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3 Unique Insights about the Future of Generative Art with Art Blocks

Since we published our Introductory Guide to Generative Art, we have continued to follow and be amazed by the incredible world of creative coding.

This week on the Crypto Cafe with Randi Zuckerberg podcast, we caught up with Jordan Kantor, Artistic Director of Art Blocks to get his unique insights on the future of this emerging art form and what artists can learn from it.

Let’s get started!

What is Art Blocks?

Art Blocks is a curated platform for artists to publish their work through editions of generative, unique artworks that are created through creative coding. It was founded in November 2020 by CEO Erick Calderon aka Snowfro, who created and launched the platform through his collection : Chromie Squiggle.

What distinguished Snowfro’s collection and Art Blocks at the time was that the artwork was created upon purchase, meaning that no one knew what their Squiggle would look like before buying it. Moreover, doing so as a non-fungible token (NFT) meant that everyone’s Squiggle was effectively uniquely assembled on the blockchain.

This built-in gamification in the field of generative art coupled with a pioneering movement led by Art Blocks allowed it to exceed over $1 billion in both primary and secondary sales. Today, the organization is viewed as one of the most important digital art platforms of its time.

What continues to distinguish Art Blocks as a platform is their selective application process. Art Blocks continues to look for artists who are pushing the boundaries of this medium in new ways, be it technically, conceptually, or aesthetically. Applications to be curated on the platform can be accessed here.

Insight #1: Keep embracing new technological tools

We asked Jordan, “Why is there so much interest in generative art now?”

If you’re curious in building generative art principles into your arts practice, the best way to get started is to watch a good step-by-step tutorial - as they will aid you in grasping the fundamentals and familiarizing yourself with the techniques of generating algorithmic artwork.

In addition to an instructional resource, you will also require software that is specially designed to facilitate the creation of generative art with minimal coding.

openFrameworks, an open-source C++ toolkit, is a simple and collaborative tool ideal for beginners, and a great place to start. With its cross-compatible libraries, you can access common resources for fonts, 3D modeling, graphics, computer vision, and more.

Interested in collecting generative art instead?

Check out Andrew Jiang’s latest comprehensive primer for on-chain generative art.

Insight #2: We are still very early

We asked Jordan, “What advice do you have for artists who are just starting to dabble in generative art?”

Even though we have seen some steps forward in adoption with exhibits at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, art critics have continued to be hostile towards generative art.

Part of the issue is that most art critics don’t have much more of a deeper understanding of generative art than their predecessors did half a century ago. One of the ways to solve this is to organize discussion and education.

For instance, Outland, a platform dedicated to fostering critical conversations around emerging technology and art, recently organized an art criticism workshop with Art Blocks to improve the discourse around this emerging field.

Insight #3: Keep having conversations with other artists

HUG Artist Mr. Darius, our featured guest who was chosen through our Open Calls, asked Jordan this fundamental question, “How can today’s artists best position themselves for maximum reach and exposure to new opportunities?”

One of the ways to do so is to follow artists who are experimenting with form. For instance, check out Sterling Crispin whose latest drop Flourish is coming to Art Blocks on Wednesday 8/30.

Looking to experience the world of generative art in person?

If you are looking for an immersive in-person experience with generative art, we also suggest the third annual Art Blocks Marfa Weekend taking place September 21st-24th, 2023. Open to all, this gathering highlights Art Block’s identity at the crossroads of contemporary art, tech, and finance.

Closing Thoughts

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital art, particularly in the world of creative coding, Art Blocks stands as a true pioneer, as it continually pushes the boundaries of creativity and innovation.

We think so too.

In the News

Industry News

• New to HUG? Want to know how we have been empowering artists through discovery, opportunity, and education? Read our feature on NFT Now here.

• E-commerce tooling platform Shopify will be integrating Solana Pay as its newest Web3-native payment solution to allow merchants to have real-time access to their capital.

Tools and Resources

• MidJourney introduced image in-painting last week. See how it compares to Stable Diffusion’s similar tool here.

Notable Creators

• Have you been seeing Sam Spratt’s Monument Game all over Twitter (X)? Dive deep into Sam’s world, and how he involved hundreds of collectors in sharing a bit of themselves with his art.

• AI art platform BrainDrops is releasing a new collection by artist Ira Greenberg called Mappings that includes landscape painting, map illustration, and data visualization.

Artist Grants and Opportunities

HUG-exclusive

• ☕️ Enter the Crypto Cafe with StabilityAI and artist Krista Kim! Join Randi on her SiriusXM podcast where she interviews the leading thinkers in arts and technology. We are looking for someone to join our conversations with Motez Bishara, the Director of Communications at Stability AI, and Canadian-Korean contemporary artist Krista Kim, where you will get the opportunity to ask them for advice and guidance live. Learn more and submit here.

• 💰 HUG is offering $500 USD grants to two artists each month in exchange for unminted artwork to raffle off to our community. Learn more and meet all our HUG Visionaries here.

Other Open Calls

• HUG Artist Rebecca Rose has compiled a number of other Open Calls for getting your work into TV, commercials, and films. Learn more here.

• Glitch artist Patrick Amadon returns with his 404, September 2023 Art Catalog, where he and several other artists will acquire 1 ETH of selected art. Learn more and enter here.

This Week’s Art Drops

Did you know that these are just 8 of 400+ art drops on HUG? Get a full list of this week’s art drops from HUG here.