Latest Checks - Pepe Edition News
Last night, "Pepe's Chair," part of Vincent Van Dough's (VVD) Notable Pepes collection, was delisted from OpenSea.
❗ Why It Matters
The NFT, which was previously trading for multiple ETH, appears to have been the subject of a DMCA take down notice issued yesterday.
🔍 Need to Know
The Notable Pepes collection features art from various different artists, the artist of the Pepe Chair NFT is Dangiuz.This is not Dangiuz's first "Chair" controversy. Last year, Dangiuz planned to release a "The Chair" collection on Nifty Gateway, which "consisted of 999 steampunk style chairs." There were some similarities between Dangiuz's art for this collection and the work of another artist named Valentin Winkelmann. Eventually, word of the drop spread to Winkelmann, and the collection was postponed. In April of 2022, Winkelmann put his version of The Chair up for auction on SuperRare, where the piece was sold for 11 ETH.
Fast forwarding to yesterday, Winkelmann and Dangiuz are once again at odds over "The Chair." Valentin came forward overnight as the person who filed the DMCA complaint, stating that he thought Dangiuz "might have learned something" during the last run-in. Valentin said that Vincent Van Dough and Dangiuz were blackmailing him during the Notable Pepe drop and claimed that "all they are looking for are other's peoples' backs on which they can make money."
🕳️Go Deeper
This is not the first time a Vincent Van Dough project has come under scrutiny. In November of 2021, VVD released "Right Click Save This," a compilation of popular art taken from the furries community. The art for this piece featured a Pepe frog with the caption, "LAWSUIT MATERIAL. CALL: 1800-SUE-ME." Despite DMCA threats from the original artists, this piece was put up for auction, eventually selling for 20.35 ETH.
In a separate instance, VVD responded to a tweet from Kevin Rose about removing NFT collections that used the "Moonbirds" name by releasing his own collection, also called "Moonbirds." This collection, now called "Moonbird art collection" had been previously delisted by OpenSea, but has since been re-listed.
🎤 Community Feedback
Now we have a Thief and a Liar, both trying to make profit from my work, again, because they lack the creative energy to create something of their own. That's sad, that is your NFT Space.Valentin Winkelmann
@punk6529 introduced Vincent Van Dough (VVD) as the artist of tomorrow's card in the Memes by 6529 collection in trolling fashion this morning.
❗ Why it Matters
VVD is one of the most notable collectors in the space, who has recently become more involved on the creator side. In late January, VVD dropped his Checks -- Pepe Edition open edition, drawing inspiration from Jack Butcher's popular Checks -- VV open edition project. Over the weekend, it was announced that Checks -- Pepe Edition NFTs would serve as entry tickets into Notable Pepes, a "Memes by 6529"-like art ecosystem that VVD is leading.
📅 Prepare for the Drop
- While we do not yet have the mint details, drops in this collection typically occur at 11:00 AM ET here.
- The ability to mint cards in this series is typically restricted to an allowlist, which is comprised of holders of works by 6529 and the featured artist.
🎤 Founder Feedback
One of the nice things about the meme cards is that you can learn about emerging artists who you might not have noticed previously. In that light, I would like to introduce tomorrow's meme card artist @Vince_Van_Dough. Lets welcome VVD to the world of NFTs.@punk6529
Vincent Van Dough (VVD) introduced Notable Pepes today, a "Memes by 6529"-like art ecosystem that will be filled with Pepe-inspired art over the coming months.
❗Why It Matters
After VVD announced there would be no burn mechanism for his Checks -- Pepe Edition collection yesterday, collectors began to speculate how the open edition NFTs may be leveraged in the future. Today, VVD clarified his plans for the 200,000+ piece open edition collection with the introduction of Notable Pepes.
🔍 The Deets
- Each Checks -- Pepe Edition NFT will serve as an "access pass" in upcoming Notable Pepe drops.
- Access passes will be used as raffle tickets, with winners being added to an allowlist before each drop.
- VVD notes that each series will contain 50 cards, with Pepe Checks serving as the first card in Series 1.
- VVD has assembled "a group of respected stewards of Pepe" to participate in Series 1. In the future, a submission portal will be opened for aspiring contributors.
🔜 What's Next?
- The second card in the series will be called "Pepe Cheques," and it will drop next Sunday.
- Pepe Cheques will be made available to "any artist who has ever minted a Rare Pepe, or Fake Rare," or by burning a FAKEASF NFT.
- To have art entered into the Notable Pepe directory, an artist will be required to burn a Pepe Cheque.
- Regularly scheduled drops will begin two weeks from today. Series 1 cards will cost 0.069 ETH to mint, and each card will have a supply between 100-1,000.
🕳️ Go Deeper
There will be no burn mechanism for Pepe Checks from VincentVanDough, according to a tweet from VVD.
❗Why It Matters
Given the size of the collection - more than 230,000 NFTs - many had suspected that VVD would enable a burn mechanism like the original Checks collection. Burn mechanisms have been implemented for nearly every open edition of late, including from notable artists and collections like NessGraphics and KILLABEARS. While no burn means, no supply reduction - VVD indicated he is comfortable with the 12,000 unique holders building a Pepe Checks community.
🎤 Founder Feedback
Having 12k holders allows Pepe Checks to act as a powerful tool for community building and enabling distribution mechanisms.VincentVanDough
🔜 What's Next
Although no burn is coming, VVD did indicate that more news is coming this weekend.
