Blockchain art as a new art movement (essay)
December 2023
Last year, I released the "Eternal Harmony" art series, in which I solved two complex problems. I created ever-changing paintings based on the Ethereum blockchain and developed a distinct aesthetic for them.
They are made up of many elements that have been painted with real watercolors and oil pastels. I devised a method for transferring them into a digital algorithm that can generate new paintings from these elements automatically.
The results are identical to my analog 1/1s, and token holders can expect to see them appear every three days. The algorithm simply erases old images and replaces them with new ones. And it can go on like this forever.
Ever-changing painting, 2022
This combination of solutions revealed a new side to fine art and made it possible to gain a unique experience that was previously unattainable. Here, "painting" is a constant process of creating new paintings, which you can observe.
This is what I called the concept of an eternal and non-static canvas. Its main characteristic is the time during which the work can continue to reveal itself to us. It needs to work autonomously and be fault-tolerant, which is why it was only possible to create it thanks to the blockchain.
My project is not the only one in this field. Artists such as Figure31, Matt Kane, James Bloom, thedude, DEAFBEEF, and Mathcastles also created living art but used new technical possibilities in their own creative ways.
For example, Matt Kane created "Gazers"—dynamic paintings on the blockchain that follow the movement of the Moon and reflect its phases. They were created in his unique style, reminiscent of generative op art, and also use the concept of time.
Different artists work in a variety of styles and ideas. Some use glitch and abstraction to reflect market phenomena, some use biomorphism to express the concept of evolution, and others, like me, reinterpret analog art theory through a dynamic form.
Blockchain art, 2023
I see this as proof that blockchain truly empowers art. And this is clearly more than just authentication verification technology (non-fungible token) or long-term file storage (on-chain approach), which the ascribe team envisioned in 2013:
“Digital files have different properties than physical paintings: they can be copied easily with no loss of quality and spread on the internet in seconds. We had been asking the question, how do you collect digitally based artworks? Then we realized, what if you could own digital art the way you own Bitcoin?”
Now, ten years later, we see that the blockchain and its functionality have also become a new tool for artists to work with form. This enabled the creation of runtime art by experimenting with various ideas and techniques.
In fact, we are witnessing the emergence of a new genre of digital art that uses the capabilities of the blockchain and cannot exist without them. It is still a small field today due to its high technical complexity, but each project created is unique and full of the energy of discovery.
It can be called autonomous dynamic art, but I prefer the more meaningful term "blockchain art". And it seems I'm not the only one who shares this idea.
This is a white canvas, but not made from paper or fabric, as in traditional fine art. It is made up of bits, encoded in the blockchain and has unlimited dynamic capabilities.
Despite its uniqueness, this blockchain canvas still has the basic features of a regular canvas. It still evokes the thrill of the unknown and a strong desire to create something.
This is a feeling that every artist can have before beginning a new work. Sometimes we do not even know what the next painting will be, and we just follow our intuition to see what happens.
I believe this is the most intimate process of creativity, and many of us create just to experience it again. Unfortunately, this crucial aspect of the experience is frequently hidden from the viewer.
The gap between the artist and the viewer
But what if you stay next to me while I create my new painting? This can probably significantly change your understanding of this work and the process you experience will become an integral part of it.
Together, we can feel how something new appears out of nothing. The composition of the future painting will become tangible, then the outlines of the images will appear, and the brush strokes will gradually reveal their emotional content.
The process of drawing my 1/1
Then it is not just a new painting, but a new perspective on it. This is even more akin to a film in which images gain value only through their dynamics, their evolution over time. At the same time, it is still a drawing.
The implementation of this idea became the primary goal of my new project. I realized I would have to work on the cutting edge of major technical capabilities for this. Not just with programming smart contracts, but also with drawing, with generative algorithms, and with aesthetics in general.
However, I felt that this was necessary because I believe it is important to comprehend the potential of blockchain art as thoroughly as possible from a theoretical and technological standpoint. I think that only bold and intricate experiments can reveal its essence and take us further.
Several times during my work, I was on the verge of failure. I could not make it work because the blockchain and my artistic abilities limited me in some way. But the efforts were fruitful, and the results are now visible.
"Perfect Imitation", Drawing process, 2023
Using a unique canvas allowed me to transform the painting into an immersive story. You can now see every stage of its development, from the first sketches to the final result.
It looks very natural, as if I was painting the picture in front of you. But I have nothing to do with this directly. This is done by an algorithm that completely replicates my artistic style and my way of thinking.
And, yes, this happens on its own within the blockchain.
Essentially, you see a perfect imitation of my creative process and can dive deep into it to understand how my paintings work from the inside. This makes it possible to perceive them on a completely different level.
So now the painting is a white canvas, the process of creating an image and the result at the same time. You can own this canvas and decide for yourself when you want to start the process of creating a new painting.
For the algorithm, this takes seven days. Each day brings with it a new stage in the painting, complete with fresh colors, strokes, and details. The image gradually manifests itself and gains significance.
It comes to an end on the seventh day, and you can admire the finished work indefinitely. You can, however, erase the painting and rerun the algorithm to create a new one at any time. This can be done an infinite number of times.
"Perfect Imitation", Algorithm, 2023
This is the structure of an algorithm section that interacts with all painting elements and stores the logic for doing so. This is a sophisticated system with seven sublevels, each with several random ones chosen from a large number of forks.
As a result, each painting appears to be a multi-layered cloud of disparate but interconnected images. As if it were a sand castle, something light and metaphorical emerges from ornate program patterns.
The most difficult task in this stage of development was understanding the principles of dynamic composition, which allows paintings to be created in stages. It was critical to achieve seamlessness when layering random images on top of one another.
This is not the most obvious topic, but I think those with good spatial reasoning will understand me. It is similar to having an entire action plan in your head and working on each step at the same time.
"Perfect Imitation", Original elements, 2023
Another equally important detail is the elements themselves, which are painted with real paints. I continued to refine my approach to analog generativity and this time tried to show it in a wide stylistic variety.
I am certain that the concept of a painting creating itself could only be fully realized by using real colors and textures. Because they add a special depth to the images and significantly increase the sense of reality.
Just think about how drawing on a piece of paper works. You can only paint in a stream since there is no margin for error and you cannot undo the previous stroke. This complexity is fascinating and ideally complements the project's concept.
Finally, there is the smart contract. I started with the code from Eternal Harmony and reworked it to fit the tasks and requirements of the new concept. I was also able to resolve the issue of token previews displaying on various third-party websites.
"Perfect Imitation", Technology, 2023
People who are familiar with my work are aware of this story. This occurred due to the novelty of my previous work and the inability to fully display it on actual platforms due to functional limitations.
I even had to create a special interface to experiment with this problem and look for opportunities to give a full experience of the ever-changing art at the current stage. This provided a number of solutions, but I still desired to find a more universal way.
For the new project, I created different data storage functions that allow it to adapt to the limitations of the platforms. This also makes it possible to display dynamic previews for all art tokens.
In all other respects, the contract is a fully decentralized cross-chain solution that guarantees the autonomy, robustness, and security of every algorithm. Only pure blockchain, which I consider a fundamental need for this genre of art.
"Perfect Imitation", Comparable result, 2023
This project brought together all of my research in theory, composition, analog generativity, and autonomous algorithms. This is the most difficult form I have ever attempted.
I was able to solve several important problems while working on this project:
— Recognize and articulate the conceptual characteristics of autonomous dynamic art in the form of a brief theory.
— To demonstrate in practice that blockchain is a tool for creativity, providing artists with previously unattainable opportunities.
— Completely finalize a distinct stylistic and technological framework for realizing all of my creative ideas.
Perfect Imitation could only appear at the intersection of these three factors. New theory, new technology, and a new visual approach. As a result, I was able to present the painting's concept in a new light and attempt to create something like magic.
I believe this is where art's potential lies. It should convey the artist’s vision and show important things from a new angle to saturate people with the brightest and most truthful experiences.
I hope we are close to this in blockchain art!
Thanks for inspiring me to Matt Kane (Gazers), int art (themetro), Numo (PAD), Mathcastles (Terraforms), Harm van den Dorpel (Mutant Garden Seeder), Chainleft (Chaos Roads), John F. Simon Jr. and Fingerprints DAO (Every Icon).
This project is dedicated to the ascribe team and the people who strived to realize their ideas despite any circumstances and difficulties. I follow you and want you to know that your work is truly meaningful.