-as-er, it is just fine
9/ 1 x canvas (in the MoMA). 1/250 silkscreen prints. 8 billion people. For the most iconic piece of a whole art movement.
So, sure, 99.999996% of the world will always be a RCSAer in this context, including me, still, at that point.
So, sure, 99.999996% of the world will always be a RCSAer in this context, including me, still, at that point.
10/ Years pass. Very rarely a tomato soup would show up in a gallery. I would go look at it.
Still a browser. "maybe, someday"
I am sure the galleries thought I was LARPer but they were (mostly) nice
Still a browser. "maybe, someday"
I am sure the galleries thought I was LARPer but they were (mostly) nice
11/ One day, I saw one in a gallery. As usual, I thought "let's go look, but of course I am not going to buy"
I heard the price ($ 1xx,xxx), thought "yeah, I'm not buying", left to get a bagel at Sadelle's (everything, lox, chive cream cheese)
I heard the price ($ 1xx,xxx), thought "yeah, I'm not buying", left to get a bagel at Sadelle's (everything, lox, chive cream cheese)
12/ I slept on it, I thought about it, I thought about what I wanted as a consumption good* in life and the reality was "almost nothing"
*yes, art for individuals is a consumption good, a very refined one, but not a "life necessity". You can RCSA art.
But I wanted a soup can.
*yes, art for individuals is a consumption good, a very refined one, but not a "life necessity". You can RCSA art.
But I wanted a soup can.
13/ By now, I had a nice position of BTC. Now check this out because I think I am right.
I could not justify buying the Warhol from my fiat checking account.
But I had a discussion with myself of if I might spent some of My Precious BTC on it.
I could not justify buying the Warhol from my fiat checking account.
But I had a discussion with myself of if I might spent some of My Precious BTC on it.
14/ The discussion went like this:
✅BTC will probably outperform Warhol (turns out to be true)
✅Life is short and I want a soup can
✅We don't touch the rent money for any of these things
✅BTC will probably outperform Warhol (turns out to be true)
✅Life is short and I want a soup can
✅We don't touch the rent money for any of these things
15/ So I sold some BTC and bought the soup can. The only thing I have sold BTC for is:
✅2013: Test transactions
✅201X: Warhol
✅2021: NFTs
I keep two balance sheets in my head - my fiat balance sheet and "everything else"
BTC, ETH, NFTs, Warhols are on the "everything else"
✅2013: Test transactions
✅201X: Warhol
✅2021: NFTs
I keep two balance sheets in my head - my fiat balance sheet and "everything else"
BTC, ETH, NFTs, Warhols are on the "everything else"
16/ So I bought the Warhol. I sometimes check in with the dealer when I am in NYC, to say "hi"
He tells me: "oh, I think it is up 10% [in fiat] from the last time we spoke"
OK, great, nice to hear, nicer I suppose than down 10%, but...
He tells me: "oh, I think it is up 10% [in fiat] from the last time we spoke"
OK, great, nice to hear, nicer I suppose than down 10%, but...
17/ ...it is completely irrelevant to me, because, fingers crossed, I will die and still own the Warhol.
I did not buy it to sell it higher. I bought it to look at it and feel some sense of identity.
"Buy what you like, in quantities you can afford, that you can hold forever"
I did not buy it to sell it higher. I bought it to look at it and feel some sense of identity.
"Buy what you like, in quantities you can afford, that you can hold forever"
18/ "OBJECTION! You are rich 6529. This is a very non-relatable thread"
"OVERRULED! I was not rich most of my life"
I applied this same logic when I bought the $50 poster. When I bought a $200 print from an unknown photographer.
The advice scales to any wealth level
"OVERRULED! I was not rich most of my life"
I applied this same logic when I bought the $50 poster. When I bought a $200 print from an unknown photographer.
The advice scales to any wealth level
19/ "Buy what you like, in quantities you can afford, that you can hold forever"
Works the same at $50, $50,000 and $500,000.
And I stick to my rules. I theoretically had enough fiat to have bought the Warhol with fiat. I forced myself to sell the precious BTC.
Works the same at $50, $50,000 and $500,000.
And I stick to my rules. I theoretically had enough fiat to have bought the Warhol with fiat. I forced myself to sell the precious BTC.
20/ "wait, you are an idiot, you sold the world's hadest money for a silkscreen print"
yeah, ok, maybe mr btc maxi. and you, ultra-hodler, are you going to take the btc with you when you die?
Consumption is not the most important thing in life, but also one day you will die.
yeah, ok, maybe mr btc maxi. and you, ultra-hodler, are you going to take the btc with you when you die?
Consumption is not the most important thing in life, but also one day you will die.
21/ So now let's talk about NFTs. There are more nice NFTs than I can afford which means, on average, there are more nice NFTs than you can afford.
So first rule you should apply: "buy what you like"
You need to screen them anyway, so might as well do it this way.
So first rule you should apply: "buy what you like"
You need to screen them anyway, so might as well do it this way.
22/ Then, when you buy the NFTs, you should generally send them to your vault and forget them.
Why? Because if you think you can, on average, out-trade the most volatile crypto market in the world, you are deluding yourself.
I can't do it and you can't do it either.
Why? Because if you think you can, on average, out-trade the most volatile crypto market in the world, you are deluding yourself.
I can't do it and you can't do it either.
23/Just buy "what you can afford", send it to your vault and be a enjoyer of art.
You should not think about holding periods at all, but if you do, you should think about 10-20 years, not 10-20 hours.
It is the only way you can have fun around here.
You should not think about holding periods at all, but if you do, you should think about 10-20 years, not 10-20 hours.
It is the only way you can have fun around here.
24/ Chasing around an artist because their "floor price is down" and "what are the going to do about it" is ultra-cringe.
Have more respect for....yourself. Art and culture is a real thing, if you want to support it, do it, but be an adult about it.
Have more respect for....yourself. Art and culture is a real thing, if you want to support it, do it, but be an adult about it.
25/ "but what about corporate PFP projects. They are not art, I want utility"
Why did you buy those anon? Because you loved [cartoon character] and felt a deep emotional connection for decades?
Or you wanted a lottery ticket?
Why did you buy those anon? Because you loved [cartoon character] and felt a deep emotional connection for decades?
Or you wanted a lottery ticket?
26/
- Have I bought into new PFP projects? Yes
- Did I do it because I felt a deep emotional identity with the art? No
- Did I do it because I FOMOed myself? Yes
- Do I feel stupid looking at those buys? Yes
- Do I get to complain about my bad decisions? No
- Have I bought into new PFP projects? Yes
- Did I do it because I felt a deep emotional identity with the art? No
- Did I do it because I FOMOed myself? Yes
- Do I feel stupid looking at those buys? Yes
- Do I get to complain about my bad decisions? No
27/ Every time I have FOMOed into an NFT collection because I let "price" get in my head, I have regretted it, in days/weeks/months.
Every time I bought something I liked, I am fine, I don't even check the price.
The rule scales to all wealth levels
Every time I bought something I liked, I am fine, I don't even check the price.
The rule scales to all wealth levels
28/ Fortunately, because I have been around the block, the % of my NFT buying into category 1 "FOMO" is quite low. Not zero, but quite low.
The non-art dynamics of NFT collections are like alt-coins in 2013 on cryptsy or ICO tokens in 2017.
The non-art dynamics of NFT collections are like alt-coins in 2013 on cryptsy or ICO tokens in 2017.
29/ On the whole, they will go up for a while and then "down only" forever.
And "community" and "utility" in these collections is mostly nonsense.
The former is mostly hopium/copium by the buyers and the latter is mostly "the project has no idea what to do, so here is merch"
And "community" and "utility" in these collections is mostly nonsense.
The former is mostly hopium/copium by the buyers and the latter is mostly "the project has no idea what to do, so here is merch"
30/ But 6529, I don't have a lot of money, how am I GMI without my flipping and so on.
Well, I regret to inform you that flipping is PvP and you can't all make it that way.
It is very easy to deceive yourself on this topic
Well, I regret to inform you that flipping is PvP and you can't all make it that way.
It is very easy to deceive yourself on this topic
31/ In the Fall 2013 boom, I was day-trading BTC and then I discovered Cryptsy with an infinite playing field of alt-coins so I started day-trading those too, relying on my twitter feed for "alpha"
I was stressed, miserable, & concluded that I was going to lose all my money
I was stressed, miserable, & concluded that I was going to lose all my money
32/ I see it all around me today, I see it in many of you. It is a bad idea.
The right answer for 99% of people in 2013 was "buy some BTC, an amount you can afford to lose, don't quit your job, don't check the price for a decade"
Here it is even harder bc there is no BTC
The right answer for 99% of people in 2013 was "buy some BTC, an amount you can afford to lose, don't quit your job, don't check the price for a decade"
Here it is even harder bc there is no BTC
33/ So the right idea here is "buy art you like, send it to your vault and enjoy the ride".
The good case on NFTs is that we are in 1960s NYC at the beginning of an art movement, that, coincidentally, might save the world.
The good case on NFTs is that we are in 1960s NYC at the beginning of an art movement, that, coincidentally, might save the world.
34/ But that takes time. Warhol is by far the most commercially successful artist of that movement.
1962: The 32 1/1 canvas soup cans sold for 10 installations of $100 each
1969: a $70K sale
2006: $11.7M sale
1962: The 32 1/1 canvas soup cans sold for 10 installations of $100 each
1969: a $70K sale
2006: $11.7M sale
35/ The social construction of art takes decades in the "good case"
If you find yourself saying "but why is the floor price of X down this month", my regrets, but you are doing it wrong.
Or you are explicitly day-trading/gambling and then nobody owes you anything.
If you find yourself saying "but why is the floor price of X down this month", my regrets, but you are doing it wrong.
Or you are explicitly day-trading/gambling and then nobody owes you anything.
36/ "Buy what you love, in quantities you can afford, plan to hold forever"
37/ We have discussed these topics before
On Buying Your First NFT
On Buying Your First NFT
https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1431931687034830850
39/ End of August, 2021, was close to peak mania in NFTs. Here is what I said do you then
https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1431931691829010437
43/ The advice is the same when:
1. everyone around you is (theoretically, very theoretically) making generational wealth in NFTs
and
2. in a bear market like we have now
1. everyone around you is (theoretically, very theoretically) making generational wealth in NFTs
and
2. in a bear market like we have now
44/ Oh, are you saying that we are at the bottom? No, I am not saying that either.
I cannot predict crypto prices (neither can your twitter feed).
The SEC Chair non-so-secretly wants to make ETH illegal to own in the USA for retail, so, yes, it can get even worse 😀
I cannot predict crypto prices (neither can your twitter feed).
The SEC Chair non-so-secretly wants to make ETH illegal to own in the USA for retail, so, yes, it can get even worse 😀
45/ Yes, you can always find exceptions in "trading" in any asset, from stocks to beanie babies, but, on the whole, you should not day-trade stocks, you should not day-trade beanie babies, you should not day-trade BTC, ETH or NFT photography
46/ And, yes, because someone will ask, if you do it, segregate that "budget" even further and definitely assume you are going to lose so you don't get upset if (when) you do.
Looking for alpha on twitter and then losing your money on stupid stuff you hate is the real down only
Looking for alpha on twitter and then losing your money on stupid stuff you hate is the real down only
47/ And, you might find it interesting, but I give the same advice to actual billionaires.
Yes, their "budget" is larger and they buy grail NFTs, but the same advice holds.
Assume at least a decade-long holding period and we will find out at the end what has happened.
Yes, their "budget" is larger and they buy grail NFTs, but the same advice holds.
Assume at least a decade-long holding period and we will find out at the end what has happened.
48/ And, yes, I remain infinitely bullish on NFTs as a category and as a technology.
They, and crypto in general, if we can keep them free, are a force for freedom, even more so in an AI-first world.
Unlike the future price of [your NFTs], this I know for absolutely sure.
🤝🫡
They, and crypto in general, if we can keep them free, are a force for freedom, even more so in an AI-first world.
Unlike the future price of [your NFTs], this I know for absolutely sure.
🤝🫡
49/ So another framework, another concept. You go to your local art market, you see a nice photograph for your living room. You buy, it you frame it, you put it up.
Do you then spend every day going back to the market to "check the floor price?"
Do you then spend every day going back to the market to "check the floor price?"
50/ If you did, the photograph would be more trouble than it is worth. You are better off buying the S&P 500 index in that case.
The same holds if you are buying a $200 print from a local photographer or a $12M Man Ray.
The same holds if you are buying a $200 print from a local photographer or a $12M Man Ray.
51/ The same holds w/NFTs. If the idea that you will hang it in your living room and never sell it and never go back to the market to check the price bothers you, well you are overspending relative to your budget.
Spend less until you are just enjoying the view. Lots of JPGs
Spend less until you are just enjoying the view. Lots of JPGs
52/ A word to artists: They will like this thread - "these are the types of collectors I want, that buy and never sell"
Sure, this is great, but also you will sell less art to fewer people at lower prices this way.
But it is better this way
Sure, this is great, but also you will sell less art to fewer people at lower prices this way.
But it is better this way
53/ The artists who "sold lots of art at much higher prices than their fiat-denominated art" and now are upset that it is not "up only" on selling art are the flip-side of the collector complaining about floor price.
It is ultra-cringe in both cases.
It is ultra-cringe in both cases.
54/ Just make your art and if the "market" is not buying, well, that means something.
You need to get better at some dimension (art, social construction, distribution) or say "I don't care about money, doing it for the art"
But whining in all cases is ultra-cringe
You need to get better at some dimension (art, social construction, distribution) or say "I don't care about money, doing it for the art"
But whining in all cases is ultra-cringe
55/ The flipside of "nobody should whine about floor prices" is "nobody has an obligation to buy your art on primary in the amount and price that you think you 'deserve'"
This is how "markets" work for all assets, goods or services. It is what it is.
This is how "markets" work for all assets, goods or services. It is what it is.
56/ Last thoughts and closing the thread.
Back to the tomato soup can.
I enjoyed the tomato soup can for decades before I owned it.
When I first learned about it in art history in college, when I put a poster up in my apartment, when I saw it at the MoMA, when...
Back to the tomato soup can.
I enjoyed the tomato soup can for decades before I owned it.
When I first learned about it in art history in college, when I put a poster up in my apartment, when I saw it at the MoMA, when...
57/ ...when I looked at the prints up close and personal in the galleries and, finally, when I finally bought one and brought it home.
The whole journey was as much fun as the destination, maybe even, I don't think I would have enjoyed the destination, without the journey
The whole journey was as much fun as the destination, maybe even, I don't think I would have enjoyed the destination, without the journey
58/ How much of the journey was about the price, either before or after I bought it? Not very much.
It was only a secondary factor, in the background, that determined whether I could afford it or not.
And the price went up over time
It was only a secondary factor, in the background, that determined whether I could afford it or not.
And the price went up over time
59/ but fortunately over time my disposable net worth went up a bit faster (thought, it was still a big deal for me to buy, a big mental hurdle to get over).
Is there particularly anything the price might do that might change my feelings about the tomato soup can?
Not really
Is there particularly anything the price might do that might change my feelings about the tomato soup can?
Not really
60/ A sidequest for a second: I once dated a girl who was deep into art history, had much less money than me and bought a $3K B&W Haring print from a gallery in SoHo before I had ever bought anything with 4 digits in it.
It was a mental breakthrough for me as follows...
It was a mental breakthrough for me as follows...
61/ I, until that day, did not think of myself as the type of person who could buy something "expensive" (in that case, $3K) from an art gallery.
That was for "rich collectors" who were something different than me.
But she did it, my gears whirred, brain re-adjusted...
That was for "rich collectors" who were something different than me.
But she did it, my gears whirred, brain re-adjusted...
62/ ...wait, if she can do it (with much less money than me and no 'credentials' to do it), then I can do it too.
It was the fork in the road, the moment in my life where the soup can (and a haring) became inevitable.
It was just a matter of time after that.
It was the fork in the road, the moment in my life where the soup can (and a haring) became inevitable.
It was just a matter of time after that.
63/ One of the great things about NFTs is that they democratize art.
The hurdle to swapping ETH for an NFT on OpenSea is much lower than going to a gallery in SoHo.
This is an unamigiously good thing. More enjoyers of art is a social good, full stop
The hurdle to swapping ETH for an NFT on OpenSea is much lower than going to a gallery in SoHo.
This is an unamigiously good thing. More enjoyers of art is a social good, full stop
64/ Some TradArt collectors hold their nose at this - this new class of collectors are not doing it right.
They don't appreciate the art, they are too commercial, they don't hodl, etc, etc.
All of this is true, but the that is the price of any internet based network
They don't appreciate the art, they are too commercial, they don't hodl, etc, etc.
All of this is true, but the that is the price of any internet based network
65/ Just like "text online" is more democratic and more chaotic than the NYT and Youtube is more democratic and more chaotic than ABC/CBS/NBC, you will have more democracy and more chaos in NFTs.
In aggregate though, unambigiously better.
Snobbery is also ultra-cringe.
In aggregate though, unambigiously better.
Snobbery is also ultra-cringe.
66/ Everyone, but everyone, was at, some point, a first-time art collector.
Everyone makes mistakes, everyone learns over time, everyone refines their tastes for what they like.
Shaming people for this is no good, 6529 do not allow.
Everyone makes mistakes, everyone learns over time, everyone refines their tastes for what they like.
Shaming people for this is no good, 6529 do not allow.
67/ So, back to the soup can. did and does the price matter?
well, it did, insofar that the price x net worth, determined if I had a poster or a print on the wall.
but did it determine anything about my journey with the piece?
almost nothing at all.
well, it did, insofar that the price x net worth, determined if I had a poster or a print on the wall.
but did it determine anything about my journey with the piece?
almost nothing at all.
68/ Now, back to NFTs circa the 2020s.
Nothing is remotely as well established as a Warhol tomato soup can.
Most "social construction" around most pieces will fail.
But for some pieces/artists, it won't, it will solidify and become real, become Lindy
Nothing is remotely as well established as a Warhol tomato soup can.
Most "social construction" around most pieces will fail.
But for some pieces/artists, it won't, it will solidify and become real, become Lindy
69/ And those (few) pieces will send a message, a message that will resonate across time, across decades and centuries (not weeks and months and years).
Nothing excites me more than getting to see that journey.
Nothing excites me more than getting to see that journey.
70/ Andy Warhol and the soup can are, of course, a meme of production. But it was one I found ready for me, pre-packaged. By the time I learned about, it was in university art history textbooks.
Our generation's memes of production are getting made now.
Our generation's memes of production are getting made now.
71/ They will look small and silly relative to where (some) will end up.
The process of consolidating them is a joint artist, collector, community process.
Why some "work" and some "don't" is a bit mysterious at times, but some will and most won't.
The process of consolidating them is a joint artist, collector, community process.
Why some "work" and some "don't" is a bit mysterious at times, but some will and most won't.
72/ Warhol's and Harings and Banksy's and Hirst's Memes of Production are solidified, in the pantheon and have don't have the edge, the danger anymore
They are "safe" establishment choices now. Wonderful, but safe.
They are "safe" establishment choices now. Wonderful, but safe.
73/ Whether the 2055 Warhol of early NFTs is Xcopy or Fewo or Tyler or LL or [fill in thousands of talented artists] is the story to be written now.
It is a joint story, "Seize the memes of production" is something we can all do. It does not mean "buy this NFT necessarily"...
It is a joint story, "Seize the memes of production" is something we can all do. It does not mean "buy this NFT necessarily"...
74/...when people came to drink beer at my apartment and the Warhol poster was on my wall, I was doing my small part in propagating that meme, those values, that identity, that culture.
it is going to happen, that is for sure, but we can shape how specifically it happens
🫡
it is going to happen, that is for sure, but we can shape how specifically it happens
🫡
75/ If this is your first time here, we believe in an open metaverse and decentralized public digital goods, unliked some of our elected representatives who prefer "command and control" structures
https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1448399827054833668
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