Seek collectors who value art beyond profit

Eric P. Rhodes

Eric P. Rhodes

In the world of onchain art, collectors play a crucial role in supporting and amplifying the work of artists. But too often, collectors enter the space with an investment-first mindset, driven by potential returns rather than a genuine appreciation for the art itself. This approach can undermine the artist’s work, reducing it to a mere asset rather than a meaningful piece of creative expression.

I believe it’s time for artist to take more control. Artists should seek out collectors who are not just buying art for its financial potential but because they truly value the art and the artist behind it. These are the collectors who see the humanity in the work, who care about the stories being told, and who engage with the art on a deeper level.

Art should be about more than just numbers and floor prices. It’s about connection, storytelling, and shared experiences. By actively seeking collectors who respect and understand this, artists can build more authentic relationships that honor their work. It’s not just about finding buyers—it’s about finding people who care, who support the artist’s journey, and who believe in the art for what it is, not just what it’s worth on the market.

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

❓Cryptoart Question of the Week ❓ How do you feel about the idea of assigning a "floor price" to an Artist? Does it help or hurt the perception of an artist’s value?

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

@garycartlidge @maxcapacity.eth @batsoupyum @niftytime.eth @downshift.eth @joanwestenberg.eth would love to know what your thoughts are on the question above ☝🏼

Alex Mack 🏔️Farcaster
Alex Mack 🏔️
Commented 10 months ago

No one can “assign” a price to an artists work except the artist themselves. Also floor price insinuates and artists worth is largely reflective of their lowest sale price / bid which - in my opinion and we’ve seen in many cases over the years - can be quite toxic

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

i disagree. a price is often assigned to an artists work without input from the artist all the time. auction houses, collectors, etc. all assign a price. that said, i agree that the idea of a "floor price" is toxic, but as many have pointed out. it's likely here to stay. so what can artist do to balance that out on their end?

Alex Mack 🏔️Farcaster
Alex Mack 🏔️
Commented 10 months ago

Ignore the noise, continue creating dope art and cutting out toxic narratives that get in their way ✌️

Carlos28355.artFarcaster
Carlos28355.art
Commented 10 months ago

I think only floor price really matters with flippers and people buying from very popular high selling artist I never buy an art from someone thinking of price. I don’t think I would like if I was “assigned a floor price. “ feels like too much added pressure 🤷‍♂️

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

Yeah; it is a lot of pressure. Especially if the floor price keeps going down over time and a trend analysis of an artists value is being discussed. Seems like a slippery slope to me.

niftytimeFarcaster
niftytime
Commented 10 months ago

Couple of thoughts: 1) floor prices are unavoidable in this space; they're simply a fact of crypto life 2) folks that primarily focus on floor prices when it comes to art and artists either add zero value since their focus is on such a surface level factor or negatively impact artists by drawing attention to negative floor movement

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

I've been thinking about it #2 a lot. about how artists need to be doing their part and engaging with collectors who add value (beyond buying art) to their practice. https://paragraph.xyz/@epr/seek-collectors-who-value-art-beyond-profit

niftytimeFarcaster
niftytime
Commented 10 months ago

100% - collector curation is a massively underrated but hugely important lever that artists can pull on Part of the art behind choosing specific release mechanisms imho

CATS WILL EAT YOU 🎩🎨Farcaster
CATS WILL EAT YOU 🎩🎨
Commented 10 months ago

i think it's the stupidest thing. there's no such thing as a floor price for 1/1 works by an artist. this mindset does not help artists or real art collectors... maybe beneficial to short term investors/gamblers.

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

while i agree, it's almost unavoidable though with the way price information is displayed and discussed. what's one way to shift this narrative?

CATS WILL EAT YOU 🎩🎨Farcaster
CATS WILL EAT YOU 🎩🎨
Commented 10 months ago

when given the opportunity to talk about why there’s different prices on my 1/1s I just explain that they’re unique pieces that have different value to me. Some pieces I care deeply about and some I just think are rad looking etc.

██████████Farcaster
██████████
Commented 10 months ago

It's stupid. Anyone who thinks each intrinsically created original artwork by any artist should have a floor price is a moron.

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

i agree, and yet the idea permeates. what do you think is driving this?

██████████Farcaster
██████████
Commented 10 months ago

crypto. As I always stated, NFTs were born from devs/coders that were inherently cryptocurrency traders. Basically p2p trading was inbuilt to the core ethos of it's creation. 🤷‍♂️

antwoman.base.ethFarcaster
antwoman.base.eth
Commented 10 months ago

I think floor price is relevant to projects and not so much for 1/1 artists. Artists value comes from so many different aspects besides price. And it’s a complex dynamic thing that can’t be determined by something so rigid.

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

I agree! But there is a prevailing conversation in the space about artist's floor prices. What do you think is causing that?

antwoman.base.ethFarcaster
antwoman.base.eth
Commented 10 months ago

I think a lot of people in the space don’t care/understand art. There’s a mixing of all worlds- gaming, finance, stocks ext.. which has a positive side, but art and artists sometimes get hurt by that approach.

Gary CartlidgeFarcaster
Gary Cartlidge
Commented 10 months ago

I believe it hinder far more than it helps. Tax harvesting in long term art collectors is necessary and an accepted practice however this means without doing anything wrong an artist will lose value or bare minimum be hindered with more work to uphold it.

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

that's a good point, the collector side of things is something i think more artists should consider. we often hear artists say something like "collectors should care more about artists" and i would argue that it goes both ways. artists should also care about their collectors.

Gary CartlidgeFarcaster
Gary Cartlidge
Commented 10 months ago

💯 10 $RARE

💥 BIG COMIC ART ® 💥Farcaster
💥 BIG COMIC ART ® 💥
Commented 10 months ago

So would you like me to raise all my prices so you can't afford any of my artwork? Meanwhile, here's some artwork by Joey Chips.

Eric P. RhodesFarcaster
Eric P. Rhodes
Commented 10 months ago

My opinion is that the idea of an "artist floor price" is reductive and limiting. Not that artworks have a floor price.

💥 BIG COMIC ART ® 💥Farcaster
💥 BIG COMIC ART ® 💥
Commented 10 months ago

Eric P Rhodes is a legend. 50 $RARE

Seek collectors who value art beyond profit