PhotoVerso #23
The Collector's Guide to Blockchain Photography
Editor’s Notes
NFT NYC
Yesterday, we released our first special issue for PhotoVerso members, A Picture Person’s Guide to NFT NYC. The issue previews NFT NYC’s less publicized blockchain photography events, as well as a few nuggets for the photography afficionado.
And yes, we’ll be in town. Drop us a line if you will be too.
Spaces with Kris Graves Projects
This week, we also had the chance to sit down for a Spaces talk with KGP NFT along with collector and PhotoVerso friend Jeff Excell. We talked about the origins of our newsletter, how it developed, and the conversation then shifted to a great chat about finding community within the NFT ecosystem. Look out for the recap in podcast form this week, if you missed it.

Snapshot
I. Highlights from Takeover Tuesday
II. Collection Spotlight
Simon de Reyer
III. The Latest
Assembly
BigHugsNFT
Foundation
IV. Collector’s Corner
Curation and Blockchain (Native) Photography
Highlights from Takeover Tuesday
This past week we also hosted prominent photo collector and artist advocate Chikai for our Twitter Takeover series, where he shared some highlights from his collection and philosophized on photography’s value on the blockchain.
Here are some great threads from Chikai we recommend you catch up on.



Collection Spotlight
Simon de Reyer
This week we share two small collections by photographic artist and performer Simon de Reyer.
The first is the artist’s most recent collection, titled Overpainted Photographs, a hyrbridized body of work merging painting and photography created rich and energetic gestural marks. The work feels at home in a blockchain native environment while spanning the physicial and virtual devide with imagery that appears made specifically for the screen. As of now there are only four pieces in the collection, and we hope to see it grow.
The second of de Reyer’s collections is titled Uncertain Paradise, a small self-portrait series in which the photographer embraces his performative instincts to examine emblems of the male body and its assumed roles. The artist descrives the work as a means to capture a “wakeful dream of a troubled utopia, an uncertain paradise.”
The Latest
Assembly
Assembly recently announced a partnership with Gallery, a Web3 platform allowing collectors to curate and craft presentations of their collections. Owners of work released by Assembly were granted allow-list access to the beta version of Gallery’s platform. The snapshot occured this week, and Assembly is promising further exclusive perks to its collector community.


Big Hugs Podcast
BigHugsNFT has released its third episode of Utility, its podcast on photography collecting which aims to achieve a more personal and meaningful dialogue about collecting in the NFT space. Presented by collectors Jeff Excell and bthemouth, we’re personally big fans. If you’re in the mood for a listen, find the link below.


Foundation
At long last, Foundation announced that it is incorporating Manifold custom smart contracts in its platform, allowing artists to push further in professionalizing their NFT practice by owning their own smart contract.


With the madness that is NFT NYC coming up right around the corner, we’re calling this a light news week to free up your capacity for enjoying the best of what New York has to offer. Tune in next week for a retrospective on the happenings, and a return to our regular programming.
Collector’s Corner
Curation in Blockchain Native Photography
Emergence of New Formats
Recently, the need for curation in blockchain photography sparked conversation. Driven by collector’s needs for help finding work that pushes boundaries in a quickly expanding market, the conversation raises questions about the future of curatorial practice. Today we address two of those:
What qualifies art curators?
How does curation in NFT world differ from the TradArt (if we can call it that) practice?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to PhotoVerso to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.