Art Blocks

*History doesnt repeat itself, but it often rhymes. - Mark Twain*

In our day-to-day lives, its natural for us to fix a conceptual view of the people, places, and things around us in our minds. We might think, that is the tree outside my window. This is my house. Thats my friend. Im me. In fact, this type of abstraction is necessary for us to make any sort of sense of our world. But is the tree outside your window today truly the same tree as it was yesterday? Are you exactly the same person as you were yesterday? Or twenty years ago? In a sense, the abstraction is an illusion. Our physical reality is inseparable from the flow of time; everything is changing, all the time. Sometimes the changes are fast, and sometimes theyre imperceptible  but time never stops. Change never stops.

__*because unless until*__ represents this concept in art, as a generative system of systems where each output changes over time. New days present new views of the algorithm, where a variety of mathematical shapes gradually and endlessly shift, demonstrating a more local and immediate form of change. Even so, each days appearance has enough in common with the one before it to provide the output with a continuous sense of identity. With the arrival of each day, what about the art has changed -- and what remains the same?


Changing Over Time
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One of my favorite aspects of generative art is the joy of discovery when viewing a new output for the first time. I also enjoy the novelty that comes with watching a chaotic system evolve over time. But, once youve seen a particular output from a long-form generative art collection, youve seen it. My intent, with the time-based mechanics in this algorithm, is to preserve that feeling of discovery so that every viewing and every day brings something new. 

In __*because unless until*__ colors are applied differently depending on the day of the week. The detail level of the animation changes over the course of a month, providing a different visual balance between the shapes, and the textures that fill them. Each month, the animations shapes are altered. The weave of these different cycles mean that each day has its own characteristics. It would take at least seven years to see every available combination.

Some outputs come with Daily Modes tied to a specific day of the week, where colors and textures are altered in a particular way. Each output also comes with a "Fiesta Day" -- one day of the year where it shows a set of new behaviors. One day in December is designated as Glitchmas  a holiday shared across all outputs with another unique behavior. Glitchmas falls on a different day each year.


Animation
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The algorithm works by layering multiple animations, whose intersections are used to divide the canvas into regions that determine the palettes and rules for a section of the output. The rules are applied to an underlying field of cellular automata, which change state accordingly. At the core of the project is a generic framework that runs arbitrary animations in their own threads. The threading enables performant, fluid motion (I find it sensuous -- I often find myself thinking "I want to run my fingers through it.). Threads run asynchronously, which in combination with the chaotic behavior of cellular automata means that outputs evolve in a unique, non-deterministic way each time. After a few minutes, the canvas is likely to be in a state that will no-one will ever experience again.

The animations in __*because unless until*__ are a return to some of my favorite mathematical techniques from a prolific period (2010-11) when I was first beginning to make art: Mandelbrot and Julia fractals, isolines, polar inversions, spirals, regular and irregular polygons, and  of course  cellular automata. Its been a joy to revisit them, and to combine them with my more recent animated practice. As the animations progress, a variety of emergent features sometimes appear  such as cloudlike trails, regular and irregular structures, and moir.

There are dozens of cellular automaton rules in the algorithm, which can take the states of surrounding cells as input in one of over a hundred ways. Derived from these rules, there are over a thousand possible textures, and billions of ways that a cell might change depending on its rules, state, and surroundings. The states of cells in an area around each cell are used in one of 18 different ways to select from the palettes available in the output  each of which is an interpolated gradient containing hundreds of colors. The large number of possible combinations contribute to a diverse pool of possible appearances.


Help
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Press **[H]** to open a set of interactive menus providing additional information about the available time-based features and interactive controls. The Today panel provides realtime information about which detail level or special day is currently active.

For collectors wanting a more concrete experience, a Canonical mode is available that makes the animation appear as it did at unix epoch (January 1, 1970), and a Synchronous mode is available that makes animations evolve in a deterministic way (at the cost of performance). These modes are used when generating the thumbnail animations for each output.

because unless until #553

Iskra Velitchkova entered 2023 with a clear goalto slow down. After two frenetic years she needed to take a step back and focus on developing her technique and art practice. ESCAPE is the product of this pace change, its icon, and a map guiding us towards this same freedom.

For Velitchkova the relationship between artist and machine is deeply collaborative, nurturing unexpected elements that emerge from the code. This algorithm began in systems that balance order and chaos. First a distinctive style reminiscent of architectural maps emerged. From this grew the brutalism characteristic of former Soviet cityscapes of the artists early childhood in Bulgaria. Ultimately stifled by this rigidity and repetition, Velitchkova pushed the algorithm furtherbreaking it and in the result discovering the form of an opera house, a structure that had become a symbol of freedom to the artist, the promise of losing oneself in art.

The overwhelming superstructure of architectural lines breaks the picture plane and seems to go beyond three dimensionality. By avoiding easy categorization, the viewer spends time considering the forms and making sense of the composition. It becomes possible to escape everyday concerns for a moment longer, lost in the almost mathematical task of viewing these geometries. The opera house icon emerges as an antidote to these illusive structures. This central figure is suddenly recognizable as a flat or three dimensional shape. Whether in dense black or highlighted as a central white figure, it is a condensation point, a place for our mind to rest. The images combine the icons of this escape but also serve as a visual guide to achieving it.

We are reminded of what art can offer usmental freedom. Yet ultimately this is an illusion. Just as the opera is a staged fiction with its own rules and schedule, this composition is not real; it is a staged performance specifically created to evoke this reaction.

ESCAPE BY ISKRA VELITCHKOVA

Escape #100

Welcome to FewoWorld, a universe created by FEWOCiOUS and the Web3 community. FewoWorld is the first generative art project from the mind of FEWOCiOUS. Unlike anything he has created before.

FEWOCiOUS x FewoWorld: Fewos

Fewos are a 18,000 generative avatar collection. There are 3 Species of Fewos and every one has its own unique set of traits and characteristics that come embedded in their DNA. From squiggly eyes, to linework bones, and everything in between, these creatures were born from the mind of FEWOCiOUS, with every trait hand drawn and then converted into beautiful 3D art. View this FEWO's backpack at https://fewos.fewoworld.io/dressing-room/16898

FEWO #16898

Fewos are a 18,000 generative avatar collection. There are 3 Species of Fewos and every one has its own unique set of traits and characteristics that come embedded in their DNA. From squiggly eyes, to linework bones, and everything in between, these creatures were born from the mind of FEWOCiOUS, with every trait hand drawn and then converted into beautiful 3D art. View this FEWO's backpack at https://fewos.fewoworld.io/dressing-room/3863

FEWO #3863

I'm Feeling Lucky by Maya Man

*Im Feeling Lucky* focuses on the contemporary culture of astrology and how it prompts us to make sense of ourselves through its structures. Barthes calls astrology a confirmation of the real. There is comfort in the promise of realness over fantasy. Even if it"s influenced by randomness, confirmation bias gives way to some kind of feeling of faith.

The title of the collection comes from Googles Im Feeling Lucky button which initially embodied the energy of software and chance, but has evolved over the years in a way that parallels the fast-paced commercialization of the internet. 

I dont feel lucky anymore, but I want to Feel Lucky again


I"m Feeling Lucky #365

I"m Feeling Lucky #340

I"m Feeling Lucky #343

Unstable Objects of the Artificial Ceremony

Meticulously constructed with beautiful forms mined from the dump heap of latent land

Unstable Object of the Artificial Ceremony #215

Unstable Object of the Artificial Ceremony #143

Evolving Pixels is an exhibition centered around the theme of growth. The show invites a set of diverse digital artists who work with computational technologiesnamely, generative or AI-assistedto investigate what growth means to them. 

PROOF has partnered with Art Blocks and Venus Over Manhattan to bring Evolving Pixels to life. The long-form generative collections in the exhibition are being delivered with the Art Blocks Engine. From April 12-24, Venus Over Manhattan will display Evolving Pixels at their Soho gallery in New York City.

PROOF Curated: Evolving Pixels

Welcome to NeuralBricolage's veGAN Grande Finale, a hundred and one new unique latenttuce cultivars, this time grown on generative geometric grids to provide a framework for their growth. The latenttuce project has started more than 4 years ago with the main goal to present humble and familiar vegetables afresh as unfamiliar and stunning. But oftentimes while pretty, salad leaves cant stand on their own aesthetically - to show off their quiet organic beauty I contrasted it with the geometry of a grid adding it also as a metaphor for synergetic growth. As always, these cultivars are sourced from the NeuralBricolage terroir, ensuring their unique origin and quality. Enjoy the last harvest season!

Corona Rubra

Escape #324

Escape #201

My collection is about celebrating joy, humor, exuberance, fragility, and imperfection. 

The intent was to create artwork at the intersection of prehistoric myths and symbols and the latent space  Im fascinated by the analogy between almost geometric imagery of pre-Columbian patterns and the generative artworks.  

Through a series of AI-generated images, transformed into the surface design for the pottery my ceramic pieces emerge as 'future artifacts'tangible tokens of a present that bows to the past. In this blend of history, myth, comedy and cutting-edge technology one could appreciate the technical prowess but the work is meant to be enjoyed just on its crafty surface level. 

I paired each unique picture with a unique handcrafted ceramic piece   think of the former, of the NFT, as a postcard, capturing the essence and spirit of La Potire Jalouse as inspiration for pottery. 

Physicals can be redeemed starting November 22nd, 2023.

La Potiere Jalouse: Rite of the Handmade by Helena Sarin

In one sentence my collection is about celebrating joy, humor, exuberance, fragility, and imperfection. 

The intent was to create artwork at the intersection of prehistoric myths and symbols and the latent space - I"m fascinated by the analogy between almost geometric imagery of pre-Columbian patterns and the generative artworks.

Through a series of AI-generated images, transformed into the surface design for the pottery my ceramic pieces emerge as "future artifacts"tangible tokens of a present that bows to the past. In this blend of history, myth, comedy and cutting-edge technology one could appreciate the technical prowess but the work is meant to be enjoyed just on its crafty surface level.

I paired each unique picture with a unique handcrafted ceramic piece   think of the former, of the NFT, as a postcard, capturing the essence and spirit of La Potire Jalouse as inspiration for pottery. In fact, I made the pots for the deliberate purpose of painting generative images on them.

And perhaps, as you ease into the night with your favorite drink cradled in one of these pots, you"ll find joy in the simple pleasuresa  sip of tea, a splash of bourbon, or the warmth of a crafted mug and listen to the generative folktale, the bedside story I"m telling through the imagery on that vessel.

AIztec Spirits #4

Momentum encapsulates pivotal moments of velocity and engineering in a curated set of 200 evocative images. Every detail, every nuance, is a testament to the relentless pursuit of perfection. Crafted with a system that zeroes in on the quintessential race lap and the myriad challenges drivers confront, "Momentum" marks Rik's debut in the realm of 3D generative processes. While Rik's signature lies in meticulously chosen color palettes, this collection ventures into uncharted territory, allowing data and machine to dictate the final outcome. The result? A revolutionary ensemble, echoing a harmonious dialogue between artist and algorithm, reminiscent of the symbiosis between driver and vehicle.

Leveraging unparalleled 8K resolution, "Momentum" is crafted for both pristine digital display and as stunning fine-art prints.

Artist: Rik Oostenbroek
Year: 2023
Medium: 3D Generative
Output: 1/1, 200 pieces
Resolution: 8k 300dpi

Momentum by Rik Oostenbroek

Momentum encapsulates pivotal moments of velocity and engineering in a curated set of 200 evocative images. Every detail, every nuance, is a testament to the relentless pursuit of perfection. Crafted with a system that zeroes in on the quintessential race lap and the myriad challenges drivers confront, "Momentum" marks Rik"s debut in the realm of 3D generative processes. While Rik"s signature lies in meticulously chosen color palettes, this collection ventures into uncharted territory, allowing data and machine to dictate the final outcome. The result? A revolutionary ensemble, echoing a harmonious dialogue between artist and algorithm, reminiscent of the symbiosis between driver and vehicle.

Leveraging unparalleled 8K resolution, "Momentum" is crafted for both pristine digital display and as stunning fine-art prints.

**Artist**: Rik Oostenbroek  
**Year**: 2023  
**Medium**: 3D Generative  
**Output**: 1/1, 200 pieces  
**Resolution**: 8k 300dpi  

This work was exhibited as part of Velocity Series by Oracle Red Bull Racing and Bybit. Curated by AOI.

Momentum #25

SacraBloopers

Sacra Famiglia Outtakes. An edition of 215 wild and crazy images that didn"t make it inside the house.