How and what to collect
What are NFTs?
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique digital files that exist on a blockchain. In theory, every NFT is unique and, therefore, non-fungible (transferrable). Like cryptocurrencies, their success relies on the security and unique features of the blockchain.
Why SuperRare?
There is a lot of NFT artwork out there now, and not all of it seems to hold value as contemporary art. My interest is in helping create and share NFTs made by contemporary artists that are as much a part of their practice as anything else they create. I’m focused on just those NFTs that are made by pioneering contemporary artists - those who are exploring and really excited by the possibilities of the new media, new platform and new audience.
SuperRare is one platform that specialises in only the best NFTs - what they refer to as true crypto art. They curate what they show, displaying progressive work and art from better-known NFT creators. SuperRare wants to be the high-end art dealer of the NFT world, all powered by the Ethereum blockchain.
SO HOW DO YOU BUY AN NFT ON SUPERRARE?
SuperRare refers to buyers as "collectors," and any crypto art purchased on SuperRare is automatically displayed in a user's collection. There are a few steps to follow to become a SuperRare collector and be able to purchase NFTs.
1. Register a wallet
Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs are stored in digital wallets. SuperRare doesn't provide a native wallet; as with most DeFi processes, users start by linking their own third-party wallets. SuperRare currently supports a number of digital wallets – I’ve been very happy with MetaMask.
2. Create an account
Once a wallet is connected, users need to set up a username and password, then follow a simple verification process. Users will need to accept (also known as 'signing) the prompts that come up on their wallet to finalise their account. After that, they're ready to start collecting!
3. Browse NFTs on SuperRare
Once you've created an account, navigating SuperRare's site is quite simple. Scrolling down from the landing page will reveal the activity feed, which displays artwork for sale and auctions that are ending.
The Market tab displays everything currently available. You can adjust the display to show Artists or Artwork, and add further criteria to narrow down your search. This is the easiest way for newcomers to SuperRare to sort through various artworks they might wish to purchase.
One key feature of the platform is the Features tab. This is the SuperRare digital showroom, where special collections are hosted and collaborations promoted. For newcomers to the NFT world, it might feel a bit overwhelming, but for fans of NFTs and crypto art, the Features section is a great way to see the best of what SuperRare has to offer. Greg Rook Advisory’s first two shows - A lot of what I’m about to tell you is made up and From can see to can’t see are visible there.
4. Buy an NFT on SuperRare
Once you've familiarised yourself with the SuperRare interface, you can now find an NFT you wish to purchase. The actual buying process is relatively simple and depends on the sale type of the asset. Some NFTs are only available via auction – meaning you can make an offer to the seller who will then accept it or let the auction run.
The other options are 'buy it now' NFTs, which can be purchased for a flat price. Users can also make an offer for these artworks too if they don't wish to pay the list price.
Ensure that you have the required amount of cryptocurrency (which will be ETH) in your connected wallet for the art. Then, simply click on 'Buy Now' or 'Make An Offer' depending on the NFTs' list type.
From there, follow the prompts on SuperRare as well as your wallet to confirm the transaction. When the sale has been executed, the NFT will be on display in the Collections tab of your profile.
5. SuperRare commission for collectors
One of SuperRare's biggest claims to fame is the use of the blockchain to make artists' commissions standard. Every secondary sale of an NFT on SuperRare will pay the artist 10% of the sale price, in perpetuity. This means the original creator always gains a reward from his work, no matter how many times it changes hands.
The platform has recently gone one step further – there's now a collector's commission as well - 1% must be paid to the first collector. The first collector can purchase an NFT, resell it, and then gain 1% of the sale price the next time the NFT changes hands. Unlike the creator's commission, the collector's commission degrades over time by 50%, until it is exhausted. There's even a secondary collector's commission, where the second collector earns a 0.5% commission on subsequent sales, which also degrades.
As a collector you will continue to earn from future sales.
My Recommendations
All of the NFTs from the first two Greg Rook Advisory shows have sold, but the exhibiting artists have continued to ‘drop’ NFTs since. I would recommend the following.
Lottie Stoddart
Passing Storm
A sound-filled, stop-motion animation enacted within a diorama built from collage. The sounds and sights of an ominous thunderstorm as it scuds across an angelic heaven, causing flashes of lightening to reverberate across the sky. These collaged, low-fi, theatrical boxes usually lie dormant in the studio with activity having moved offstage or frozen at a particular moment in time, but here in the world of NFTs, animation has given life to this cloud-filled chamber.
Andy Holden
Eyes in Space (II)
The universe is looking back
Phoebe Unwin
Other People
Flickering forms of a crowded space: a recent work on paper animated.
James Scott Brooks
Postcard Typologies: Italian Cities II
An animation utilising a series of works on paper which explore Italian cities as specific geometric surface areas. Through animated movement, the cities as cartographic flatlands alter, influence, transform each other through rotational time.
And finally, the timed auction of the NFT collaboration between Ansel Krut and Jem Finer.
The Auction starts at 6pm on Thursday 7th October.
Ansel Krut
Profile With Pipe (music by Jem Finer)
An experiment with sound: This image is of a military man; we know because of the cap and the beard and the pipe. But also because of his fixed stare and rigid attitude; his profile is emblematic not just of him but of everything he stands for. He’s actually taken from a drawing made by the Italian Futurist Filipo Marinetti in 1918. Marinetti intended him as ridiculous even then but here he is made doubly so with the addition of a red nose that pulls itself forward and snaps back onto his face, over and over again as the animation loops on itself. His conflicted dignity and abjection, his comic militarism, is played out in the music, composed and performed by Jem Finer. You can hear allusions to the distant sound of martial music, the clanking of war machines, the melancholy notes of the battlefield, overlaid with the slapstick sound of the slow stretching out of his elasticated nose followed by it whizzing back at speed to slap onto his face.
Music composed and performed by Jem Finer.