CRYPTO ROOTS (a Sónar+D metaverse)

Memo Akten (2021), minted on Hic et Nunc.

Wild fires are recently tearing up the world, & many countries are seeing the worst fires on record. In Memo's home country (Turkey), 10s of 1000s of acres of coastal forest were up in flames.

Akten, after having grown up & currently living in this area - has been drawing inspiration from the life and soil of this region, starting with photogrammetric 3D scans of olive trees.

Due to these devastating losses, Memo is minting a few early studies, & throughout August 2021, every penny from the sale of these went to the charities & volunteers working with displaced / injured animals.

Memo Akten (2021), minted on Hic et Nunc.

Wild fires are recently tearing up the world, & many countries are seeing the worst fires on record. In Memo's home country (Turkey), 10s of 1000s of acres of coastal forest were up in flames.

Akten, after having grown up & currently living in this area - has been drawing inspiration from the life and soil of this region, starting with photogrammetric 3D scans of olive trees.

Due to these devastating losses, Memo is minting a few early studies, & throughout August 2021, every penny from the sale of these went to the charities & volunteers working with displaced / injured animals.

Memo Akten (2021), minted on Hic et Nunc.

Wild fires are recently tearing up the world, & many countries are seeing the worst fires on record. In Memo's home country (Turkey), 10s of 1000s of acres of coastal forest were up in flames.

Akten, after having grown up & currently living in this area - has been drawing inspiration from the life and soil of this region, starting with photogrammetric 3D scans of olive trees.

Due to these devastating losses, Memo is minting a few early studies, & throughout August 2021, every penny from the sale of these went to the charities & volunteers working with displaced / injured animals.

Daito Manabe (2021), Audio-Visual Installation at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

This installation uses event data from Opensea around the day of 3/11 10am EST, when MetaKova won the Beeple ‘s NFT at Christies for $69,346,250.

Daito looks back at this symbolic event of CryptoArt by using machine learning techniques (Convolutional Neural Network, t-SNE) and data visualization.


Credits:
Concept, Sound design, Technical direction: Daito Manabe
Visual design and programming: Futa Kera
System Programing, Serverside Design: 2bit
Serverside Programing: Kosaku NAMIKAWA
Special Thanks to Mai Fujimoto (KIZUNA) and Yu Ayato (KIZUNA)

Sougwen Chung (2021), minted on SuperRare.

Chung’s inaugural NFT, Ligatures (Node 1), continues the artist’s exploration of AR technology. The work explores the question “How can objects of speculative value be reimagined as support for mutual aid?” 

The artist explains “Ligatures (Node 1) is a new augmented reality series that connects lines of support — between artist, collector, and collectives dedicated to mutual aid. Node 1 expresses the concept of a multi-nodal decentralized network as an interlocking kinetic sculptural form that changes over time — like a living organism.”

Sougwen Chung’s NFT is certified with a Fair Trade Art Certificate from Verisart, an award-winning blockchain certification platform. Fair Trade Art is an initiative by Verisart designed to bring together artists and social impact organizations to do good. The certificate signals that funds from the sale of the artwork are benefiting a charitable cause. In this case, the artist will be donating 100% of her proceeds to EV loves NYC, an East Village grassroots organization that provides emergency food services to those hardest hit by COVID. 

For collectors, Verisart’s patent-pending Certificates of Authenticity (COA) form an integral part of collecting NFTs. They provide confidence in the identity of the artist and the verified history of the artwork. Designed to empower artists to tell the story of their work, the digital certificates include additional images, videos and documents. The owner of the NFT will gain exclusive access to the AR version of the work through the Verisart certificate. As a digital piece, Node 1 will exist in 3 locations at once — the collector’s home, the artist’s studio, and the site of mutual aid.

Sougwen Chung (2021), minted on SuperRare.

Chung’s inaugural NFT, Ligatures (Node 1), continues the artist’s exploration of AR technology. The work explores the question “How can objects of speculative value be reimagined as support for mutual aid?” 

The artist explains “Ligatures (Node 1) is a new augmented reality series that connects lines of support — between artist, collector, and collectives dedicated to mutual aid. Node 1 expresses the concept of a multi-nodal decentralized network as an interlocking kinetic sculptural form that changes over time — like a living organism.”

Sougwen Chung’s NFT is certified with a Fair Trade Art Certificate from Verisart, an award-winning blockchain certification platform. Fair Trade Art is an initiative by Verisart designed to bring together artists and social impact organizations to do good. The certificate signals that funds from the sale of the artwork are benefiting a charitable cause. In this case, the artist will be donating 100% of her proceeds to EV loves NYC, an East Village grassroots organization that provides emergency food services to those hardest hit by COVID. 

For collectors, Verisart’s patent-pending Certificates of Authenticity (COA) form an integral part of collecting NFTs. They provide confidence in the identity of the artist and the verified history of the artwork. Designed to empower artists to tell the story of their work, the digital certificates include additional images, videos and documents. The owner of the NFT will gain exclusive access to the AR version of the work through the Verisart certificate. As a digital piece, Node 1 will exist in 3 locations at once — the collector’s home, the artist’s studio, and the site of mutual aid.

Varvara & Mar (2021), Site-Specific installation in Tartu (Estonia).

NFT shop in an abandoned gas station

During the urban festival UIT (Tartu, Estonia), Varvara and Mar turned an abandoned gas station into a NFT Shop. They hijacked all the branding (including gas price totem) and turned an old business to a new one. The NFT Shop was present in the physical gas station and online at the Hic et Nunc platform. All the NFT art was specially made for NFT Shop opening. What is more important, the artists were present, offering a conversation over a cup of coffee discussing the hot topics of NFT and cryptocurrency.
So, what is NFT? NFT stands for a non-fungible token or simply put a certificate that proves the originality of the digital asset. We have already seen that cryptocurrency has its part in the economy. But what is NFT art, and what kind of art market it has to offer? NFT art shop operates within an alternative economy of cryptocurrency and speculates about the speculation. It is a shop / gallery / meeting place in an old gas station. Like the fuel’s price, NFT gas prices and art value fluctuate a lot, creating new opportunities and definitely damages.

Varvara & Mar (2021), Site-Specific installation in Tartu (Estonia).

NFT shop in an abandoned gas station

During the urban festival UIT (Tartu, Estonia), Varvara and Mar turned an abandoned gas station into a NFT Shop. They hijacked all the branding (including gas price totem) and turned an old business to a new one. The NFT Shop was present in the physical gas station and online at the Hic et Nunc platform. All the NFT art was specially made for NFT Shop opening. What is more important, the artists were present, offering a conversation over a cup of coffee discussing the hot topics of NFT and cryptocurrency.
So, what is NFT? NFT stands for a non-fungible token or simply put a certificate that proves the originality of the digital asset. We have already seen that cryptocurrency has its part in the economy. But what is NFT art, and what kind of art market it has to offer? NFT art shop operates within an alternative economy of cryptocurrency and speculates about the speculation. It is a shop / gallery / meeting place in an old gas station. Like the fuel’s price, NFT gas prices and art value fluctuate a lot, creating new opportunities and definitely damages.

Varvara & Mar (2021), Site-Specific installation in Tartu (Estonia).

NFT shop in an abandoned gas station

During the urban festival UIT (Tartu, Estonia), Varvara and Mar turned an abandoned gas station into a NFT Shop. They hijacked all the branding (including gas price totem) and turned an old business to a new one. The NFT Shop was present in the physical gas station and online at the Hic et Nunc platform. All the NFT art was specially made for NFT Shop opening. What is more important, the artists were present, offering a conversation over a cup of coffee discussing the hot topics of NFT and cryptocurrency.
So, what is NFT? NFT stands for a non-fungible token or simply put a certificate that proves the originality of the digital asset. We have already seen that cryptocurrency has its part in the economy. But what is NFT art, and what kind of art market it has to offer? NFT art shop operates within an alternative economy of cryptocurrency and speculates about the speculation. It is a shop / gallery / meeting place in an old gas station. Like the fuel’s price, NFT gas prices and art value fluctuate a lot, creating new opportunities and definitely damages.

Diane Drubay (2021), minted on hic et nunc.

"When the heatwave hits, the sun burns, vision gets blurry."

25% of the sales will be donated to the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization that for more than 50 years have been pioneers, using science and different perspectives to make the environment safer and healthier for us all.

Diane Drubay (2021), minted on hic et nunc.

"When the heatwave hits, the sun burns, vision gets blurry."

25% of the sales will be donated to the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization that for more than 50 years have been pioneers, using science and different perspectives to make the environment safer and healthier for us all.

Diane Drubay (2021), minted on hic et nunc.

"When the heatwave hits, the sun burns, vision gets blurry."

25% of the sales will be donated to the Environmental Defense Fund, an organization that for more than 50 years have been pioneers, using science and different perspectives to make the environment safer and healthier for us all.

Joanie Lemercier (2021), minted on hic et nunc.

Lemercier's first projection mapping piece on the blockchain.

Dark, imposing mountains are drawn on paper. Layers of moving light reveal reliefs and the intricate structure formed during geological times. The work consists of a physical drawing, and a layer of projected light. The mapping software is embedded in the NFT, and hosted on IPFS. Use mouse click to calibrate, and drag and drop the corners until the projection matches the physical print. NFT + physical drawing + computer stick with NFT pre-installed. International shipping included. Video projector is not included and can be sourced locally.

This piece is available as an auction, offers can be made on Lemercier’s collectors Discord: https://discord.gg/ZTK8c4tgW7

Joanie Lemercier (2021), minted on hic et nunc.

Lemercier's first projection mapping piece on the blockchain.

Dark, imposing mountains are drawn on paper. Layers of moving light reveal reliefs and the intricate structure formed during geological times. The work consists of a physical drawing, and a layer of projected light. The mapping software is embedded in the NFT, and hosted on IPFS. Use mouse click to calibrate, and drag and drop the corners until the projection matches the physical print. NFT + physical drawing + computer stick with NFT pre-installed. International shipping included. Video projector is not included and can be sourced locally.

This piece is available as an auction, offers can be made on Lemercier’s collectors Discord: https://discord.gg/ZTK8c4tgW7

Joanie Lemercier (2021), minted on hic et nunc.

Lemercier's first projection mapping piece on the blockchain.

Dark, imposing mountains are drawn on paper. Layers of moving light reveal reliefs and the intricate structure formed during geological times. The work consists of a physical drawing, and a layer of projected light. The mapping software is embedded in the NFT, and hosted on IPFS. Use mouse click to calibrate, and drag and drop the corners until the projection matches the physical print. NFT + physical drawing + computer stick with NFT pre-installed. International shipping included. Video projector is not included and can be sourced locally.

This piece is available as an auction, offers can be made on Lemercier’s collectors Discord: https://discord.gg/ZTK8c4tgW7

"I'm excited to finally share something I have been working on for the last year🪄 Holly+

I am releasing Holly+ in collaboration with Never Before Heard Sounds, the first tool of many to allow for others to make artwork with my voice, and will distribute ownership of my digital likeness through the creation of the Holly+ DAO 👭

My voice is precious to me! It is 1 of 1 🥰

Voice Models, in combination with machine learning technology, already allow for anyone to clone a voice to generate music and media, and the opportunities and complications inherent to these techniques will only intensify!

This development raises novel questions about voice ownership that I think can be addressed by DAO governance 🤝

I plan to decentralize access, decision making and profits made from my digital twin, Holly+ 👭

Profits made from the commercial usage of my digital likeness will be ingested by the DAO, who are able to vote on new tool creation, and approve official usage of my twin, Holly+ 🧞‍♀️"

---

Holly+ DAO
DAO (Decentralised Autonomous Organization) stewardship of my voice model rights makes sense for many reasons.

It is an idea I have been interested in for a long time! I dedicated a song to the idea on my album Platform(4AD,2015) 🧮

A DAO of stewards of the Holly+ voice model can vote on minting and certifying new works created from the voice model. As token holders, they are incentivized to only certify or license new works that contribute to the value of the voice, and do not dilute that value through the production of bad art or negative associations. Only a scarce number of official artworks will be minted using the voice model, and DAO token holders are entitled to a cut of profits from resales of those works in perpetuity 🤝

The Holly+ model creates a virtuous cycle. I release tools to allow for the creative usage of my likeness, the best artworks and license opportunities are approved by DAO members, profit from those works will be shared amongst artists using the tools, DAO members, and a treasury to fund further development of the tools.

In the event of my death, I feel more comfortable with distributed ownership of the rights to my voice model among a DAO of stewards who are invested in maintaining the value and reputation of my voice than the rights being passed down to someone less familiar with the values and standards associated with my work. There is precedent for music catalog rights being passed down to family estates whose best interest is in making as many short term gains from those rights as possible. My hope is that decentralizing decision making across a DAO of stewards will encourage a more delicate stewardship over those rights through debate and shared interest!

---

Holly+ DAO tokens
I will create ERC-20 VOICE tokens, airdropped to collectors of my art, friends and family of the project, and other artists selected to participate in using the Holly+ voice to create new works.

The ERC-20 VOICE tokens will come to represent voting shares in Holly+ DAO.

DAO token holders will vote to mint new NFTs of derivative works generated by Holly+ voice, and the DAO will be entitled to a % cut of profits made from those sales in perpetuity.

The value of the token will be derived from access to governance decisions in stewarding the voice model and minting new works, royalties from any new works minted, secondary sales of all works minted, and eventually any commercial licensing of the Holly+ voice on or off chain, once we are able to reach our goal of recognizing the DAO as a legal entity.


https://holly.plus/

Mario Klingemann (2021), minted on hic et nunc.



Original Creation Date: December 17, 2008

Anna Carreras (2021), minted on Artblocks

Trossets explores the emergence of diversity. Combining twelve construction blocks the system generates endless patterns with a unique result each iteration. Trossets /trusɛts/ means parts, blocks, pieces and it's Anna's particular homage to a classical generative system, the multiscale Truchet tiles. The systems plays an interlocking blocks game creating unexpected drawings with colors borrowed from the Mediterranean. 


upper left: Trosset #185 by Malmø Grabbarna
upper right: Trosset #882 by Snowfro
down left: Trosset #328 by Dbocham.eth
down right: Trosset #956 by Uni

Anna Carreras (2021), minted on Artblocks

Trossets explores the emergence of diversity. Combining twelve construction blocks the system generates endless patterns with a unique result each iteration. Trossets /trusɛts/ means parts, blocks, pieces and it's Anna's particular homage to a classical generative system, the multiscale Truchet tiles. The systems plays an interlocking blocks game creating unexpected drawings with colors borrowed from the Mediterranean. 



upper left: Trosset #880 0xSimonSays
upper right: Trosset #898 by nybble
down left: Trosset #856 by Madmat
down right: Trosset #528 by aramunu.eth

Anna Carreras (2021), minted on Artblocks

Trossets explores the emergence of diversity. Combining twelve construction blocks the system generates endless patterns with a unique result each iteration. Trossets /trusɛts/ means parts, blocks, pieces and it's Anna's particular homage to a classical generative system, the multiscale Truchet tiles. The systems plays an interlocking blocks game creating unexpected drawings with colors borrowed from the Mediterranean. 



upper left: Trosset #7 owned by Calisay
upper right: Trosset #535 by bbudjbvvf
down left: Trosset #891 by Wax Motif
down right: Trosset #105 by Houston

‘Three Preludes’ is a musical composition created for a collaboration with filmmaker Pedro Maia as part of The 20/19 Project. Three arrangements featuring original sound compositions which include field recordings collected in the southeastern county of Kent (England) and surrounding areas.

The works are inspired by the melancholia of the human echoes of the First World War. Through a detailed sound composition, this work recalls a mix of feelings bringing to the surface the sadness of the past with the aggressive times of the age we are living through. However a sense of hope remains and reminds us that there is no conflict that doesn’t end, and there’s no battle we cannot win.

The musical pieces form a body of work with Pedro Maia by which the artist manipulated and edited archival visual footage from the Kent region.
www.pedromaia.net

The 20/19 Project is a project produced by Studio Will Dutta. It was premiered in the UK at Westgate Hall (Canterbury, 2019) and presented also at Daphne Oram Creative Arts Building (Canterbury, 2019) and Turner Contemporary (Margate, 2019)
studiowilldutta.art
credits
released March 20, 2020

Written and produced by Ana Quiroga Olavarrieta
London, UK, 2020

Holly Herndon (2021), minted on Foundation.

1280 x 704 animation generated from the commissioned Reza Negarestani text “Crossing the Interface” (2013).

Made with Mat Dryhurst. Thanks Patrick Hoepner, Janet Stead and RVNG.

Entangled Others (2021), minted on SuperRare.


{The cactus beetle is found in South America, Mexico and the United States. It is also known as the cact us dreamy beetle or cactus-eating beetle.}


~~ series : {Artificial Remnants 2.1} 

~~ technique : 3D GAN, CNN, GPT-2 

~~ co-authored with @darkfractures 

~~ Exclusively on KVG

Entangled Others (2021), minted on SuperRare.


{A remarkable insect. Its abundance is so great that it can be seen from space. It lies on the ground, and it is the only insect that does this. In fact, it can be seen from space and from the ground, and it is not uncommon to find it on the roof of a house, where it feeds on carrion.}


~~ series : {Artificial Remnants 2.1} 

~~ technique : 3D GAN, CNN, GPT-2 

~~ co-authored with @darkfractures 

~~ Exclusively on KVG

Entangled Others (2021), minted on SuperRare.


{A special kind of Phasmid, Planchonia biflora, which can be collected with a special net from the dung balls of wild Phasmid, Rhagoletis cunea, in the forest.} 


~~ series : {Artificial Remnants 2.1}

~~ technique : 3D GAN, CNN, GPT-2 

~~ co-authored with @darkfractures 

~~ Exclusively on KVG

Solimán Lopez (2021). Premièred at Ars Electronica Barcelona 2021.

The OLEA project proposes a space for reflection and the rapprochement of species, concepts, economies, societies and information flows converging in a single fluid: olive oil. Historically related to deities, abundance, health, softness and liquid gold, olive oil is the perfect place to embrace other natures. Genetic alteration, its artificial construction and coexistence in hybrid spaces, configure a new ecosystem of ethical, religious, political and social thought that, thanks to this project, aims to link molecularly with technopolitical structures, cryptography and decentralised models of thought and economy. OLEA is an oleic fluid in which the properties of this oil coexist with the molecular synthesis of the code that gives life to a cryptocurrency in blockchain environments. This hybridisation of spaces reveals a new place of understanding: a new unexpected future in the revolution of the species.

Solimán Lopez (2021). Premièred at Ars Electronica Barcelona 2021.

The OLEA project proposes a space for reflection and the rapprochement of species, concepts, economies, societies and information flows converging in a single fluid: olive oil. Historically related to deities, abundance, health, softness and liquid gold, olive oil is the perfect place to embrace other natures. Genetic alteration, its artificial construction and coexistence in hybrid spaces, configure a new ecosystem of ethical, religious, political and social thought that, thanks to this project, aims to link molecularly with technopolitical structures, cryptography and decentralised models of thought and economy. OLEA is an oleic fluid in which the properties of this oil coexist with the molecular synthesis of the code that gives life to a cryptocurrency in blockchain environments. This hybridisation of spaces reveals a new place of understanding: a new unexpected future in the revolution of the species.

Solimán Lopez (2021). Premièred at Ars Electronica Barcelona 2021.

The OLEA project proposes a space for reflection and the rapprochement of species, concepts, economies, societies and information flows converging in a single fluid: olive oil. Historically related to deities, abundance, health, softness and liquid gold, olive oil is the perfect place to embrace other natures. Genetic alteration, its artificial construction and coexistence in hybrid spaces, configure a new ecosystem of ethical, religious, political and social thought that, thanks to this project, aims to link molecularly with technopolitical structures, cryptography and decentralised models of thought and economy. OLEA is an oleic fluid in which the properties of this oil coexist with the molecular synthesis of the code that gives life to a cryptocurrency in blockchain environments. This hybridisation of spaces reveals a new place of understanding: a new unexpected future in the revolution of the species.

Solimán Lopez (2021). Premièred at Ars Electronica Barcelona 2021.

The OLEA project proposes a space for reflection and the rapprochement of species, concepts, economies, societies and information flows converging in a single fluid: olive oil. Historically related to deities, abundance, health, softness and liquid gold, olive oil is the perfect place to embrace other natures. Genetic alteration, its artificial construction and coexistence in hybrid spaces, configure a new ecosystem of ethical, religious, political and social thought that, thanks to this project, aims to link molecularly with technopolitical structures, cryptography and decentralised models of thought and economy. OLEA is an oleic fluid in which the properties of this oil coexist with the molecular synthesis of the code that gives life to a cryptocurrency in blockchain environments. This hybridisation of spaces reveals a new place of understanding: a new unexpected future in the revolution of the species.