The Geek Art Collector (Pau Waelder Laso)

Ombeline Rosset is an art collector who, just a few months ago, started collecting art online and quickly amassed an impressively large collection of NFTs. She has recently joined the team at Objkt.com, an online marketplace for NFTs on the Tezos blockchain, as a curator. In this interview, she explains how she built her collection and shares her views on the current market for NFTs.

Written and hosted by Pau Waelder

Music by Michele Nobler

Special thanks to Ombeline Rosset

The contemporary art market has been taken over by a frenzy of sales of digital artworks minted as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. As the presence of cryptoart becomes pervasive, we take a look at what NFTs are and how to buy an NFT artwork, with some basic tips for any art collector.

Written and hosted by Pau Waelder

Music by Michele Nobler

Selected articles:
M. Franceschet, G. Colavizza, et al. (June 11th, 2019). Crypto Art: A Decentralized View.
Memo Akten (December 14th, 2020). The Unreasonable Ecological Cost of #CryptoArt. Medium.
Studio Joanie Lemercier (February, 2021). The Problem of CryptoArt.
Hrag Vartanian (March 2nd, 2021). The World of NFTs, Explained by Digital Artist Addie Wagenknecht. Hyperallergic.
Michael Connor (March 12th, 2021). Before the Boom. Rhizome.
Tim Schneider (March 18th, 2021). ‘This Was a $69 Million Marketing Stunt’: Why Crypto Purists Say Beeple’s Mega-Millions NFT Isn’t Actually an NFT at All. Artnet. 

NFT marketplaces: Foundation, SuperRare, OpenSea, Hic et Nunc.
Platforms showcasing and selling NFT artworks: Snark.Art, Feral File, Daata, bit.art.
3D environments hosting NFT exhibitions: CryptoVoxels, Decentraland.

Paolo Cirio is one of the first artists to develop a model for selling and collecting digital art using blockchain technologies. Always critical of the economic, social, and cultural systems that form the art world, in this interview he discusses two artworks that address the current developments in the art market: Art Commodities (2014) and Derivatives (2019).

Written and hosted by Pau Waelder

Music by Michele Nobler

Special thanks to Paolo Cirio.

In this episode we explore how the sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips have created bursts of attention to digital art, shaped how it is perceived, and probably, impacted on its future in the art market. Before the current market craze over NFTs, other forms of digital art have been sold at auction and attracted the attention of collectors and the media. We go back eight years and take a look at several auctions focused on web-based art, digital painting, and artificial intelligence art.

Written and hosted by Pau Waelder

Music by Michele Nobler

Sometimes, art collectors experience doubt and remorse after buying an artwork. If this is your case, you can follow this guided meditation to overcome those negative feelings and regain your confidence.

Written and hosted by Pau Waelder

Music by Vaayu

Following a  brief introduction to this podcast and its author, we delve into the  first question anyone collecting art should ask themselves: why collect  art? You will find out about the main motivations of most collectors and  decide which one resonates with you. Also, I explain what I mean by  "geek art collector."

In this episode I mention the following books:

Pau Waelder (2020). You can be a Wealthy/Cash-Strapped Art Collector in the Digital Age. Frankfurt: Printer Fault Press.

Ethan Wagner & Thea Westreich Wagner (2013). Collecting Art for Love, Money and More. London-New York: Phaidon.

Written and hosted by Pau Waelder.

Music by Michele Nobler.