Highlights and wrap-ups of the Meme Maxis, weeks of Dec 12 and 19, cover image excerpted from “Certified Meme Maxi S1” by SmolThreads.

On the early morn’ of setting sail for SZNs 2 and beyond, the pirate galleon of goodwill and memes beloved welcomes its newest members aboard: d3ggerhigh, MLeeJr, NaimePakniyat, geekiebunny, intrepid_p, BanditMfer, anonscontent, BAYC8420, spliffy_eth — plus stalwart inductees DrSoldmanGachs, CurbUrGuluziasm, maxkarlan — and also! a special salute to our legendary SZN1 Meme Artists who have now joined the DAO: Ars0nic, RikOostenbroek, wetpotatobrain, tylekki, JakNFT, priyankap_patel, and simonemonte 🏝

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a coalition of fresh-faced recruits and seasoned SeizerDAO veterans, however newly formed, must be in want of a fundraiser. Dinocelotti spearheads one of several group initiatives, auctioning off the above dancing-DAO cube until December 31st, with half of proceeds going to the collective.

Few meme card titles serve double-header as baseball metaphors; it’s a delight to witness Tommy Wilson clock this one clean outta the park (shout-out, 6529Collections announcement) –

Beyond the Horizon folds in on itself in a grand convergence suggestive of salvation. Choose your beacon, a million stars, all within reach; wander the streets, any direction; discover yourself upon the break of dawn overlooking the promontory inevitable: the gateway to an Open Metaverse.

Master architect of cityscapes lush with extravagant detail (incidentally, natural breeding grounds for human memetic behavior), Wilson often envelops his work in an atmosphere of mystery, a touch of the ineffable. His aesthetic tends to foreground spaces reserved for elements of heart and emotional catharsis, ensuring the presence of an escape hatch lest our surroundings prove overwhelming or desolate.

An abstract ReMeme from spuddhism suffuses the original work with the flashing multicolors of a marquee, in Beyond the Pixel (announcement) –

And the GrifterCity collection of derivatives by MintFace plunges us into the grit of its avenues, with varying degrees of hopelessness. In the bleakest variation, crimson lights clamor for our compliance amid this den of scammers and snakes (announcement) –

Reigning sublime at the end of the season is our Freedom to Transact mascot, literally a multi-faceted case of mistaken identity: Satoshi/Dorian Nakamoto. apeinacoupe corrals 31,500 pinpoints into a never-ending assembly / dissolution of Nakamotos (announcement) –

While mememaxis explores his figurative side, or perhaps his inner fire, alongside a beam of hope, in Sun of Naka (announcement) –

Overheard: right-click-save-as is alive and well, as tylekki reminds us in this NakamotoFreedom remix response to XCOPY:

manicdistopia tears down the fourth wall, revealing the behind-the-scenes of a Rare Nakamoto, available via burn (announcement) –

Our most trusted and loyal disciple, the Esteemed Sgt Pepe, takes to the skies on one mission after another, even switching uniforms depending on the mission at hand.

Ars0nic has given voice to Sgt Pepe – initially as meme card 37, ever louder with a panoply of ReMemes, and now through a branded profile, facilitating the proliferation of the good sergeant’s word, supplemented by contests and songs. Jonathan Mann, a.k.a. songadaymann, swiftly composes, performs, and publishes Sgt Pepe for his song 5104 (announcement) –

🐙

Rule #1 of 6529 Fam is at the top of the list for a reason: it is a good beginning, an opportunity to rejuvenate, and an invitation to connect at any time with friends old and new.

Among the 10 cards in SZN1’s GM series, there is none more arresting than RikOostenbroek’s gmgn.

Starkly minimal yet mesmerizingly complex, this Rikkle Squiggle seems to call out: “Stop everything you’re doing – come, luxuriate in my glow.” Rik’s oceans of expertise with color and form ooze from its edges, also throughout snippets of his process:

Underlying these pieces: a breathtaking body of work, companion to a journey of self-discovery that tells in magnificent microcosm the unfolding story of how the medium of NFTs empowers creators to pursue their truest work.

J_PA_ gifts us GM TOTER, a ReMeme of gmgn as inspired by the Exhibit A of ROBNESS’s crypto art movement (announcement) –

GM TOTER’s 80° incline echoes the myriad moving of office furniture this week, as Meme-Maxi correspondent stations across the world shuffle about to ship ourselves off to vacation. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are living the height of summer at this very moment – a promising destination for those of us who must wear shorts and t-shirts no matter the circumstance.

The universe of merch tie-ins expands with every delectable colorway. mememaxis founds a veritable 6529 Summer Glasses factory, all units available for purchase:

Pop off a gmgn bottle top for a swig of The Memes bubbly – courtesy The_OG_Andi_P – just in time for The Festivities (announcement) –

…and Deconstruct_eth unfurls the beach towels for SZN1’s complete collection of cards sprinkled around 6529 MEMES ISLAND (announcement) –

When art history books introduce the early stages of NFTs, the artist known as XCOPY will appear at the apex. Is that due to his omnipresence since genesis days—early 2018 as the second artist to join SuperRare? Or because his art is crypto-native—that is, the artist didn’t exist pre-NFT; and NFTs, as a medium, are the only natural distribution channel for the artwork? These factors help, but they are not the entire evergreen narrative.

There’s a more fundamental import to XCOPY. The core messages communicated through the work speak the core values of crypto: we own the means of production (personally or collectively) and, we entrust no freedoms to centralized intermediaries—not speech in any form, and certainly not financial. When seen and contemplated alongside the art’s aesthetic (usually dark, confrontational, with features resembling glitch art) and viewing context (usually time- and electronic screen-based), these values are amplified, by striking visual embodiment, emerging as resonant, harmonious symbiosis of medium and message.

XCOPY goes further. Artworks aren’t merely anti-establishment; they’re also self-critical of the populace, with spotlights focused on consumerism, consent of the ruled, the pettiness of online squabbles. His pieces feel frantic and erratic, expressing existential distress and the intimate sensations of powerlessness or, at the very least, struggles against unsympathetic juggernauts.

But do not be fooled: there’s nothing sloppy about this splattered paint or these jerky movements. Behind the spectacle is a panopticon trained upon the present: societal still-lifes, close-up and magnified. The hypnotic effect of XCOPY’s hyper-short animation loops, reflective of the duration of the modern attention span (and also our confidence in the durability of our collective attention span), is simultaneously a distraction and precisely the point. It’s red pills all the way down, engineered to ease us into recognition of the amply pillowed cradles in which we sleep and live our entire lives.

Amble towards Sunshine Square, punk6529’s tremendous tribute gallery to XCOPY, and you’ll experience the absurdity of confining these pieces to pre-NFT art-world constraints. Their home is the permissionless blockchain: resilient against censorship, provable in provenance, and flanking a catwalk noir towards glorious metaverse light.

We see XCOPY’s indelible influence on crypto art everywhere, especially among the non-generative, meme varietals. “Right-click and Save As guy” was already referenced above in this issue, and “summer.jpg” is so ubiquitously remixed that the character’s likeness (currently the OnCyber default avatar for every participant), sunglasses, and even drink of choice (poisonberry?) find themselves pasted upon the walls of NFT showcases around the world. (XCOPY’s decision to release all non-collaborative work under cc0 licensing has undoubtedly paved the way.)

And there’s a shared vision with The Memes by Punk6529. Interviews with artnome a.k.a. Jason Bailey and BREEZY a.k.a. Eleonora Brizi (audio) also illuminate a path towards increased self-sovereignty and freedom: a relatively straight line through widespread NFT recognition and ownership. 6529 himself chronicled the ah-ha moment – already equipped with a plan to welcome 100-million people to an open metaverse, mind you – when he understood what XCOPY has really been doing.

Only now are we prepared for Meme Card 47, “EXIT STRATEGY”.

This creature, a fitting endcap to SZN1, fixes its attention on us (or is its gaze unsettlingly off-kilter?) with a rabid expression interrupted only by endless utterances of doom.

An eventful claim process for this meme card—replete with an unprecedented two three-phase mint and unorthodox redemption techniques—later, and the season winks out with a blip.

Spuddhism quickly mashes up the XCOPY with other references, including KristyGlas’s meme card 39, resulting in perhaps a more optimistic shading (announcement) –

🧸

In six months’ time, The Memes have traveled so great a distance, it’s difficult to grasp perspective comprehensively. As of this writing, there are over 5,300 unique collectors connecting 36 meme artists spanning countless art communities. In the beginning, as milestones_NFT reminds, the mint allowlist was hand-assembled by DarrenSRS via google form:

“Liberty Leading the People with Hardware Wallets” by g9ralt, an edition still open yet for several days, encapsulates the sheer madness of convening these art collections, basically the herding of cats a hundredfold (announcement) –

But I hear you asking: I have somehow made it fourteen pages into your newsletter about something called meme maxis so can you please just tell me what in tarnation are The Memes? Lo, it is the eloquent and insightful exlawyernft who will start us off with “what is a meme”, through the 7 core categories of The Memes—

1. Seize the Memes of Production
2. WAGMI
3. Don't Let the Institutions Steal Your Jpegs
4. GM
5. Use a Hardware Wallet
6. Open Metaverse / OM
7. Freedom to Transact

—and beyond, for exlawyernft’s entire presentation is spirited and enthralling.

Well-deserved accolades pile up, celebrating the season’s epic, fruitful, unrelenting run. Here’s one from dipanjan_photos (tweet):

Plus a few colorful tributes. fmiasp, in with a wink at sartoshi_rip (announcement) –

Zigmarillion’s sparkling tonic, still collectable as of this writing (announcement) –

…and MeltedMindz enjoying the view now that each day is no longer devoted to signing messages with cryptocurrency wallets:

The Festivities interregnum (for some, infusion) allows us time to ponder what’s happened over the last season, share quality moments with loved ones, and prepare ourselves for upcoming activities. More meme artists – now, overlapping with ReMemers – are melding meme art (and even the act of meme-seizing) with real life. ejderkunt showcases a vision of Istanbul, the Meme City, with street snapshots of daily observations (announcement) –

5,300 people collecting memes with monetary value, and not a single complaint? blocknoob_ fixes this predicament with architecture and a hotline: thus, the 6529complaints department is born (announcement blogpost) 🐣

People are memes too. For those who would prefer to complain but haven’t thought of what to whine about yet, here is a handy instructional chart, courtesy AbuSpinky (announcement) –

Airdrops, allow lists, minting windows, gas, and cable lengths (thank you art_icu_late)…if you need a new tantrum topic, you’ve come to the right prop house.

We can always count on ReadyPereOne for a spot of meditation:

Though, might we have reconsidered the grand opening of the dept. of complaints if we’d listened to Burnasso’s wisdom?

We’ve got a razzle-dazzle roundup of maxi art from the last few weeks. First, a Happiest of All Birthdays to paulwilsonimage. Here’s his composition of a crescent moon from Christchurch:

Deconstruct_eth returns with the seventh piece in their Bauhaus collection, based on Paul Klee’s “Rich Port” (announcement) –

The year’s end is an appropriate closing time for many stories, to include our favorite non-fungible villain finding himself at the start of a new chapter. Here he is in fmiasp’s FTT 2 community space (announcement) –

JakNFT publishes a wintry canvas entitled “static” (announcement) –

NaimePakniyat is featured in a jaw-dropping spotlight by William50392711, delving into her pixel art style referencing Persian Miniatures and their rich historical background dating back at least to the 13th century. Here’s “The Mirror of Life”, scored with music and soundscapes, worth repeated viewing on SuperRare:

kthegroove celebrates the year wrap-up with “Happiness” (announcement) –

XArtSup recreates the iconic “concentration” style memory card game entirely with memes and gradients, available to mint for still another day (announcement) –

Constantin Brâncuși’s “Endless Column” receives an homage by NONE32x32 (announcement) –

art_icu_late publishes My World Today: Sydney 2022 along with a free mint available via Optimism:

Holders of BlueGM (meme card 13) by priyankap_patel are treated to a series of possible mints with varying rarity, entitled For the Love of Blue (announcement) –

A breathtaking gallery experience has been curated by tylekki, with featured artists including MonicaJalali, jeffmihaly, MattScobel, and cathsimard_ (announcement) –

rakesh_pulapa, on fire and impeccably timed:

0x_vac offers a collection of curiosities on Foundation—here’s Empyreal:

This first edition of SoumyaGeetha’s Angels Without Wings is captioned “A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life” (announcement) –

And dollykabaria unveils to the world an effervescent antidote for the wild call to wander (announcement) –

The editorial staff wishes everyone a wonderful holiday time, for you might be celebrating Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, or Dead Week as you read this. The Meme Maxis send their greetings – here’s gitsmol jumping off of MattScobel’s bus, mint available for another day (announcement) –

MLeeJr re-ups JakNFT’s creation from last year, braving the snowstorm with panache:

How memeable is our valiant vanguard against the institutions, her strong arms securing our jpegs, jars, gifs, and gifts? Thanks to g9ralt, very much memeable (announcement) –

paulwilsonimage knows we’ve all been nice this year:

ON THE WAY TO FREEDOM is an aurora-packed exclusive mint for holders of CB_Singh_’s work (announcement) –

Zaharia_af sends us all the purest of joys with this still-open-edition journey through a magical night desert (announcement) –

When we’ve finally returned home, to our shelter from storm, we’ve got a cozy fire and marshmallows and … frogs?

We close out this end-of-SZN1 double-issue with a tribute to punk6529. It’s punku’s vast and voluminous efforts that have brought us here, in ambitious address of life’s confounding questions: how might we live and flourish, and what kind of world do we build?

Astride punk6529’s guidance – from vision, to implementation of the most minute details and careful listening to community feedback – we answer together, constructing edifices to support freedom, art, and kindness for all.

Case in point. Out of all the possible uses for laser eyes, your humble stenographer has long awaited the day they might be employed in the preparation of roasted snack finger foods. At last, poppa popper MichaellCorn has fulfilled this prophecy with TO VICTORY (announcement) –

And amid the heavenly clouds, ‘twas always elegantly calligraphied, that we be able to covet our very own pseudonymous punk6529 figurine. Voilá: presenting the 6529Voxel by theartofjuss:

Happy meme-seizing and life-seizing to all ! 🎉 🥳

Highlights and wrap-ups of the Meme Maxis, weeks of Dec 12 and 19, cover image excerpted from “Certified Meme Maxi S1” by SmolThreads.

On the early morn’ of setting sail for SZNs 2 and beyond, the pirate galleon of goodwill and memes beloved welcomes its newest members aboard: d3ggerhigh, MLeeJr, NaimePakniyat, geekiebunny, intrepid_p, BanditMfer, anonscontent, BAYC8420, spliffy_eth — plus stalwart inductees DrSoldmanGachs, CurbUrGuluziasm, maxkarlan — and also! a special salute to our legendary SZN1 Meme Artists who have now joined the DAO: Ars0nic, RikOostenbroek, wetpotatobrain, tylekki, JakNFT, priyankap_patel, and simonemonte 🏝

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a coalition of fresh-faced recruits and seasoned SeizerDAO veterans, however newly formed, must be in want of a fundraiser. Dinocelotti spearheads one of several group initiatives, auctioning off the above dancing-DAO cube until December 31st, with half of proceeds going to the collective.

Few meme card titles serve double-header as baseball metaphors; it’s a delight to witness Tommy Wilson clock this one clean outta the park (shout-out, 6529Collections announcement) –

Beyond the Horizon folds in on itself in a grand convergence suggestive of salvation. Choose your beacon, a million stars, all within reach; wander the streets, any direction; discover yourself upon the break of dawn overlooking the promontory inevitable: the gateway to an Open Metaverse.

Master architect of cityscapes lush with extravagant detail (incidentally, natural breeding grounds for human memetic behavior), Wilson often envelops his work in an atmosphere of mystery, a touch of the ineffable. His aesthetic tends to foreground spaces reserved for elements of heart and emotional catharsis, ensuring the presence of an escape hatch lest our surroundings prove overwhelming or desolate.

An abstract ReMeme from spuddhism suffuses the original work with the flashing multicolors of a marquee, in Beyond the Pixel (announcement) –

And the GrifterCity collection of derivatives by MintFace plunges us into the grit of its avenues, with varying degrees of hopelessness. In the bleakest variation, crimson lights clamor for our compliance amid this den of scammers and snakes (announcement) –

Reigning sublime at the end of the season is our Freedom to Transact mascot, literally a multi-faceted case of mistaken identity: Satoshi/Dorian Nakamoto. apeinacoupe corrals 31,500 pinpoints into a never-ending assembly / dissolution of Nakamotos (announcement) –

While mememaxis explores his figurative side, or perhaps his inner fire, alongside a beam of hope, in Sun of Naka (announcement) –

Overheard: right-click-save-as is alive and well, as tylekki reminds us in this NakamotoFreedom remix response to XCOPY:

manicdistopia tears down the fourth wall, revealing the behind-the-scenes of a Rare Nakamoto, available via burn (announcement) –

Our most trusted and loyal disciple, the Esteemed Sgt Pepe, takes to the skies on one mission after another, even switching uniforms depending on the mission at hand.

Ars0nic has given voice to Sgt Pepe – initially as meme card 37, ever louder with a panoply of ReMemes, and now through a branded profile, facilitating the proliferation of the good sergeant’s word, supplemented by contests and songs. Jonathan Mann, a.k.a. songadaymann, swiftly composes, performs, and publishes Sgt Pepe for his song 5104 (announcement) –

🐙

Rule #1 of 6529 Fam is at the top of the list for a reason: it is a good beginning, an opportunity to rejuvenate, and an invitation to connect at any time with friends old and new.

Among the 10 cards in SZN1’s GM series, there is none more arresting than RikOostenbroek’s gmgn.

Starkly minimal yet mesmerizingly complex, this Rikkle Squiggle seems to call out: “Stop everything you’re doing – come, luxuriate in my glow.” Rik’s oceans of expertise with color and form ooze from its edges, also throughout snippets of his process:

Underlying these pieces: a breathtaking body of work, companion to a journey of self-discovery that tells in magnificent microcosm the unfolding story of how the medium of NFTs empowers creators to pursue their truest work.

J_PA_ gifts us GM TOTER, a ReMeme of gmgn as inspired by the Exhibit A of ROBNESS’s crypto art movement (announcement) –

GM TOTER’s 80° incline echoes the myriad moving of office furniture this week, as Meme-Maxi correspondent stations across the world shuffle about to ship ourselves off to vacation. Our friends in the southern hemisphere are living the height of summer at this very moment – a promising destination for those of us who must wear shorts and t-shirts no matter the circumstance.

The universe of merch tie-ins expands with every delectable colorway. mememaxis founds a veritable 6529 Summer Glasses factory, all units available for purchase:

Pop off a gmgn bottle top for a swig of The Memes bubbly – courtesy The_OG_Andi_P – just in time for The Festivities (announcement) –

…and Deconstruct_eth unfurls the beach towels for SZN1’s complete collection of cards sprinkled around 6529 MEMES ISLAND (announcement) –

When art history books introduce the early stages of NFTs, the artist known as XCOPY will appear at the apex. Is that due to his omnipresence since genesis days—early 2018 as the second artist to join SuperRare? Or because his art is crypto-native—that is, the artist didn’t exist pre-NFT; and NFTs, as a medium, are the only natural distribution channel for the artwork? These factors help, but they are not the entire evergreen narrative.

There’s a more fundamental import to XCOPY. The core messages communicated through the work speak the core values of crypto: we own the means of production (personally or collectively) and, we entrust no freedoms to centralized intermediaries—not speech in any form, and certainly not financial. When seen and contemplated alongside the art’s aesthetic (usually dark, confrontational, with features resembling glitch art) and viewing context (usually time- and electronic screen-based), these values are amplified, by striking visual embodiment, emerging as resonant, harmonious symbiosis of medium and message.

XCOPY goes further. Artworks aren’t merely anti-establishment; they’re also self-critical of the populace, with spotlights focused on consumerism, consent of the ruled, the pettiness of online squabbles. His pieces feel frantic and erratic, expressing existential distress and the intimate sensations of powerlessness or, at the very least, struggles against unsympathetic juggernauts.

But do not be fooled: there’s nothing sloppy about this splattered paint or these jerky movements. Behind the spectacle is a panopticon trained upon the present: societal still-lifes, close-up and magnified. The hypnotic effect of XCOPY’s hyper-short animation loops, reflective of the duration of the modern attention span (and also our confidence in the durability of our collective attention span), is simultaneously a distraction and precisely the point. It’s red pills all the way down, engineered to ease us into recognition of the amply pillowed cradles in which we sleep and live our entire lives.

Amble towards Sunshine Square, punk6529’s tremendous tribute gallery to XCOPY, and you’ll experience the absurdity of confining these pieces to pre-NFT art-world constraints. Their home is the permissionless blockchain: resilient against censorship, provable in provenance, and flanking a catwalk noir towards glorious metaverse light.

We see XCOPY’s indelible influence on crypto art everywhere, especially among the non-generative, meme varietals. “Right-click and Save As guy” was already referenced above in this issue, and “summer.jpg” is so ubiquitously remixed that the character’s likeness (currently the OnCyber default avatar for every participant), sunglasses, and even drink of choice (poisonberry?) find themselves pasted upon the walls of NFT showcases around the world. (XCOPY’s decision to release all non-collaborative work under cc0 licensing has undoubtedly paved the way.)

And there’s a shared vision with The Memes by Punk6529. Interviews with artnome a.k.a. Jason Bailey and BREEZY a.k.a. Eleonora Brizi (audio) also illuminate a path towards increased self-sovereignty and freedom: a relatively straight line through widespread NFT recognition and ownership. 6529 himself chronicled the ah-ha moment – already equipped with a plan to welcome 100-million people to an open metaverse, mind you – when he understood what XCOPY has really been doing.

Only now are we prepared for Meme Card 47, “EXIT STRATEGY”.

This creature, a fitting endcap to SZN1, fixes its attention on us (or is its gaze unsettlingly off-kilter?) with a rabid expression interrupted only by endless utterances of doom.

An eventful claim process for this meme card—replete with an unprecedented two three-phase mint and unorthodox redemption techniques—later, and the season winks out with a blip.

Spuddhism quickly mashes up the XCOPY with other references, including KristyGlas’s meme card 39, resulting in perhaps a more optimistic shading (announcement) –

🧸

In six months’ time, The Memes have traveled so great a distance, it’s difficult to grasp perspective comprehensively. As of this writing, there are over 5,300 unique collectors connecting 36 meme artists spanning countless art communities. In the beginning, as milestones_NFT reminds, the mint allowlist was hand-assembled by DarrenSRS via google form:

“Liberty Leading the People with Hardware Wallets” by g9ralt, an edition still open yet for several days, encapsulates the sheer madness of convening these art collections, basically the herding of cats a hundredfold (announcement) –

But I hear you asking: I have somehow made it fourteen pages into your newsletter about something called meme maxis so can you please just tell me what in tarnation are The Memes? Lo, it is the eloquent and insightful exlawyernft who will start us off with “what is a meme”, through the 7 core categories of The Memes—

1. Seize the Memes of Production
2. WAGMI
3. Don't Let the Institutions Steal Your Jpegs
4. GM
5. Use a Hardware Wallet
6. Open Metaverse / OM
7. Freedom to Transact

—and beyond, for exlawyernft’s entire presentation is spirited and enthralling.

Well-deserved accolades pile up, celebrating the season’s epic, fruitful, unrelenting run. Here’s one from dipanjan_photos (tweet):

Plus a few colorful tributes. fmiasp, in with a wink at sartoshi_rip (announcement) –

Zigmarillion’s sparkling tonic, still collectable as of this writing (announcement) –

…and MeltedMindz enjoying the view now that each day is no longer devoted to signing messages with cryptocurrency wallets:

The Festivities interregnum (for some, infusion) allows us time to ponder what’s happened over the last season, share quality moments with loved ones, and prepare ourselves for upcoming activities. More meme artists – now, overlapping with ReMemers – are melding meme art (and even the act of meme-seizing) with real life. ejderkunt showcases a vision of Istanbul, the Meme City, with street snapshots of daily observations (announcement) –

5,300 people collecting memes with monetary value, and not a single complaint? blocknoob_ fixes this predicament with architecture and a hotline: thus, the 6529complaints department is born (announcement blogpost) 🐣

People are memes too. For those who would prefer to complain but haven’t thought of what to whine about yet, here is a handy instructional chart, courtesy AbuSpinky (announcement) –

Airdrops, allow lists, minting windows, gas, and cable lengths (thank you art_icu_late)…if you need a new tantrum topic, you’ve come to the right prop house.

We can always count on ReadyPereOne for a spot of meditation:

Though, might we have reconsidered the grand opening of the dept. of complaints if we’d listened to Burnasso’s wisdom?

We’ve got a razzle-dazzle roundup of maxi art from the last few weeks. First, a Happiest of All Birthdays to paulwilsonimage. Here’s his composition of a crescent moon from Christchurch:

Deconstruct_eth returns with the seventh piece in their Bauhaus collection, based on Paul Klee’s “Rich Port” (announcement) –

The year’s end is an appropriate closing time for many stories, to include our favorite non-fungible villain finding himself at the start of a new chapter. Here he is in fmiasp’s FTT 2 community space (announcement) –

JakNFT publishes a wintry canvas entitled “static” (announcement) –

NaimePakniyat is featured in a jaw-dropping spotlight by William50392711, delving into her pixel art style referencing Persian Miniatures and their rich historical background dating back at least to the 13th century. Here’s “The Mirror of Life”, scored with music and soundscapes, worth repeated viewing on SuperRare:

kthegroove celebrates the year wrap-up with “Happiness” (announcement) –

XArtSup recreates the iconic “concentration” style memory card game entirely with memes and gradients, available to mint for still another day (announcement) –

Constantin Brâncuși’s “Endless Column” receives an homage by NONE32x32 (announcement) –

art_icu_late publishes My World Today: Sydney 2022 along with a free mint available via Optimism:

Holders of BlueGM (meme card 13) by priyankap_patel are treated to a series of possible mints with varying rarity, entitled For the Love of Blue (announcement) –

A breathtaking gallery experience has been curated by tylekki, with featured artists including MonicaJalali, jeffmihaly, MattScobel, and cathsimard_ (announcement) –

rakesh_pulapa, on fire and impeccably timed:

0x_vac offers a collection of curiosities on Foundation—here’s Empyreal:

This first edition of SoumyaGeetha’s Angels Without Wings is captioned “A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life” (announcement) –

And dollykabaria unveils to the world an effervescent antidote for the wild call to wander (announcement) –

The editorial staff wishes everyone a wonderful holiday time, for you might be celebrating Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, or Dead Week as you read this. The Meme Maxis send their greetings – here’s gitsmol jumping off of MattScobel’s bus, mint available for another day (announcement) –

MLeeJr re-ups JakNFT’s creation from last year, braving the snowstorm with panache:

How memeable is our valiant vanguard against the institutions, her strong arms securing our jpegs, jars, gifs, and gifts? Thanks to g9ralt, very much memeable (announcement) –

paulwilsonimage knows we’ve all been nice this year:

ON THE WAY TO FREEDOM is an aurora-packed exclusive mint for holders of CB_Singh_’s work (announcement) –

Zaharia_af sends us all the purest of joys with this still-open-edition journey through a magical night desert (announcement) –

When we’ve finally returned home, to our shelter from storm, we’ve got a cozy fire and marshmallows and … frogs?

We close out this end-of-SZN1 double-issue with a tribute to punk6529. It’s punku’s vast and voluminous efforts that have brought us here, in ambitious address of life’s confounding questions: how might we live and flourish, and what kind of world do we build?

Astride punk6529’s guidance – from vision, to implementation of the most minute details and careful listening to community feedback – we answer together, constructing edifices to support freedom, art, and kindness for all.

Case in point. Out of all the possible uses for laser eyes, your humble stenographer has long awaited the day they might be employed in the preparation of roasted snack finger foods. At last, poppa popper MichaellCorn has fulfilled this prophecy with TO VICTORY (announcement) –

And amid the heavenly clouds, ‘twas always elegantly calligraphied, that we be able to covet our very own pseudonymous punk6529 figurine. Voilá: presenting the 6529Voxel by theartofjuss:

Happy meme-seizing and life-seizing to all ! 🎉 🥳