Exclusive Interview with ThankYouX & J.N. Silva
Disclaimer: This article is not intended as investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.
ThankYouX and J.N Silva are back with another drop on Nifty Gateway on March 11th, 2021. Here is a preview from J.N. Silva’s twitter account.
We had the opportunity to do another interview with these talented artist prior to their drop. They are two people that constantly give back to the crypto art community and here is chance to get to know them a little better.
Exclusive Interview
The NFT/crypto art space has completely changed since our first interview less than two months ago. At that time, only a few people knew about NFTs and now everyone is rushing into the space. How hard is it to focus during this NFT boom and create art?
ThankYouX
“It has definitely blown up a lot since our last drop! I get about 100 messages a day from people asking about it. I really want to help everyone out. It just gets a bit overwhelming if I’m being fully honest. I am so happy that the NFT space is getting so much attention, as I truly think its the future. My main focus is making more art. But I am also very focused on helping the next generation of artists get established in this space. People like 3lau have really helped me so I want to help others.”
J.N. Silva
“Watching the space expand exponentially over the last months has been such a wild experience. Something that we expected to happen, but not that quickly and on that scale. For us, it hasn’t been too difficult to focus, as we have a great line of communication and we knew that our obligation as artists was to give this project our full attention. From concept to execution, we talked almost daily and made sure we created something we are both proud of. With that said, we’ve both also fully immersed ourselves in the community and made keeping up with this culture a full time job, so I think the true difficulty is in leading a balanced life outside of the art creation and community. Personally It’s been tough to get adequate sleep these past few months, but only because I’m so excited about everything that’s happening.”
The industry is booming but your first drop “Thank You New York” was released prior to the recent boom in prices. “Avenue of the Americas” was sold for $200 as an open edition is now selling for around $3,500. This NFT is also an opportunity for collectors to have art from two leading artist who have been building up the community since day one. 10 years from now, what do you think “Avenue of the Americas” will represent for both of your careers as artist?
ThankYouX
“There is no doubt in my mind that “Avenue of the Americas” has changed my life. I don’t want to focus as much on the money side of it, but rather the significance of it. JN Silva and are so proud of that piece and it was actually the first piece we made in the collection… so it’s our 1st ever NFT. That set the tone for everything. JN and I want to keep pushing the art to new levels. The piece is so special to us, we talk about it every day. Hopefully our drop on March 11th is even more special!”
J.N. Silva
“The coolest thing for me about Avenues, is how many people have come forth to tell us what that photo means to them, and the memories that they have attached to that street, and New York City in general. That piece will forever hold a very special piece of our hearts, as it was the first piece we created, and the one that laid the foundation for what would become the rest of that series. From now and until the end of time, it will represent a seismic shift in both ThankYouX and I’s careers, and I’m happy we get to share that experience together.”
What is the best advice you would give an artist that wants to enter the space?
ThankYouX
“Make art that is true to you. Everything else comes after that. I think you need to be ready to go through ups and downs. Not everyone will like everything that you make and your art doesn’t need to be for everyone. After that I would say dive into the community. Engage with other artists. Support the artists you like big and small. I think the future is wide open and we haven’t even begin to see what this will look like.”
J.N. Silva
“It would be the same advice I give to people entering any artistic medium. Be authentic, and always be learning. Create art that you’re passionate about. This is an emerging space, and it’s up to us to shape the future of it. With that responsibility, I think we all owe it to the community to learn as much as we can about blockchain technology and the implications of its use in not only art, but across other fields and industries. And of course, be an active member of the community. I know it’s been said a lot, but I have never seen a community as passionate about the intersection of art and technology as this one, and I encourage all new artists to become a part of the conversation at large.”
As artist that have achieved good success in the NFT/cryptoart space, what do you think needs to be improved in this fast-growing industry?
ThankYouX
“There will be many areas that NFT are useful, right now everyone is focused on the art side. So you see brands come in and try to be part of the art side. I would like to see brands do other things personally, whether its create special experiences for customers etc. I don’t love the idea of every brand trying to create art NFTs. But at the same time, I am just an artist who cant stop them. I just want to see the community continue to support other artists and especially those who don’t have a ton of opportunity in the physical world.”
J.N. Silva
“I would love to see user experience improvements across the board. Even though it’s easier now than a few years ago, there is still a barrier of entry that will limit many artists from getting started. I would love to see more educational programs aimed at the youth, as well as more inclusion of underrepresented communities. I would love to see more grants and programs aimed at covering the costs of minting for new artists all over the world, and more inclusivity from all the marketplaces. As of now, a lot of them feel like gated communities. And lastly, we need better scaling solutions for the ethereum network, as well as interoperability between protocols. There’s a lot of problems to be solved, but I think that if we continue this trend, more and more brilliant minds will come in and help solve them.”
Clubhouse is now an app that thousands of people use to learn about NFTs and crypto art. If you could choose the topic for a room and invite anyone you wanted, what would that room look like?
ThankYouX
“I would create a clubhouse room called “JN Silva’s hair shoud be an NFT: Discuss” and it would be me and MC Hammer discussing how good looking JN Silva is.”
J.N. Silva
“It would be a diverse panel of experts with experience in the history, technology, and future potential of NFT and blockchain technology. There are many developers and artists who paved the way for a lot of us that are here now, and I’d be interested to hear their stories, and how they see the space progressing. I’d also invite people working on AR/VR integrations, and pioneers and builders of the metaverse to see what they think the space will look like in 5–10 years.”
Your next drop is on March 11th, 2021. Any more info you would like to tell collectors about this drop?
J.N. Silva
“ThankYouX and I made sure that this collection was as special, if not more, than our last. We wanted to continue the theme of gratitude, and we went back and forth many times until we found a special place that we both felt a deep connection to. For many different reasons, Miami has played a hugely important role in our lives, and we are extremely proud of the few pieces that came from this feeling of gratitude. We hope everyone enjoys the work as much as we enjoyed collaborating together. And I think I speak for ThankYouX and myself in saying that we will continue to be important voices in this space as we figure out how we can add value to our fellow artists, collectors, and supporters.”
