Posthumous Spotlight: Honoring Alotta Money

In observance of the Day of the Dead, we are taking this contemplative holiday to remember a bright star in the crypto art space that left us too soon, Alotta Money. 

We asked the artists who were involved in the collaborative homage, “The Legend Will Live On,” to reflect on the life, art, and impact of Alotta Money. 

Who was Alotta Money to you?

“As a French person, Alotta was one of the people I wanted to reach and know since I went into the field a little late. We just started joking through Twitter comments. He’s the best symbol of crypto art that I can imagine.” — Crypto Clay

“A friend, a collector, and a godfather of crypto art. Alotta supported me, helped me feel welcome, and reminded me to enjoy the ride.” — Jæn

“Alotta wasn’t someone I knew personally, unlike the majority of the artists involved in “The Legend Will Live On.” He was an artist whose humor I admired and whose work I had started to collect. Having personally lost many close family and friends to cancer, his passing made me feel like I needed to do what I could for both his crypto and IRL family.” — strayltd

“Alotta was a colleague, mentor, and friend. He helped me learn about the space and uplifted me by inviting me to projects with him. We sent each other art in the mail, shared ideas, and rooted for each other. When I joined the space, he was one of many OGs that paved the way and showed me the virtues of the crypto art space.” — Bryan Brinkman

“Alotta was without a doubt an incredible visionary crypto artist, but he was way more than that to me. He was a friend, someone I looked up to, a person who brought joy and laughter into my life on a daily basis, someone who always had my back and who I could count on. Someone I had many crazy plans with. He was a one-of-a-kind human being, the kind of person you only meet once in a lifetime if you are lucky. Someone I dearly miss every day and often shed a tear for.” — skeenee

“An exceptionally skilled creator, inspiring artist, and dear friend who was always there to encourage and support.” — Reinhard Schmid

“For me, Alotta Money was an ironic and visionary artist with a touch of cynicism that never hurts when you need to communicate something. It never ceased to amaze me and make me smile.” — Valérie Biet

“Alotta was an artist from a background and medium that was at first foreign to me, as different as night and day in a lot of respects. His artistic voice and personality were so powerful you couldn’t help but be drawn to the guy. He never failed to be encouraging, inspiring, and in a way, challenge you by the sheer creativity and fearlessly uniqueness of his work and for that matter being unique as a person. I think he made all of us better, I know he made me better.” — Arsenic Lullaby

“A great and prestigious referent of cryptoart. Vanguard, disruptive but generous with the community.” — Norma Xelda Jara

“For me Alotta Money was a very inspiring artist, a builder of the Cryptoart Community, and above all a great friend, not only to me but to all of us. He was really the most accessible artist to speak to when I first started minting NFTs and an example of how you can make meaningful art but also for the best way to promote it.” — George Boya

“Alotta was a mentor, my lighthouse in this digital world, but also one of my best friends IRL.” — DidierRa

“Alotta Money was an inspirational artist for me  He was master of his craft in many mediums and in a distinct style, In particular, I enjoyed his builds in Cryptovoxels that were absurdly astonishing in the scale and attention to detail. He was very clever and funny person and that came through in his art.” — Mikko Lyytinen

“Besides XCOPY, he was one of the first and earliest crypto artists to really catch my eye. I was instantly in love with his piece, “Time Fries.” He explored everything, from crypto, NFTs, AI, and the metaverse, before any of it was even a thing.

“It is hard to describe it in a small word count, but for me, he was one of the coolest personas in the space and one of my favorite artists, with his humorously subversive art and “Monty Python” influences. It was always funny and day-brightening to interact with and read him on Twitter. Even in the darkest times of crypto, with horrific trending topics and toxic conversations, he was like a big rock, where every wave broke, and he magically converted the depressing topic into a hilarious art piece or a funny discussion.” — sp4ce

How would you describe the legacy and impact of Alotta Money?

“He led the real spirit of crypto art: mixing stuff without limit; work seriously; community power is key, and have fun doing all that because if not, what is the point?”  — Crypto Clay

“[He spread the message about] the importance of having fun, of keeping a funky and punk energy, and staying true to oneself.” — Jæn

“Alotta is always mentioned in spaces by many of the crypto artists I know, and it’s often his kindness that they mention. I think kindness will always be a cornerstone of what the crypto art scene is about, and Alotta embodied this ethos.” — strayltd

“Alotta brought a sense of humor and levity to this space that is sorely missed. He was able to frame the absurdity of it all in a way that was visually hilarious and conceptually thoughtful. He was also incredibly prolific. He created dense artwork at such a rapid pace that we are lucky to be left with such a large collection of work.” — Bryan Brinkman

“Every morning I was eager to log on to Twitter and see what kind of stupid thing he posted. Laughter was assured, and I started my day light and happy.” — skeenee

“With the quality of his work, he stands out as a shining example of what is possible.” — Reinhard Schmid

“My artistic vein was very much mirrored in his way of making art the first time I saw him, as I, like him, loved to make collage works by taking pieces of art from the past and then making them into a sort of meme, thus recalling today’s society. I fell in love with him right away because I felt so artistically connected to what he was doing.” — Valérie Biet

“I would say Alotta was exactly what this space needed when it needed it. Someone fearless. Someone would put out fantastic work and was not afraid to call it fantastic. Not afraid to say what we do has value. Not afraid to put his work and this medium up against anything else as being just as, if not more, relevant and legitimate. He was Babe Ruth in this sense, people grew to love baseball because they loved watching Ruth play…people grew to love NFT art and art in general because they loved Alotta’s work.” — Arsenic Lullaby

“For many of us he has been foundational and also shows us that fame is not everything but the importance of his trajectory and legacy. Also that life is short and that ultimately we are human.” — Norma Xelda Jara

The impact of Alotta Money was so vast, it makes me think that without him we would never have had a Cryptoart scene the way it is today. From his CryptoVoxel gallery designs and accessories to his collaborations with awesome artists that gave birth to neverbefore seen ways to make art.” — George Boya

“Alotta is, for me, the quintessence of the crypto artist, a unique style instantly recognizable, works sometimes very critical of our society but always with an undeniable sense of humor. He will have helped and inspired an incalculable number of artists.” — DidierRa 

“He was one of the first crypto and NFT pioneers and has helped the space with onboarding new artists, experimenting with the tech, and expressing his experiences in his funny works, always with a high-value positivity. I guess it would be difficult to find an artist, collector, or NFT enthusiast of the earlier days who didn’t know or like him. 

“Without him, the road to mass adoption would have been a lot longer. And a lot more serious in a sad way. After the announcement of his death, my timeline was full of people wearing his avatar or one of his works as a Twitter banner as a tribute to honor him. (Even until today) Artists made their own interpretations of his profile picture. Many well-known people in the crypto scene expressed their condolences. 

“PAK honored him with a modified Alotta Money avatar picture, only showing the bowler hat without his face. Trevor Jones had a very personal connection to him and honored his friend with several events. There was a “Celebration of Life” Twitter Space where people who knew him told inspiring stories about him. There was even a big farewell party for his birthday in (Crypto)Voxels, which many attended. He was so well known, and it felt like everyone had a positive connection with him.” — sp4ce

How would you like Alotta Money to be remembered?

“I would love Alotta to be remembered as a real innovative modern artist, a key figure and founder of a real artistic movement called crypto art.”  — Crypto Clay

“As the generous, hilarious, kind free spirit he was and a great artist and virtual architect to boot.” — Jæn

“I think the best way to remember any great artist is to share their work as widely as possible. Then everyone can see Alotta’s great attributes for themselves.” — strayltd

“Alotta was an artist that gave more than he took. He cared deeply about crypto art and all of the people involved. I’m thankful that he created art that reflected himself so well because anybody that views his work will also see him.” — Bryan Brinkman

“Alotta was immune to all sorts of negativity. He would never let a rant, an attack, or stupidity get to him and was able to turn everything into a joke that would instantly disarm anyone. That´s what I admired the most about him and what I will remember him for the most. I miss that beautiful idiot so much.” — skeenee

“I would like to honor him by holding art exhibitions featuring his works as well as those of many other artists who were inspired by him. Alotta Money has the potential to become a digital art movement.” — Valérie Biet

“I would like him to be remembered for what he was/will always be, a brilliant artist and fearless pioneer, who helped create an entire medium.” — Arsenic Lullaby

“By promoting his work more and doing these kinds of tributes. Those of us who were able to share his time will never forget him and he will always be in our memory. Personally, I felt honored to be able to participate in this work.” — Norma Xelda Jara

“This is a difficult question but I think that the spirit of AM’s art was that life is just a big joke. If we remember that and keep our sense of humor, even in the darkest of times, and live our lives to the fullest, I think this is a good way to be remembered.” — George Boya  

“I would like him to be remembered as a pioneer of cryptoart and an art genius.” — DidierRa 

“His impact, of course, was immense. There was always something going on, and if there was an interesting project coming out, he would be on it. He was very much loved by the community, and that’s where he left his biggest legacy besides his art.” — Mikko Lyytinen

“I’m sure everyone has their own connection story and their own memory of him, so he’ll really never die. For me, he was a crypto art pioneer, an “NFT machine” who brought a lot of humor and unseriousness to the world of serious art and hard tech. He’s alotta missed.” — sp4ce

“Right now I’m making a papertoy of Alotta, so he will be present here in Barcelona! He was a big person, open and welcoming to everyone! 

“When I asked him if he would like to do a custom for one of my papertoys, not only did he accept with joy, he did the papertoy within few days, constructed it perfectly (better than I do usually 😂) and sent me great photos of it! 

“It’s not simple to explain, but from such gestures, you see the person and he has a special place in my heart and absolute respect.” — mlibty

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