R&A Art Collection: Collector Spotlight

We first noticed R&A Art Collection in September 2020 as one of the new and voracious collectors in the digital NFT space. Since then they continue to pocket numerous amounts of artworks by notable & emerging cryptoartists, and show no signs of slowing down.

For our first ever "Collector Spotlight", we're pleased to bring you an inside look at how the top collectors are thinking about scoping out new artists, valuing artworks, and more.

How did you get into collecting crypto (NFT) art?

First of all, thanks to @zontedart for providing this opportunity to talk about crypto art collecting. The beginning of R&A Art Collection was seeing cryptoart tweets in September 2020 while looking for physical art in traditional galleries.

The initial thought was:

"Hey, cryptoart seems to be much better! (more durable, verifiable ownership, easy storage, affordable price, 3-D)".

A couple of online sources that helped turn this inspiration into conviction were:

The Next Big Bet — Digital Art

Listen now (6 min) | This installment of The Pomp Letter is free for everyone. I send this email to our investors daily. If you would also like to receive it every morning, join the 50,000 other investors today. To investors, Jason Williams and I are making a big bet on digital art.

The Pomp LetterAnthony Pompliano

And "Who is Pak" by Nick Tomaino.

Both pieces are highly recommended for both collectors and artists in cryptoart. By October 2020, cryptoart collecting began and it hasn't stopped.

What are some of your current favorite artworks in your collection?

POP POP POP

• NiftyGateway: https://niftygateway.com/itemdetail/primary/0xebd65c94d6b65764dcac67c7f920f83e8786c245/5
• Artist: https://twitter.com/muratpak
• Artist: https://twitter.com/trevorjonesart
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

Waiting for Christmas

• SuperRare: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/waiting-for-christmas-16416
• Artist: https://twitter.com/sixnfive
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

DOLLAR MANNEQUINS II

• SuperRare: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/dollar-mannequins-ii-4752
• Artist: https://twitter.com/missalsimpson
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

Afraid to Be Myself

• NiftyGateway: https://niftygateway.com/itemdetail/primary/0x22a7ac591ec9414e0547319d2fb9831b4aed6338/2
• Artist: https://twitter.com/fewocious
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

Plastic Giant

• SuperRare: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/plastic-giant-14832
• Artist: https://twitter.com/JonathanWWolfe
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

lost in my head and my dreams

• SuperRare: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/lost-in-my-head-and-my-dreams-15674
• Artist: https://twitter.com/nameisdarko
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

Nascency

• MakersPlace: https://makersplace.com/randaartcollection/nascency-1-of-1-36161/
• Artist: https://twitter.com/Hanrgb
• Collector: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect

Note it was very difficult to make this list as almost ALL the pieces collected were favorites!

How would you describe your collecting taste? Are there particular artistic styles that call out to you more than others?

Mixed, diverse. In retrospect, however, gravitating toward Pop Art.

Do you stick to any “collecting” rules (eg. monthly budget, only 1/1s, must have social media presence)?

1. Try to collect from "the best" in the category/style.
2. Try to collect "the masterpiece" by the artist.

How important is an artist’s social media presence to you as a collector?

An artist's social media presence is important as it shows the collector that the artist is eager to self-promote, and that there are followers who believe in the artist.

It's not a coincidence that the majority of artists in the Top 10 on SuperRare (by 30-Day USD total sales volume) have social media followings of over 10k+.

This trend is most likely here to stay and amplify. It wouldn't be surprising if all artists in the Top 10 had followings of over 100k in a few years time.

That said, it should be noted that many artists with relatively small social media followings are also doing very well.

As a follow up, you're not the most “vocal” collector on Twitter but instead choose to retweet and echo a lot of your favorite artists and collectors in the space. Do you plan on changing your approach to social media in the future?

Perhaps!  Thanks for pointing this out!

Do you have a framework to valuing cryptoart? How does that framework apply when you’re looking to be an artist’s “first” collector?

How to value cryptoart is going to be a field of its own.

Currently, valuing a cryptoart piece for R&A Art Collection is a mix of

• the Subjective ("Do you love the artwork?")
• and the Objective (analysis of the artist's philosophy, reputation, past works, collector base, and social media followings).

We saw you first aggressively collecting on SuperRare. Now, we’re seeing your name pop up on NiftyGateway and MakersPlace too. What’s your take on each of the platforms? How do you feel about artists launching their own “tokens” off platform?

Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses.

For cryptoart collectors, it is a good idea to diversify between platforms as we don't yet know which platform will be the dominant platform of the future.

As for artists launching their own "tokens", if they already have a strong brand and a large following, why not?

Can you describe the most wonderful experience that you’ve had since you started collecting cryptoart?

Participating in the historic auction bidding for the Collision series by Pak and Trevor Jones on NiftyGateway in December was exciting.

It was great to have won "POP POP POP" in the end after countless bids!

How about the worst experience to date? What went wrong?

Hmm...nothing bad yet.

Artists tend to be good, intelligent people. Fellow collectors can be fierce competitors during bidding wars, but many are sources of inspiration when there is no bidding.

Have you struck any private “deals” with artists that you want to stock up on? How was that experience? Would you do it again?

Private arrangements have worked for emerging artists so there is no reason to stop if the right opportunity comes along!

What are your goals with collecting? Do you have any unannounced plans with your collection that you’d like to make the community aware about?

The goal for R&A Art Collection is to become a significant privately held CryptoArt Collection of the 2020-20XX era.

At what point would you consider selling or relinquishing some of your collection? What does that depend on? And what would you do with the proceeds from the sale?

There is no plan to sell most of the collection (95%+).  However, a few pieces that were collected in the very beginning have parted and found their new homes.

As for proceeds from the sale, 100% have gone into acquiring art by emerging artists.

What’s the best way for a cryptoartist to make you aware of their work? Any tips?

Follow @randaartcollect on Twitter!

Any shout outs?

Thanks to all the artists who have accepted bids and allowed their creation to be a part of R&A Art Collection!

Thanks to SuperRare (@superrare), MakersPlace (@makersplaceco), and NiftyGateway (@niftygateway) for hosting great platforms without which collecting wouldn't be possible!

Thanks to the great collectors @metapurse, @MuseumofCrypto, @timrix, @WhaleShark_Pro, and @zontedart for being sources of inspiration in the collecting journey!

Learn more about the collector:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/randaartcollect
• OpenSea: https://opensea.io/accounts/0x0e1ddf0fb2219fab7a2f79ee39b7ea93b1708066
• SuperRare (acquisitions): https://superrare.co/randaartcollection
• SuperRare (storage): https://superrare.co/randaartvault
• MakersPlace: https://makersplace.com/randaartcollection/