NFT art stage art block shot to prominence With individual examples of generative art created on the platform sold for millions of dollars during the bull run of 2021.
But as Art Blocks creator Eric Calderon aka Snofro points out decryptof the GM Podcast that the platform’s rapid growth “felt unfair, it felt unsustainable.”
He added that the crypto crash has resulted in “quiet” conditions that “make it much easier for me to have rational conversations with humans about art.”
“From a mental health perspective it was not healthy for the Art Blocks as a team, and it was not healthy for the Art Block artists either,” Calderon said of the meteoric rise of the stage in September and October 2021. “Yeah, they were almost meant to make a bunch of money at one drop, but in reality that’s not always healthy, especially when you question the true value of the work.”
In recent weeks, despite the bear market, Calderon noted that “art blocks have begun another resurgence.”
In turn, speculation has reared its head again. “In my journey, and to interact with people in the contemporary art world to bring value to the art blocks outside of our small echo chamber, the conversation turns into speculation again,” he said. decrypt,
Calderon immediately clarified that, “We have no problem with speculation,” but added, “We want to make it clear that’s why we’re not here. We’re happy when you make a bunch of money, and We get frustrated when you lose a bunch of money—but those things are really external to our purpose, which is to host amazing art by amazing artists in this new way.”
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The bear market does not appear to have affected Art Blox’s ambitions; Calderon told decrypt “We want the art blocks to grow, and we realize that time is of the essence,” he said, adding that the platform recently brought in an artistic director.
“We have seen incredible artists on Art Blocks; Some of them have traditional art backgrounds, but a lot of them are computer scientists who feel they have a creative side,” Calderon said.
The new artistic directors will help these nascent artists to develop their careers, he added. “We have to help educate artists on how to handle their careers, to receive criticism, to get feedback to help them not only through their art project, but through their artistic careers.”
Calderon also plans to develop Art Blocks’ engineering team.
“We are very aware of how lucky we are to potentially be in hiring mode,” he said, suggesting that companies hired during a bull market may have outdone themselves. “You really don’t have the luxury of sitting back during a bull market and saying, ‘We’re not hiring until the next bear market because people are being unreasonable with their salary expectations.’ Because then you are left behind.”
After looking at economic cycles before, Calderon pointed out that during bull markets, “incredibly talented people are hired for incredible amounts of money that become untenable during those downtimes.” That, in turn, means that during a recession, “You want to potentially let ten people go, because you want to keep it a superstar, because you pay them too much. You start questioning, right? Well, maybe I can’t pay that person that much, because these other people are leading really normal lives.
Fortunately, he said, this is not a concern for the art bloc, which is “thriving” in the current economy. “We are excited, we are lucky and we feel very privileged to be in the position we are in.”