The Way the World Is Going to End
By: David Paredes
Tags: Nft, Gambling, Annibalesiconolfi, Niftygateway, Digital Art

The Way the World Is Going to End

“The Way the World Is Going to End”

This is a story about gambling and art, and it begins in early March 2021.

Like many others, I’d begun to hear about NFTs on the news with the infamous Beeple auction where he sold a compilation of his NFTs for $69M at Christie’s.

The more I began to research, a single factor stood out to me as one of the most important reasons why NFTs (and particularly NFT art) would become huge: artist royalties. It seems simple, but people respond to economic incentives. An artist in the traditional art market only makes money on the primary sale of their work. For example, Basquiat sold his first painting to Blondie for $200 in 1981. Basquiat received $200. If Blondie, years later, sold that work to someone else for $10M, Jean-Michel would receive $0. This is a deeply flawed system.

NFTs, existing on the blockchain, make it very easy to embed a royalty percentage (typically 10%) into the contract itself, such that every subsequent sale rewards the artist. In the case of Basquiat, he’d get $1M. This single, seemingly small change means that an entire generation of artists will naturally gravitate toward the medium that pays them over the long run. By the way, there’s no reason that the traditional art world couldn’t use blockchain technology, but right now, by and large, it isn’t doing so.

There has been a tremendous amount written about whether or not digital art, JPEGs, if you will, should qualify as art. I’m no art expert, so I’m not going to touch that here. I believe that digital art is simply another medium (sketching, watercolor, painting, sculpting, etc.) for expression. Certain aspects of the medium confer some nice advantages over traditional art: clear establishment of provenance, ease of collecting, and community interaction between collectors and artists. I believe these attributes will make NFTs an integral part of the future of art, even at the most exclusive galleries, auction houses, and eventually museums.

I started collecting art on the site Niftygateway.com (NG) on March 3rd, 2021. Niftygateway, at the time (and arguably still to this day), was “drop-driven,” meaning that the main page directs you to the particular artist whose work is being released that day. The first piece of art I bought was simply the artist whose work dropped that day: Trevor Andrew, “Acid Flashback.”

https://media.niftygateway.com/video/upload/q_auto:good,w_500/v1614376578/A/GucciGhost/Acid_Flashbacks_cnmklb.mp4

The piece cost $3500. It was an open edition which meant that during a specific time window, say 15 minutes, as many people who wished to purchase that particular piece could do so. 273 people bought “Acid Flashback.” The piece did not particularly resonate with me, but it was my favorite of those released that day. I soon learned that there was an entire secondary market where one could view Niftygateway’s entire library of art and one didn’t have to buy work only released that day. Ten days later, I sold the piece for a loss ($2999; after the artist and site fees, my total recoup was ~$2500, a quick -$1000 ten-day loss). Today that same piece trades for ~$700.

I began to quickly immerse myself in the space, following various seemingly knowledgeable people on Twitter, joining Discord channels, reading articles, watching documentaries and films about art, basically giving myself a quick crash course in art, digital art, and NFT technology. The NFT community is very passionate, and at least for now, people are willing to share information and strategy, similar to online poker in the mid-2000s and the twoplustwo.com message board, where top pros who are now household names would regularly post strategy free for anyone to read. Now, those same pros charge for that information, and soon, most likely, the most knowledgeable minds of the NFT space will do the same. But for now, people are very friendly, and I’ve made virtual friends with a number of people who I chat with on a regular basis, even meeting a few in real life. Artists also host their own Discord channels where they chat with their collectors and fans. Imagine being able to chat with Banksy or George Condo on a regular basis. I’ve refined my taste (I think) by regularly showing work I was interested in, to artists whose opinions I respect. NessGraphics, in particular, has helped me many times to distinguish between skill, and well, less skill. Just like in poker, game recognizes game.

I started my digital art collection with a simple strategy: collect work I love by artists whose careers also seemed destined for ascension, longevity, and success. I wanted to not only buy artists whose work I would enjoy looking at every day if I were to hang a display on my wall, but also who would have auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby's. A few of the artists I’ve collected have had that type of success. At the time of this writing, I own 6 works by the 18-year old Fewocious, who has been profiled in the New York Times. A few months after I started to collect his work, he became the youngest artist ever to have a solo show at Christie's. He had 5 lots, each of which sold for anywhere from $400,000 — $500,000 (after the auction house premium). Not bad for an 18-year old kid.

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This brings me to the main thrust of this post, which is my collaboration on a 1/1 NFT work of art by Annibale Siconolfi (aka Inward3d). I learned about Annibale’s work by seeing the preview for his genesis drop on Niftygateway, entitled “Utopia vs Dystopia: Different Visions of The Future” (which took place 5/3/2021). I was immediately drawn to his 3D worldscapes as well as his incredible attention to detail, leaving the viewer constantly searching for new discoveries within each piece. His work felt like a deeply imagined glimpse into the future, sometimes good, sometimes scary, and sometimes a little bit of both — the art equivalent of a great science fiction novel.

As I began to research Annibale’s work and fall in love with it, I found he had several pieces on the platform of Nifty’s main competitor, Superrare.com, a site focusing strictly on 1/1’s (meaning there is only one copy of each piece, as opposed to a multi-edition piece, where there can be many copies). I saw that those Superrare pieces traded in the 15–20k range, which was my upper limit in terms of price point for collecting any single NFT. Nonetheless, I was determined to acquire one of Annibale’s 1/1s, and my determination only grew stronger when I saw that he included a completely novel type of quest in his Niftygateway drop. The drop consisted of 6 pieces total, 3 Utopia and 3 Dystopia; if one were able to acquire all 3 of a particular theme, say dystopia, there was a prize. The prize was something I had never seen before on Niftygateway: the chance to design a custom-made artwork in collaboration with the artist.

I loaded approximately $30,000 into my Niftygateway account hoping it would be enough to win the 1/1 at the public auction. It would actually be the first 1/1 public auction I had participated in (I had done some silent auctions for multi-edition works, but nothing like this). I wasn’t sure who the other bidders might be, but I came prepared to battle. The piece I was attempting to win, entitled “The Hidden City,” can be seen below:

“The Hidden City,” by Annibale Siconolfi #1/1.

As it turns out, 1/1 bidding wars can be both thrilling and terrifying. My opposition in the quest for “The Hidden City,” and the prize of collaborating on a special 1/1, turned out to be legendary NFT art collector @antagonist4ever. He was actually bidding on BOTH pieces (the Utopia 1/1 and the Dystopia 1/1). The auction was 24 hours long, and the prices steadily escalated heading into the final hours. I put in my first bid at $9999, and shortly after, antagonist4ever (what a fitting name for, well, an antagonist) came back with a bid of $11,111. This wasn’t going to be easy. There’s a function where, during the last 5 minutes of the auction, if an additional bid is submitted, the auction “resets” with another 5 minutes of time. I quickly realized that my best chance to win this piece was actually to *delay* the auction as long as possible, hoping that he would win the OTHER 1/1, Utopia, and then he might capitulate and let me win Dystopia. So I waited out the clock with each incremental bid till the last few seconds, then rebid, all while my eyes were glued to the 1/1 Utopia auction.

The bidding war.

With great relief, I saw that antagonist4ever finally won the other auction, and I submitted a final bid with seconds to go for $21,111.00. And that was it: I watched the clock tick down, antagonist didn’t put in a counterbid, and I won. I was extremely thankful.

As the weeks went on, and I began to speak with Annibale on Discord and over Zoom about my ideas for the custom artwork, I appreciated his art even more. In our conversations, he described his thought processes, his ideas, some of the nuances, as well as his inspirations. We formed a nice friendship, and he treated all of my ideas with respect and optimism. One of the great privileges of digital art is accessibility to the artists themselves, and here I was not only getting to interact with the artist but to collaborate on a piece with him.

The idea for the piece came to me, as Biggie said, “like a song I wrote,” almost as soon as I decided to go for the Dystopia Quest. I’ve been around gambling and casinos my entire adult life, and I wanted the artwork to touch on some of the themes, both philosophical and humanitarian, that I feel encompass what casinos mean for our culture and society as a whole. A passage in the first book I read about gambling over 20 years ago made a big impression on me when I read it and has continued to resonate with me as I have seen gambling culture and casinos proliferate across America and around the world. The book is called “Casino Gambling for the Winner,” by Lyle Stuart, published in 1978. It even has a blurb from Mario Puzo, the author of The Godfather.

The passage, from Chapter 2, entitled “The beginning of knowledge,” reads as follows:

“it’s the way the world is going to end.”

The author (who later became quite well known in gambling circles for publishing a book about Steve Wynn which cited a New Scotland Yard report linking Wynn to the Genovese Crime Family), describes his friend explaining to him why he should take a visit to Las Vegas, cautioning: “it’s the way the world is going to end.” This was in 1956.

Reading the passage now, the words seem almost like prophecy. Casinos, and gambling culture in general (whether it’s the stock market, crypto, lotteries, etc.), have taken up a large space in the psyche of everyday people, and casinos themselves have expanded far beyond the desert of Las Vegas.

So I approached Annibale with the idea of casinos and gambling culture as a dystopian vision of the future, and this notion sparked a conversation about literature and one of his favorite authors, Philip K. Dick, whose mind gave us some of the most iconic sci-fi stories in history, including “Blade Runner,” “Total Recall,” and “The Man in the High Castle”. Annibale’s favorite novel of Dick’s is called “Ubik,” published in 1969, set in a dystopian future world where the moon has been colonized and the use of psychic powers and cryogenic technology is utilized for corporate warfare. Ubik is a store-bought product (in the form of an aerosol spray can) that can reverse deterioration. Dick’s wife has said about Ubik: “Ubik is a metaphor for God. Ubik is all-powerful and all-knowing, and Ubik is everywhere. The spray can is only a form that Ubik takes to make it easy for people to understand it and use it. It is not the substance inside the can that helps them, but rather their faith in the promise that it will help them.”

Ubik

As I researched further, I learned that Dick, who avidly used psychedelics, described having a fundamental experience (or hallucination) that had greatly affected him, and he believed, imparted wisdom and clairvoyance. From Wiki:

The pink beam of light

It’s easy to dismiss stories like this (pink beam? glinting off of a woman’s ichthys necklace?) as apocryphal until you consider the source. Philip K. Dick created some of the most powerful science fiction stories the world has ever known — who is to say he didn’t have a special insight, like some other great artists, into humanity and the future? I thought the inclusion of this symbol, the pink beam of light and its association with clairvoyance and special wisdom, into Annibale’s artwork, could counterbalance the dystopian theme.

I also wanted to include a nod to the city I was born and raised in, New York City. As of now, there are no casinos in Manhattan, but I wouldn't be surprised if someday there are, in the not too distant future.

So I started with three relatively simple inputs:

Dystopian futuristic world of casinos Pink beam of light New York City

And then Annibale went to work. And work he did. The piece took several months, numerous conversations, and three drafts, to complete. At every juncture, Annibale was incredibly communicative and easygoing, and I felt at some point, that we both knew the piece could be something really special. When he sent me the final version, I was struck that Annibale managed to capture the essence of the ideas and communicate them so seemingly effortlessly to the viewer. The level of detail in this piece is extraordinary. Everything is carefully thought out, from the reflection in the water, to the time of day, to the almost toxic-green sky. I felt incredibly proud to have worked on this with Annibale, and I think the piece manages to say something about the world in a meaningful, beautiful way.

Please enjoy: “The Way the World Is Going to End,” by Annibale Siconolfi, with an assist from skysthelimit.

“The Way the World Is Going to End”

It’s only been about half a year since I began my NFT journey, but as anyone who has participated in it can tell you, it feels like a lifetime. I’m so thankful for this amazing opportunity to co-create a piece with an artist that I believe will be a major force to reckon with in the future, and whose career I hope to see blossom to incredible heights. I am proud to own an amazing work of art that I will be able to display in my home one day, and that I can look back on with fond memories of my entry into the space itself. Nothing would make me happier than hearing your thoughts about this essay, the journey, and the piece, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @gaucho2121 or in the comments.

Thank you to everyone for reading this, thank you to Annibale for giving me the chance to feel like an artist myself for a brief period of time, and thank you to my wife Caitlin, for tolerating all of this insanity.

PS. In the NFT space, people often go by screennames, Annibales is Inward3d, mine is skysthelimit.