The #5TezCollection challenge has been a rich experience for me, taking me on a rollercoaster of excitement, sadness, awe, and shame, and making me wonder about how best to support artists.  My initial reaction to the fxhash announcement was something like, “How am I going to find art worth collecting?  If I do find something worth collecting, isn’t it then underpriced?  Is this something I want to be a part of?”  But then there was a 500 Tez prize to consider, and it seemed like an interesting experiment.  I decided to go for it.

In my collecting, I mainly focused on generative art 100% code with no AI.  I made a few exceptions for generative image compositions, and have one AI piece (accidentally) in the collection.  And I did not want to collect any garbage.  I’m delighted with everything I’ve collected.  Later, I’ll talk more about how we value and undervalue art, and other lessons learned.  But for now, I’ll take you through the chronology of how I collected a whopping 34 pieces. &#x20;

I considered creating a separate wallet to fund, but decided it was a pain and would be easier for me to just keep track of my purchases and fees.  I later discovered that I could download all the transactions on the [tzKT.io site](https://tzkt.io/).  Proof of my purchases and sum to 4.96 Tez can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i7FU5y5EpD12ZFiWGsj4mTZC522wgTEYKPIyC9KLlaw/edit#gid=0).  My gallery.so is [here](https://gallery.so/StevesMakerspace/2PtG1roFdFP25d4v4cHnkLkToCs), and links to all pieces can be found on [my objkt collection page](https://objkt.com/profile/tz1er8utEYj4Y1JiSyuNmzBBqofy92eqwhvi/owned).

I began the morning of May 17 with minting six new tokens on fxhash that were all under 0.2 Tez, including two for free, one at 0.01 Tez, and one param: Azulejos definitivos #93 by maerzhase3000.

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1600180"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1600181"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1EfsNuqwLAWDd3o4pvfUx1CAh5GMdTrRvr" path="token_metadata::40318"}

I then switched to objkt and filtered by keyword “generative” but unfortunately got quite a bit of AI art to wade through (plus some porn).  I also made an error when filtering by price and typed in max of 0.02 instead of 0.2, which is what I intended.  I purchased eight pieces for either 0.01 or 0.015 Tez!  Of course, almost all purchased on objkt were editions, but still that’s a crazy price.  [Details.02 by generatrip](https://objkt.com/asset/hicetnunc/347928) is stunning!

![Details.02 by generatrip](ipfs://QmeRoDfvKcYcQsMBpQ26AZp7pj5SoxmNkXmHLLUr4N69Hn)

![FlowGen #4 by seyahrednaxela](ipfs://QmZCKPKoSXfjfaV12AkkbhZUq2c45JFVdoMAJM5avyPoDX)

![dance of lines #32 \[negative\] by anonymous ](ipfs://QmPfcEr7BGtuPWJRkpb3hyTGLr3nF5tqWM89tVAkPkK4WN)

When I realized my error, I switched to 0.2 max, but then was getting pretty excited.  How much could I collect on this shopping spree?  I collected thirteen pieces on objkt for 0.2 max.  I discovered later that [Monoliths fx(crash) 14](https://objkt.com/asset/KT1QHEecM3gtwmGih8Nod5RJGpN7P4ns471o/13) was AI art created (co-created?) by Proneftium.  Oops.  It’s absolutely gorgeous, so I’m leaving it in.  Reflections #59 by andronov04 and Invasion #196 by Red Lobster were originally fxhash projects. &#x20;

![Monoliths fx(crash) 14 by Proneftium + AI](ipfs://QmehGGmpSwh6ewropANZUr5RyLVSF11nYvyfxzhVR8jRhk)

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1530139"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1198301"}

![Intertwining #31 by Simmonstummer](ipfs://QmdcKPfoBXTe6Ks93p7KFoyxCM3y1pRANnaWV9zkmQNmjU)

I couldn’t believe how much I had at this point, and decided to switch back to fxhash for the end of my journey.  I upped the max to 0.25 and got six more there with a mix of minting and secondary purchases.  This included minting one param: Sequentia #116 by Nate Nolting.  I also received an invitation from Marnix Keller to make him an offer for the challenge, so I picked up Gentle Force #90 for 0.1 Tez, which he had on sale for 2 Tez.  Slightly cheating there, I guess.  That makes a whopping 34 pieces collected for 4.96 Tez, all in one day!  (or 33 if we don’t count Gentle Force)

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1EfsNuqwLAWDd3o4pvfUx1CAh5GMdTrRvr" path="token_metadata::40596"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1565335"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1600231"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1411053"}

Besides all that, to give people something of mine for their challenges, I lowered the price of my Morphing Mandala on fxhash (leftover from #fxhashTurnsOne) from 1 Tez to 0.1, and then published [Lucious Flow on objkt](https://objkt.com/asset/KT19F1MZRrUKgUZMkp2oqQAzFTUCw6BCdusX/0): 300 editions for 0.1 Tez.

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1BJC12dG17CVvPKJ1VYaNnaT5mzfnUTwXv" path="ledger::21201" data_spec="FX-GEN-DATA-002"}

![Lucious Flow by Steve's Makerspace](ipfs://QmUkGceFfKuHJvnqw2G3t9z27zZx6S6MiDjsi9qH13tppw)

This shopping spree was incredibly exciting and fun, and I am in awe of the incredible quality offered by the community.  At the same time, there was a little voice throughout the process telling me there was something not right about the whole thing.  And then I read [Wanda Oliver’s article](https://www.fxhash.xyz/article/5tezcollection) where she says “… I made no attempt at volume. I did not want to over emphasize how ridiculously we undervalue our artists, so I focused on pieces priced at .5tz to 3tz…”  I totally respect that, and part of me thought, “Oh no!  What have I done!”&#x20;

And this got me thinking about the many times I’ve struggled to price my art, and the sick feeling of seeing very few sales at the opening.  We artists put so much time and energy into making something beautiful, into something we’re proud of, and then to not have our work sell… well, it can send me into a tailspin.  And that’s when there’s a temptation to burn some supply to make it look less pathetic, or to drop the prices to ridiculous levels.  Wanting to drop the price is partly a desperation to sell what we’ve wrought, but there’s also a real desire to see all the possible iterations, especially when using params.  For two pieces I recently released in this bear market and which are undersold ([Espresso Dreams](https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/26245) and [Traveling Circus](https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/27045)), I’ve resisted the urge to lower the price or burn supply.  I’m going to let it ride and slowly mint out.  But for the two pieces I offered up for 0.1 Tez, I only felt excited about helping other collectors participate in the challenge. &#x20;

I’ve been wondering whether I should choose to not release art, and to stockpile projects for some future date when the market (hopefully) recovers.  (I would continue to create and share on social media.)  If demand is low, but supply remains high, it perpetuates low demand because investors see no opportunity for resale.  The way to stimulate the market then, is to lower supply.  Some of that occurs naturally as artists don’t see value in offering up their art, but the problem is that we artists love to sell our art, so we might be stuck in a bear market for a while.  If only we could wake up previous collectors and get them interested again.  I suppose this challenge was an attempt to do so, but **perhaps we need a 100 Tez challenge** instead.  I’d be happy to participate in that!

This challenge gave me the opportunity to discover new artists, and to tweet out their work.  And I plan to look for more underpriced art, not to be cheap, but to find more unknown artists, and to spread the word about them, so that their next project might be more successful.  The challenge also opened up a conversation about the struggle we artists go through valuing our work.  I would encourage artists to price your work based on what you think it’s worth and resist the urge to lower prices.  Also know that number sold is only one way to value work, and that if you loved what you produced, and perhaps a few others loved it too, then your work has value.  And your value as a person is not determined by number sold, or even by the quality of your work.  We’re not here to sell products.  We’re here to enjoy life, to be kind, and to create and share our beauty with the world. &#x20;

*Steve's Makerspace - generative artist, collector, and* [YouTuber](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJjYUJudUW67Tg79jtF_rpQ) *making gen art how-to videos.  Empowering gen artists to share their gold with the world.*

![Pic of me put through Deep Dream Generator style transfer](ipfs://QmenyhFiCBw7rWfBrsgTYtbKuR2gstzWXbCEMBG4JAe2ZQ)



The #5TezCollection challenge brought me excitement and awe, and also sadness and frustration.  As artists, what does it mean to see our work undersell?  As collectors, how do we best support artists?

Generative artist and YouTuber making gen art how-tos, physics-based gaming vids.  I like logic, patterns, and art, and talking about creativity.  Besides Twitter, find me at: https://www.youtube.com/c/StevesMakerspace

The Value of Art: Thoughts on the #5TezCollection Challenge

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