pixelpete

About pixelpete

pixelpete is a photographer and art collector interested in sharing the art of thoughtful, creative and critical voices making work available in the emerging digital art space while narrowing the knowledge gap of those curious to join it.

After receiving a degree in architecture and practicing in the field for several years, he transitioned his career to photographing the built environment in 2014. During this time he also worked extensively with museums, galleries and artists documenting their work and installations.

In 2017 he had his first introduction to NFTs, dabbling in some early projects. Late in 2020, a close friend founded Art Blocks, a platform for generative art, and brought him on as a member of the curatorial board and later as an advisor. As the photography market gained traction in late 2021, he recognized that his experience as a photographer and designer as well as someone seasoned in cryptocurrencies and NFTs put him in a unique position to share ideas on the creation, collection and curation of art engaging with the blockchain. The aim of this website is to pick up on the latter. Building on that, in 2022 he joined Assembly, a gallery, agency and creative studio focusing on lens-based artists, as an advisor.

Resources for Getting Started

Recommended Reading

NFT Crash Course

Below is an incomplete list of articles, resources and guides covering NFTs from a variety of angles. This ever evolving list is intended to act as a jumping off point for those interested in learning about how this technology — and the art being made that leverages it — might sit within art history and why many of us are so passionate about collecting and supporting the artists doing so.

Must Read / Watch

On Collecting

How To's

Creator FAQs

What is the process for creating and sharing work as an NFT?

A great place to start is Foundation's guide to becoming a creator linked above, which outlines some of the steps involved regardless of which platform/marketplace you ultimately choose to share your work through. Some of the marketplaces worth looking into include SuperRare, Foundation, OpenSea, and LooksRare. There is also a platform called Manifold that allows artists to create their own smart contract to enable them to release their projects more freely whether on other marketplaces or through their own websites. For code-based generative art, specific platforms such as Art Blocks, fxhash and Prohibition allow artists to upload their code to the blockchain and release them directly through their websites.

What rights am I giving up when making work available as NFTs?

Unless otherwise stated in the terms, photographers retain all ownership and rights to their images when making them available as NFTs and grant the rights to display and share the artwork, but collectors do not have any legal ownership, right, or title to any copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights to it.

How do I get my work seen by collectors once I have made it available?

For better or worse, currently Twitter will be your best friend when producing and sharing NFTs. The community there is incredibly strong and supportive, so becoming involved has great advantages both for having your work be discovered and for building a network of like minded peers. Some more established photographers might opt to release their projects with agencies such as Assembly or Fellowship, in which case they will also have the added promotional help from their teams and networks. Ultimately, being genuine and curious as an involved part of the community will go a long way, so don't be shy.

Where can I connect with others in the NFT community?

Community plays a key role in this world, and there is a wealth of knowledge that can be tapped into as a resource in your journey. Much of this takes place on Discord servers and on Twitter, so don't be afraid to try both out if they are new to you!

Collector FAQs

What rights do I receive as a collector of an NFT?

It is important to understand that when purchasing an NFT, we are not purchasing the copyright to an image or program (unless explicitly stated), but instead are receiving a digital token which represents the artwork as a piece of property. For photography, I like to think of this as purchasing a 1/1 digital edition and think of it in the same way that I do when I purchase a physical edition of a photograph. In fact, it is not uncommon for a photographer to sell these alongside one another, just as they have historically offered various edition sizes and runs of single works. So for example, a photographer might offer an edition of 10 prints at 16" x 20" and also offer a single digital edition of that work as an NFT. There are no hard and fast rules about this as we are in a phase of constant experimentation.

What do I receive with my purchase?

Building on the above, the collector is receiving a cryptographic token which represents artwork they are purchasing that is a piece of property which can be held in a digital wallet as proof of ownership and eventually traded or sold if desired. This is one of the areas that can be tough for new people to NFTs to wrap their heads around, but once a larger understanding of the ecosystem is developed, begins to make quite a bit of sense. In the not so distant future, it is widely believed that our digital selves will evolve in a dynamic way that will allow us to share a fuller sense of who we are. This can be done both by the current ways we express ourselves digitally via social media and other outlets, but also now by sharing our interests in the arts and other things via the digital tokens we have taken ownership of.

How do I display my NFTs?

There is no singular answer to this question as it will vary for everyone, but the short answer is that it will often be a hybrid of showing the work virtually and physically. Many photographers offer to send prints to the collectors of their NFTs because they recognize the desire to display physical works. There are also a number of companies working on hardware/software solutions for more fluid ways to display digital works such as Samsung's Frame TV, Danvas, Tokenframe, Infinite Objects and more. As wall space fills up, one of the great things about collecting work in this form is to be able to share it at a much greater scale and with more reach via digital galleries and the like (not dissimilar to this website).

Some examples of digital gallery platforms:

  • Cyber — 3D and virtual galleries
  • Gallery — Scrollable, web-based galleries
  • Deca — Scrollable, web-based galleries
  • Citrus — Dynamic, web-based galleries

Where can I find more resources to help me get involved and learn more?

Given the hurdles we still have to overcome for broader adoption of this ecosystem and its underlying nascent technology, the art-focused NFT community is quite small and because of that, there are many opportunities for connections with those involved. As with the question about creators connecting with the community, this is all about being open to connections and being engaging with others, so check out those resources listed in the last FAQ in the section above. Like artists, collectors are a key part of this growing ecosystem and there is a wealth of knowledge from people eager to share.