Building generator algorithm series#

That elevates the level of algorithmic execution because the artist is creating something that they know theyвЂ™re proud of before they even know whatвЂ™s going to come out on the other side.вЂќД¬hromie Squiggle, the first series to go up on Art Blocks. They canвЂ™t just cherry pick the good outputs. вЂњBecause Art Blocks forces the artist to accept every single output of the algorithm as their signed piece,вЂќ Calderon said, вЂњthe artist has to go back and tweak the algorithm until itвЂ™s perfect. вЂќД«ut Art Blocks has completely changed the status quo for generative art. Then they would вЂњframe them, and put them in a gallery. вЂњUntil today, a artist would create an algorithm, press the spacebar 100 times, pick five of the best ones and print them in high quality,вЂќ Erick Calderon, the CEO and founder of Art Blocks, said, explaining how generative artists typically make their work. It functions a bit like a вЂњget-what-you-getвЂќ gumball machine, except some treat what comes out like a stock option.ДЄrt Blocks isnвЂ™t as worried about the long-term value of NFTs as they are about raising the standards of algorithmic art. Buyers select an algorithm with a style they like and then mint pieces, each of which is unique but randomly generated. On Art Blocks, artists upload their algorithm and cap the number of iterations it can produce. A new generative art platform, Art Blocks, has set out to prove that art made with algorithms can be complex and genuinely aesthetically compelling. Not all algorithmic art has to be this simplistic. From a criticвЂ™s perspective, this is exactly the problem-the line between manufactured collectibles and unique art works has almost completely collapsed. ChristieвЂ™s will be offering their own PFP sale next week.

SothebyвЂ™s just realizedВ $24.4 million for a bundle of 101 Bored Apes from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. Yet theyвЂ™ve come to define the most sought-after assets on the NFT market. This type of art-making, the PFP project creator Franky Aguilar recently pointed out, вЂњis a very easy way to generate 10,000 unique images.вЂќ Evidently, the challenges that come with making a successful PFP project hardly lie with the artistic process. A bucket of virtual assets-different design features, accessories, and special traits-is created and then mashed together using a procedural generation algorithm that creates thousands of unique combinations. Each of these projects shares a process which depends on algorithms.

These series capitalize upon the success of CryptoPunks, a series of pixelized portraits of punks, which continue to dominate as the NFT scene. This past season-which crypto enthusiasts have taken to calling the вЂњJPEG summerвЂќ-saw the rise of massively successful profile-pic NFT projects (PFP NFTs) like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins. That was last March, long before algorithmic art would come to dominate the NFT space and breach the walls of the fine art world via the auction houses. Could JPG Become the Tumblr of the NFT Space?