Invitation rays are digitally handmade, tokenised pieces of art released as open editions in the ArtusMichal Rays Collection. Each Invitation Ray is a collectable that serves as a marker of what price-point you as a collector and holder can use as a bid on future 1/1 artworks created by me, ArtusMichal.
What does this mean?
Collecting Rays means that you hold a place in each collectors' cohort to show your support of my work in the present that you are invited to use in the future. These invitations are set at a certain mint price and indicates what price-point future auctions will start at for each cohort. With each new Ray I create and release, a new cohort begins.
Which cohort you are in depends on which Ray you mint (or hold), each of which are released in closed timed open editions. See which one is currently available below.
Alpha Series in ArtusMichal Rays Collection.
Minted as an Open Edition ERC1155 Contract on Ethereum.
(Special Solana Edition minted on Exchange.art)
Price: 0.028 ETH
Genesis Series in ArtusMichal Rays Collection.
Minted as an Open Edition ERC1155 Contract on Ethereum.
Price: 0.023 ETH
What do you get by being in a cohort?
Every collector in each cohort all have access to the same benefits in terms of:
1: Which invitations to mint (which is every available invitation after the one they have)
2: How many to mint/collect (however many they want, unlimited)
3: What time frame (minting will always be between 3-7days, collecting after this time frame will be dependent on secondary sales).
There are only two differences; price-point and timing.
Cohort #1 are collectors of my genesis piece and get to mint each new invitation (1st in line) at:
Price point: 0.023 ETH.
Amount of collectors: 3 (fixed)
Cohort #2 are collectors of my alpha piece and get to mint each new invitation (2nd in line) at:
Price point: 0.028 ETH.
Amount of collectors: 1 (open)
Why this strategy of releasing art and collecting?
This is a developing strategy that empahsizes collecting of my early pieces at this point in time in the collection. I regard my early collectors and work as the most important, and so this is a way to reward early supporters of my work, while still keeping and making it easy for more early supporters to get involved. Each new Ray Invitation marks each new collectors' level of support and participation as a cohort in the present time, reflected in what they gain access to for my future work (if they so choose).
This idea of how the future affects the present is very much in line with the general philosophy of Rays in the collection and in my work as an artist, wherein I explore my general fascination with the abstract concepts these Rays symbolise.
See more details about the collection here on OpenSea
I know there are probably a lot of questions, here are a few answers:
Why are the Invitation Rays open editions?
These are invitations and so I would want as many people as possible to gain the opportunity to collect them. Creating a limited edition set at this stage will cause too many risks for an art collection that has no reputation at this moment in time. Moreover, limiting the amount available also has many limitations in terms of how many people can be involved (and creating artificial scarcity is for now useless). Even though each artwork is unique, the fact that they are open editions should not detract from that uniqueness, the market will determine both the uniqueness and scarcity of each piece.
This is partly inspired by MarkTheHabibi's Dailies Collection whereby the amount of each daily rendition of the piece was predicated on the market and how many people wanted to freeze (produce an edition) of that daily edition. I would not want to dictate supply, collectors should because it shows what quantity and quality of participation there could be for each piece. Participation is the main goal for this collection.
What is your art style?
I am a digital painter trained in the traditional art form of oil on canvas and video art with a Master of Arts in Digital Art (2012). I am in the process of translating all my formative work (acrylic on board) into digital paintings by hand using Procreate (a digital paint program). My art style might change over time but I will always use the essence of "paint" in my work because I believe exploring this medium as a postmodern artist is my strongest and longest running skill I have a natural affinity for.
For more on my art have a look at my instagram
What if one person has many invitations? (both many of one open edition and multiple editions)
That is great because this shows their support for my work (thanks!) and potentially what they can get in the future. So if this is you, this puts you in comparably good spot for future auctions, depending on what you want to collect. Each and every edition you have (in which ever cohort, and multiple cohorts) is a separate and unique "Invitation" to collect a 1/1 artwork in the future, hence the name of "Invitation Rays". So it is up to you how valuable you think they are to collect for the future, now in the present.
How does the cohort price-points set by the invitation mint price affect the starting bids on future auctions?
This will become more and more straightforward over time. As an example: if you buy a Cohort #2 Ray Invitation (Red Rays), you will gain:
- 2nd Priority Access to start the auction on (any and every) future artwork (after Cohort #1)
- In this collection and (select) future collections
- At 0.028 ETH (will always remain priced in ETH)
However, every other person in that cohort will also get the same chance and, within a 24hour window, the 1/1 will go to highest bidder (reserve price set at the cohort price-point). Therefore, whoever in that cohort wants it the most and places a bid equal to the reserve price, which is the same as the mint price of the invitation, will get it even if it is just one person and one bid. What they do with the artwork and how they determine the value after that is up to them.
Further descriptions of how this general strategy will work in detail will be released in time as we approach that situation in the future.
What does this mean for the future value of artworks?
In general, this means I am leaving price discovery and the value of my future artworks up to my most earliest supporters now in the present. This is something I truly believe in will have a positive impact on the collection and all my artworks to come.
Will there be a burn mechanism?
Yes there might be, so please be prepared for this possibility. However, it is very far from now and the details will be calculated to benefit early holders, always.
What kind of work will you be making in the future?
Let's have a chat about it, see me at @artusmichal on X (formerly twitter)
Feel free to ask me even more questions on anything else you have in mind on X and insta.