Launched in the wake of the excitement of 2020’s DeFi Summer and before the 2021 NFT craze, Art Blocks was a platform for creating generative computer art and minting it as NFTs, which quickly became popular with collectors seeking new digital art and artists looking to distribute their work on the Ethereum blockchain.
Art Blocks was founded by NFT pioneer artist Erick Calderon (aka Snowfro) in November 2020. Calderon created Chromie Squiggles as a proof of concept for his vision of creating generative art. The Art Blocks logo is even based on the Squiggles design. Within six months, the platform was already hiring a full-time team.
Today, Art Blocks has become one of the top platforms for artists to create generative art and collectors to seek unique works. Artists use algorithms to generate one-of-a-kind works, while collectors mint NFTs directly into their wallets. Art Blocks offers curated collections reviewed by a curatorial committee, and its "Selected" section provides a space for artists to push the boundaries of digital and physical art to create truly unique works.
Additionally, Art Blocks hosts the annual Art Blocks Marfa Weekend in Marfa, Texas, which brings artists and collectors together at the Art Blocks gallery on West San Antonio Street, a creative art gallery open to the public seven days a week for exhibitions, community events and conversations.
Ahead of the 4th annual Art Blocks Marfa Weekend, November 14-17, 2024, OpenSea is excited to announce a partnership with Art Blocks, the renowned generative art platform. Learn more about the partnership in our full blog post.
What is Generative Art?
Generative art is a fascinating and innovative art form that utilizes computer code and autonomous systems to create unique and often unpredictable works of art. These autonomous systems range from algorithms and computer programs to biological entities. Each system independently determines various characteristics of the artwork. The human creator sets the initial parameters and rules, but the generative system plays a kind of auxiliary role to the artist, producing endless permutations and variations.
This art form encompasses multiple disciplines, including music, literature, and visual art. In the field of digital art, generative art is particularly prominent. It enables artists to create complex designs that are impossible to achieve by hand. The process often involves a fusion of creativity and technology. Artists use code to generate patterns, shapes, and colors, resulting in mesmerizing visual art.
Generative art is not just limited to digital screens. It has also been applied in the field of architecture, where algorithms can create elaborate architectural patterns and designs. This intersection of art and technology opens up new possibilities for creativity and pushes the boundaries of what is possible in the art world.
How do Art Blocks work with generative art?
Art Blocks is a platform that allows artists to easily mint and sell generative artworks as NFTs without having to deal with the technical complexity of creating secure smart contracts. Artists first design their own generative systems that generate artworks and visual elements. These algorithms often introduce randomness, enabling them to create artworks with infinite design permutations and combinations.
Once completed, the artist uploads the algorithm to Art Blocks, where they can set terms such as the number of editions and the minting price. Collectors can mint these NFTs, directly creating a new piece of digital art stored in their wallets. Each mint generates a unique version of the artwork, making each NFT unique.
To be featured in the platform’s main series, “Art Blocks Curated,” artists must apply and be reviewed by a curatorial committee comprised of creative artists, collectors, and curators, which ensures that only the highest quality projects are selected that reflect innovation and technical excellence. The “Curated” series highlights the best examples of creative art, showcasing projects that add value to the platform and the wider art community.
For more details on Art Blocks Curated and upcoming projects, visit the Art Blocks website.
How the Art Blocks Platform Works
Art Blocks is a decentralized Web3 digital artist marketplace based on the Ethereum blockchain. This innovative platform enables creative artists to create and collectors to own unique digital artworks generated by complex algorithms. Each artwork on Art Blocks is the product of a unique algorithm, allowing infinite variations and combinations, ensuring that no two artworks are the same.
Art Blocks has gained tremendous popularity among art lovers, collectors, and investors for its pioneering approach to digital art. By combining the creativity of generative art with the security and transparency of blockchain technology, Art Blocks has created a thriving ecosystem where digital art can be celebrated for its originality.
What are some of the main generative art works on Art Blocks?
One of Art Blocks’ most notable projects is its first project, Chromie Squiggle, which was launched as a proof-of-concept for the platform’s potential to generate art and has since become a status symbol for NFT collectors.
The artwork features a white background with rainbow squiggles depicted on it, made up of one of six different line styles: Basic, Bold, Tubular, Skinny, Plush, and Ribbed The series consists of 10,000 tokens, with Chromie Squiggle entering its final phase in 2024, four years after it was first minted.
The final piece in the series, Squiggle #9999, began live casting on July 15, 2024, with the public farewell casting closing on July 22. Squiggle#9999was officially minted and gifted to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) on August 21, securing its place in the museum’s generative computer art collection. The casting of the final Chromie Squiggle marks an important moment in the history of generative artwork.
Another notable series from Snowfro is the Friendship Bracelets, created in collaboration with Alexis André (also known as MacTuitui), as of the October 26, 2022 snapshot, anyone holding an NFT related to Art Blocks is eligible to mint two free NFTs from this series, each token features a generative artwork inspired by the friendship bracelets, the idea is that the claimer will send one token to a friend to spread the word about Art Blocks, NFTs, and friendship.
Another influential project, Dynamic Slices, was released on Art Blocks in December 2020 by artist and programmer pxlq, a collection of exactly 512 NFTs, each of which is an abstract work splashed with bright, colorful slices of circles on a contrasting background.
In an interview published on Cent, a platform for collecting digital “moments,” pxlq explained that the piece was inspired by doodles at a conference, noting that he used Art Blocks because it allowed him to make the artwork dynamic.
Art Blocks through the years
Art Blocks has offered different series in the past where artists could showcase their generative designs and generative art to collectors. Art Blocks Playground is a series founded in February 2021 where creators can experiment more freely with their projects. Playground allows artists to publish work with fewer curatorial requirements, giving them space to try out new ideas without having to go through the same rigorous review process.
Another series, Art Blocks Factory, launched in March 2021, provides artists with a more open platform to showcase their work without the need for curation, allowing any artist to showcase their creative art on Art Blocks, providing greater flexibility and inclusivity.
In November 2022, Art Blocks merged Playground and Factory into Art Blocks Presents, a new series that maintains the quality standard while allowing for a wider range of projects to be showcased, with the Curatorial Committee still able to select projects from Presents for special inclusion in the Curated series.
Around the same time, Art Blocks Explorations launched, commissioning unique projects from select artists and partners, a series that pushed the boundaries of how generative art and casting can impact the human experience, focusing on cutting-edge collaboration and innovation in the field.
Finally, in June 2022, Art Blocks launched Collaborations, a series of co-branded projects with organizations like Pace Gallery and Bright Moments, featuring renowned artists like Jeff Davis, Casey REAS, and Trevor Paglen.
This historical collection reflects the evolution of Art Blocks, which is now the leading platform for generative art.
Art Blocks Community
The Art Blocks community is a vibrant and growing community of artists, collectors and digital art enthusiasts who are passionate about generative art. This highly engaged art community is passionate about digital innovation and active on various social media platforms, where members regularly share their latest works, discuss trends and engage in lively discussions about the future of digital art.
The Art Blocks NFT Marketplace is the central hub of this community, providing a secure and transparent platform for buying and selling unique digital artworks. Artists can easily list their creations for sale, and collectors can browse and purchase works that resonate with them. The NFT Marketplace’s user-friendly interface and powerful security features ensure a seamless experience for all participants.
The Art Blocks community fosters a sense of camaraderie and collaboration, with artists frequently sharing insights into their creative process and collectors displaying their collections and discussing the significance of various works. This sense of community not only enhances the overall experience, but also drives the continued growth and development of the Art Blocks platform.
What is the Art Blocks Engine?
Building on the success of Art Blocks’ platform for creators, the team launched Art Blocks Engine to sell its art minting infrastructure as a product to businesses, and after laying the foundation for Sotheby’s Gen Art project, the Art Blocks team further developed the software into a full white label solution for brands to experiment with generative art and mint output on the blockchain.
Art Blocks is truly paving the way for generative art, bringing legitimacy to the medium and fostering a new generation of artists while displaying it securely on the blockchain. By utilizing an autonomous system, they enable non-human entities to independently determine the characteristics of a work of art, reflecting the artist’s concept.
Using artificial evolution, artists like Jon McCormack create complex and subtle digital art forms that combine elements of computer code, evolutionary algorithms, and generative design to develop new aesthetic and functional designs that are difficult to achieve through traditional methods.
The future of generative art
The future of generative art is exciting, with rapid advances in technology paving the way for more refined and complex creations. As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to advance, generative artists are exploring new frontiers, collaborating with machines to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation.
One of the most important developments in this field is the use of blockchain technology, which is revolutionizing the way we think about digital art ownership and provenance by securely recording the history and authenticity of each work.
As generative art continues to develop, we can expect to see new and innovative forms emerge that blend traditional artistic techniques with cutting-edge technology. This continued evolution will undoubtedly result in groundbreaking works of art that challenge our perceptions and expand artistic possibilities. The future of generative art is bright, and platforms like Art Blocks are at the forefront of this exciting journey.
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