The nnxyz Rooms
The story

2022

The year most of the collection was drawn, month by month, with the market, the posts and the purchases beside the drawings.

Most of this collection was drawn in one year. Of the 548 nnxyz drawings here, 425 are dated 2022, and the artist's ledger shows 435 inks created on the board that year, out of 595 in three. It was also the year the collector arrived, the year the artist began publishing on other chains, and the year the crypto market fell twice. This page lays them beside each other, month by month. The prose is the gallery's; the block after each month is the record, with the rooms where that month's drawings hang.

January

The year opens quietly. Twenty-nine inks, seventeen of them Faces and eleven of New Nifty on the Block, which had begun on December 8 and was past #20. On January 28 the artist posted "100 nifties," the drawing for one hundred inks on the board, and "dropped this piece into the pockets of some niftians." The collector had not yet found the board.

January 2022, from the record

  • 29 inks drawn on Nifty Ink
  • 7 sales on the board, 71 xDai
  • 7 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 1 ink by others

Drawn this month and hanging in Modelled in Light (5), Crossed-Out Eyes (4), Line Figures and Crowds (4), Skeletons and Monsters (4), Heads Built from Boxes (3), Skulls and Shadows (3), Clean Lines, Flat Color (2), Painted Figures, Places and Color Fields (2), Framed Heads, First Masks (1) and Occasions and Figures (1).

February

The artist's first Ethereum wallet is funded on February 1 by austingriffith.eth, who built the board. Forty-seven inks, the busiest month of the project so far, and the best sales month until May: nineteen payments, 268 xDai, most of it from a few regulars. The faces are still the main work; the crowds and silhouettes of On the Block are beginning.

February 2022, from the record

  • 47 inks drawn on Nifty Ink, 43 of them in this collection
  • 19 sales on the board, 268 xDai
  • 10 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 2 inks by others
  • February 1, 2022 The artist. austingriffith.eth funds the artist's first Ethereum wallet with 0.06 ETH.

Drawn this month and hanging in Crossed-Out Eyes (9), Skulls and Shadows (8), Clean Lines, Flat Color (8), Skeletons and Monsters (7), Painted Figures, Places and Color Fields (4), Heads Built from Boxes (2), Faces in the Tangle (2), Modelled in Light (2) and Line Figures and Crowds (1).

March

On March 2 the artist writes out why Nifty Ink: "Easy and fun entry into the NFT space for artists. Tool works without problems. No entry costs." On March 20 The Weekly Thing recommends the board to its readers, found through its Gitcoin grant: "not about going to the moon." On March 30 the first Abstract paintings are minted on Polygon. The same month, fifty-one unsold editions are minted to the dead address, the first sign of the closing that would take over the autumn.

March 2022, from the record

  • 31 inks drawn on Nifty Ink, 30 of them in this collection
  • 15 sales on the board, 152 xDai
  • 51 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 36 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 6 inks by others
  • March 2, 2022 The artist. The artist posts why they work on Nifty Ink: easy and fun entry, no entry costs, an active community.
  • March 20, 2022 The collector. The Weekly Thing #216 recommends Nifty Ink, found through its Gitcoin grant: not about going to the moon, all about fun.
  • March 30, 2022 The artist. The fifty-two Abstract paintings begin minting on Polygon, through April 4.

Drawn this month and hanging in Clean Lines, Flat Color (5), Line Figures and Crowds (4), Painted Figures, Places and Color Fields (4), Faces in the Tangle (3), Modelled in Light (3), Skulls and Shadows (3), Crossed-Out Eyes (3), Skeletons and Monsters (3), Heads Built from Boxes (1) and Black Silhouettes (1).

April

The month everything starts. The artist's busiest month on X, 311 posts, most of them the Abstract gifts and the pixel twins: forty-six Abstract paintings go to the board's regulars from April 2, and from April 27 every holder of a Nifty Face receives its "px" twin. The collector buys Nifty Faces #109 on April 14, draws UKRAINE on April 23, and on April 25 receives "200 nifties" minted straight into his wallet. Thirty-one inks drawn.

April 2022, from the record

  • 31 inks drawn on Nifty Ink, 29 of them in this collection
  • 15 sales on the board, 246 xDai
  • The collector buys 6 works for 106 xDai
  • 8 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 311 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 4 inks by others
  • April 2, 2022 The artist. Forty-six Abstract paintings are given to collectors and artists on the board, over the following days.
  • April 12, 2022 The artist. The artist explains the proof-of-support airdrop: value outside Nifty Ink for every holder, as a small thank you.
  • April 14, 2022 The collector. The first purchase: Nifty Faces #109, for 20 xDai.
  • April 23, 2022 The collector. The collector mints fifty copies of an ink reading UKRAINE and matches every sale with a donation.
  • April 25, 2022 The artist. The artist mints 200 nifties, the drawing for two hundred inks, straight into the collector's wallet.
  • April 27, 2022 The artist. Every holder of a Nifty Face receives its pixel twin on Polygon, through May 4.

Drawn this month and hanging in Black Silhouettes (9), Modelled in Light (7), Clean Lines, Flat Color (4), Skeletons and Monsters (3), Skulls and Shadows (2), Painted Figures, Places and Color Fields (2), Faces in the Tangle (1) and Occasions and Figures (1).

May

Sixty-six inks, the most of any month, and seventy-eight sales for 681 xDai, more than any month before or after. On May 6 the artist notices "552 NFTs as nnxyz." On May 9 Terra's stablecoin loses its peg and by May 13 the crypto market has fallen with it; the drawings of that week are the beams, the glossy heads and the summer figures the collector bought on May 10 for a single xDai each. On May 11 he writes, "I'm the top collector on Nifty Ink." On May 23 the artist mints New Nifty on the Block #100 into his wallet. Rawblocks #1 and #2 are drawn on May 8 and 9, then wait.

May 2022, from the record

  • 66 inks drawn on Nifty Ink, 65 of them in this collection
  • 78 sales on the board, 681 xDai
  • The collector buys 8 works for 88 xDai
  • 4 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 220 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 28 inks by others
  • May 6, 2022 The artist. "Today I noticed that I have already created 552 NFTs as nnxyz."
  • May 9, 2022 The market. Terra's stablecoin loses its peg; by May 13 the UST and LUNA tokens are near zero and the crypto market has fallen with them.
  • May 10, 2022 The collector. Three purchases from the collector's wallet for a single xDai each; two other wallets buy three inks each the same day.
  • May 11, 2022 The collector. "I'm the top collector on Nifty Ink. I just have so much fun here."
  • May 23, 2022 The artist. New Nifty on the Block #100 is minted into the collector's wallet, unpaid.
  • May 29, 2022 The collector. A hundred copies of a stranger's HELLO ink go to the readers who hold a newsletter token.

Drawn this month and hanging in Beams and Glowing Eyes (21), Framed Heads, First Masks (17), Black Silhouettes (14), Painted Figures, Places and Color Fields (4), Occasions and Figures (3), Line Figures and Crowds (2), Patterned Masks and Black Figures (2), Modelled in Light (1) and Skeletons and Monsters (1).

June

Thirty-eight inks and the start of the mask summer. Sales fall to eight. On June 20 the artist mints "300 nifties" into the collector's wallet, the third milestone piece to go to him as it happened.

June 2022, from the record

  • 38 inks drawn on Nifty Ink
  • 8 sales on the board, 140 xDai
  • The collector buys 1 work for 20 xDai
  • 105 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 2 inks by others
  • June 20, 2022 The artist. 300 nifties is minted into the collector's wallet.

Drawn this month and hanging in Square Masks (10), Figures and Places (6), Black Silhouettes (4), Framed Heads, First Masks (4), Painted Figures, Places and Color Fields (4), Scribbled Heads (3), Line Figures and Crowds (2), Skeletons and Monsters (2), Round Masks and Profiles (2) and Occasions and Figures (1).

July

Fifty-four inks, the second-busiest month, and one sale, for one xDai. The artist is working on Polygon: on July 15 the Chic City Cat Club sends a cat to every holder of an ink, "no roadmap, no utility," and on July 20 the artist decides to burn the Canvas is Everywhere series and move that kind of work to Tezos. The same day, Nifty Faces #0000 is drawn: the origin work, held back as "the last and only 1/1 from this series."

July 2022, from the record

  • 54 inks drawn on Nifty Ink
  • 1 sale on the board, 1 xDai
  • 118 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 3 inks by others
  • July 15, 2022 The artist. Chic City Cat Club: a cat for every holder of an ink, no roadmap, no utility.
  • July 20, 2022 The artist. The artist decides to burn the Canvas is Everywhere series and move that kind of work to Tezos.

Drawn this month and hanging in Scribbled Heads (24), Round Masks and Profiles (12), Square Masks (9), Figures and Places (8) and Crossed-Out Eyes (1).

August

The turn. On August 2 the index collection is named, after Warhol's Index Book, and described as "openly planned, never-ending." On August 5 its contract is deployed on Ethereum, with Heaven or Hell following on three chains. On August 11: "my first ink will be the last burned." On August 13 the collector buys Faces #0000 for 500 xDai, and within hours the artist sends him 126 Faces and the first five of On the Block. On August 21 "i was famous" is minted on Ethereum, and on August 23 the artist writes that all four hundred nifties will be gradually burned and "everything after that is part of a new story." Fifty-three inks drawn, 170 unsold editions sent to the dead address, twenty-six sales for 691 xDai, most of it the one.

August 2022, from the record

  • 53 inks drawn on Nifty Ink, 52 of them in this collection
  • 26 sales on the board, 691 xDai
  • The collector buys 9 works for 567 xDai
  • 131 works sent to the collector by the artist
  • 170 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 128 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 29 inks by others
  • August 2, 2022 The artist. The index collection is named, after Warhol's Index Book, and described as open, never-ending and planned completely openly.
  • August 5, 2022 The artist. The index collection contract is deployed on Ethereum; Heaven or Hell follows on Ethereum, Optimism and Arbitrum.
  • August 11, 2022 The artist. "My first ink will be the last burned." The artist announces that every unsold Nifty Ink edition will be burned.
  • August 13, 2022 The collector. Nifty Faces #0000 is bought for 500 xDai; within hours the artist sends 126 Faces and the first five of New Nifty on the Block.
  • August 15, 2022 The artist. "Why should an artist disclose the tools he uses?"
  • August 21, 2022 The artist. i was famous: Duchamp's Fountain four times over, in editions of three on the artist's own Ethereum contract.
  • August 23, 2022 The artist. "All 400 created nifties will be gradually burned. Everything after that is part of a new story."

Drawn this month and hanging in Cats and Creatures (22), Crowns and Last Masks (8), Round Masks and Profiles (7), Figures and Places (7), Twins and Cats (7), Square Masks (5), The Index and After (4), Portraits (2) and Scribbled Heads (1).

September

Thirty inks and two sales. Ethereum completes the Merge on September 15. The burn gathers pace: 213 editions to the dead address. On September 28 the collector draws "nnxyz fan art #0001," his block letters spelling the artist's name. The artist's posts thin out; after this month there are two more in the year.

September 2022, from the record

  • 30 inks drawn on Nifty Ink
  • 2 sales on the board, 10 xDai
  • The collector buys 1 work for 5 xDai
  • 213 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 21 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 29 inks by others
  • September 15, 2022 The market. Ethereum completes the Merge and stops mining.
  • September 28, 2022 The collector. The collector draws nnxyz fan art #0001.

Drawn this month and hanging in Portraits (16), Crowns and Last Masks (10) and Cats and Creatures (4).

October

Thirteen inks, the fewest of the year, and the end of New Nifty on the Block on October 15. The next morning the collector buys its origin work, #0000, for 750 xDai, and that afternoon 275 drawings arrive in his wallet over four hours. Two hundred and eighty-five editions go to the dead address. The artist likes fifty inks by other artists, more than in any other month: a visitor again, as the series close. Rawblocks resumes on October 30.

October 2022, from the record

  • 13 inks drawn on Nifty Ink
  • 8 sales on the board, 805 xDai
  • The collector buys 5 works for 780 xDai
  • 275 works sent to the collector by the artist
  • 285 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 0 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 50 inks by others
  • October 15, 2022 The artist. The last New Nifty on the Block drawing in the collection is recorded.
  • October 16, 2022 The collector. New Nifty on the Block #0000 is bought for 750 xDai in the morning; 275 drawings arrive that afternoon over four hours.

Drawn this month and hanging in Portraits (5), Crowns and Last Masks (3), Portraits (3), Patterned Masks and Black Figures (2) and The Index and After (1).

November

Forty-three inks, nearly all Rawblocks: the portraits of the first ten days are drawn as FTX fails, from November 6 to its bankruptcy on November 11. The same week the artist mints oink on Optimism, eleven painted pictures, and the collector buys #1, a lake, on November 7. opticals follow from November 16, and on November 20 "lord of the inks," one picture of five hundred of the artist's own inks, on Ethereum. On Thanksgiving morning the collector moves an nnxyz ink from Gnosis to Ethereum over brunch to show two friends how a bridge works. Three hundred and ten editions go to the dead address.

November 2022, from the record

  • 43 inks drawn on Nifty Ink, 42 of them in this collection
  • 6 sales on the board, 80 xDai
  • The collector buys 1 work for 5 xDai
  • 310 unsold editions minted to the dead address
  • 2 posts by the artist
  • The artist likes 24 inks by others
  • November 6, 2022 The market. FTX begins to fail; it files for bankruptcy on November 11.
  • November 6, 2022 The artist. oink, eleven painted pictures on Optimism, through November 8; the collector buys #1 on November 7.
  • November 16, 2022 The artist. opticals, three series of stripe and noise fields on Optimism, through November 20.
  • November 20, 2022 The artist. lord of the inks: one picture of about five hundred of the artist's own Nifty Ink drawings, on Ethereum.
  • November 24, 2022 The collector. Over Thanksgiving brunch the collector moves an nnxyz ink from Gnosis to Ethereum to show two friends how a bridge works.

Drawn this month and hanging in Portraits (17), Patterned Masks and Black Figures (17), Scribbled Heads (7), The Index and After (6) and Occasions and Figures (1).

December

Nothing. No inks, no posts, no sales. The artist's next ink is in January 2023, and the collector's note on it says why it mattered: "I was excited to see nnxyz, one of my favorite artists, publishing again."

December 2022, from the record

  • 0 inks drawn on Nifty Ink
  • 0 posts by the artist

What the year shows

Read as a line, 2022 is a drawing board filling up and then being closed on purpose. The spring is the most generous stretch of the project, gifts and milestones and the busiest drawing month, and it ends the week the market falls. The summer is masks. The autumn is the burn, the handovers and the move to other chains, with the last series drawn against the second crash. The rooms were hung by what the drawings look like, not by the calendar, but every room page gives its dates, and the map walks them in order.

The counts are the ledger's and the archive's: 435 inks drawn on Nifty Ink in 2022, 185 sales for 3145 xDai, 1041 unsold editions minted to the dead address, 958 posts. A sale is a payment to the artist through the board; a post is one captured from the artist's account.

Sources

  • The archive. Creation timestamps of every drawing in the collection.
  • The Gnosis ledger for the artist's address (curation/research/onchain/nnxyz-onchain.json). Inks created, sales, editions minted to the dead address, likes.
  • The Gnosis ledger for the collector's wallets (curation/research/onchain/collector-acquisitions.json). Purchases, the artist's mints to the collector, the handovers.
  • The Polygon, Ethereum and Optimism records (curation/research/onchain/). Abstract, nifty faces px, Chic City Cat Club, the index collection, i was famous, oink, opticals, lord of the inks.
  • The artist's posts, @0000nnxyz (curation/research/social/x-posts.json), by id in the month blocks.
  • thingelstad.com and The Weekly Thing, by date in the month blocks.
  • The market dates are the public record. Terra's UST lost its peg on May 9, 2022 and LUNA was near zero by May 13; Ethereum's Merge completed on September 15, 2022; FTX halted withdrawals on November 8 and filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022.