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GM GM Everyone,
I told you we'd be doing these again and really happy to do these as they can happen really at any time it is convenient for artist and myself. It also helps with users that are not native English speakers to really think about their responses and not have to worry too much about people understanding them.
With that said, I am huge Yungwknd fan, for those that have been reading the weekly issues for a while you may recall I have mentioned yungwknds artist work and technical work. If there is one thing I want you to take away from all this is, that yungwknd is a real mfer and someone I know I fuck with. I have never met yungwknd, I may be a sucker for performative blockchain art, but yungwknd to me is one of the artist that is really pushing the boundaries when it comes to art, code and tech which are all things I hold dearly. Lets dive in, enjoy.
Interview
Who is yungwknd?
I like to think of yungwknd as the outlet to a number of different creative endeavors that I pursue. Some people see me as an artist, some see me as a developer, some as a friend and collaborative partner. I’m from Seattle and have spent a number of years both in big tech, and in the crypto/NFT startup world. I enjoy the process of taking the seed of an idea to growing and releasing it to the world. One mantra I live by is “difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week” and I like to practice that by showing that just about anything is possible to do on-chain, it just might take a bit more effort. Outside of art and coding, I also enjoy bike riding, going on walks, and gathering with friends over a nice bottle of wine.
What are five words you would use to describe yourself? and why?
Curious, funny, thoughtful, caring, persevering. I think you can see these words in action as I live my life. I am typically curious about new things - whether that is new foods, new technologies, new anything. I love learning. Funny is a trait of mine you’ll probably pick up on more in person with quick-witted jokes and dry humor. Thoughtful and caring go well together to live a balanced life with the ones around you, and can be seen in the little acts of love every day. Finally, persevering speaks to my ability to never give up and always find a way. Another word could be “determined”.
What are some of your hobbies or activities you like to do to unplug from the space?
Some of my favorite hobbies are the ones that take me offline and away from the always-on nature of the space. I like riding my bike along the water here in Seattle, I like putting my phone down and reading a book, and I like going out with friends who aren’t into crypto and having conversations about all things real-life. There’s nothing more refreshing than spending an entire afternoon and evening sipping beers with friends and just talking and reminiscing about life.
Based on your Verisart interview, Carbon Raindrops was your first attempt at both generative art and smart contract writing. At the time, the narrative surrounding NFTs was largely focused on their negative environmental impact. Do you feel that has changed? Or is the sentiment the same?
I think the sentiment has definitely changed since early 2021. In September, 2022, the Ethereum team completed “the merge”, which was the big transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. What is interesting to me is to see the new movement of Bitcoin NFTs (Ordinals) but none of the associated baggage of being on a proof-of-work chain. Not sure what to make of it! I think a large part of it is just that NFTs are largely out of the public eye now, so there aren’t really and people or publications making efforts to discredit them, thankfully enough!
Have you thought about doing another project similar to that again? Maybe with /trees group?
I think that I would definitely be interested in revisiting the idea of my Carbon Raindrops project. In the last 3 or so years I’ve improved both my contract writing abilities and my artistic abilities. So I think it would be a good way for me to really show my progress by taking the same idea but implementing it with the skills I have now. I would imagine the next stage of this could be some sort of textured or 3D raindrops, and with more movement in the piece itself. As for the contract side - maybe some interesting split mechanic or something else!
You mentioned experimenting with "what is actually possible on the blockchain." Can you elaborate on some of the most exciting or challenging blockchain-based art experiments you've undertaken?
For sure - I think there’s a ton of things that are assumed to be true by many in the NFT/crypto space but that are really just social constructions of how the space has grown. One social assumption is the idea of ownership and that your wallet holds a token. In reality - it’s the smart contract that dictates who owns what, and since smart contracts are code, any logic can be written. One example is transcendent bloom by ambr0sia. For this piece - one token was auctioned off, and the winner of the auction was able to choose a partner to gift a pair token. However, once gifted the tokens are locked in so-to-speak. If either owner tries to sell or move their token, it gets automatically destroyed and re-spawned in the other partner’s wallet. I think this piece of art really shows how tokens are programmable and how they can be used to tell a story that is larger than just the visual art component.
How do you see the role of interactivity evolving in generative and blockchain art? Are there new ways you're exploring to engage collectors beyond visual experiences?
I think that interactivity is going to be more and more important as generative and blockchain art grow. One of the early hooks for me was the way that Art Blocks tied the minter to the token. It made me (and others) feel like the art was truly personalized. The magic of clicking a button and seeing your output for the first time is something that was really special and innovative in the early Art Blocks days. In my mind - the next logical step is tokens that are reactive to changes in ownership, time of day, weather, and other real life data. Something that interests me especially is art that changes based on time of day. A piece that changes to a darker palette at night, or that has raindrops sliding down it, etc depending on the environment the piece lives at.
Your piece "Generative Morning" incorporated real-time elements like Ethereum block timestamps. How do you balance the desire for dynamic, ever-changing artworks with the collector's expectation of owning a "fixed" piece?
A lot of my art is about questioning collector’s expectations and showing them that expectations are not as set in stone as people tend to think they are. In cases like Generative Morning this means a piece that changes throughout the day in a predictable and repeatable way. In my piece flashing lights I play with ownership by making it so the piece is always changing and never repeating. I was hoping to set a new expectation with the piece, the expectation being that the collector owned the algorithm, not an individual piece itself. For other artists looking to reset expectations, I would advise them to just be open and transparent about it and use it as a starting point for conversation with the collector.
Given your experience bridging digital and physical art, what do you think are the next frontiers for "phygital" experiences in the art world?
I think bridging the two is still a problem that has yet to be solved cleanly. I’ve done prints of my digital pieces, have shown my digital pieces on televisions, and made physical installations of art based on my digital algorithms. What’s difficult is merging the two without taking you out of one world and into another. Putting digital art on the television in your living room is still just showing digital art. Printing art and hanging it on your wall ends up being a mostly physical manifestation of the digital piece. So to me, I am still not sure what the next frontier might be. I think there needs to be innovation outside of just art that merges the digital and physical, and I’m just not sure yet what that might be.
I’m so so so excited to finally announce the culmination of a project that I started back in August, 2023.
This is the story of Home Run #1
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Any goals or things you want to accomplish before the end of 2024?
A big goal for me by the end of the year will be to set up sustainable income for myself through either my art, or more likely my technical abilities. I’ve been helping a lot of friends and artists implement their own websites, smart contracts, and other tech. I am hoping to find a repeatable and scalable way to do this heading into 2025!
Have you ever considered doing a BTC ordinals piece?
I have thought about it! And been asked to do an ordinals piece. I am definitely interested, I just have not yet had the time to really focus and make an ordinals piece that I’m proud of. You may have noticed I haven’t been releasing that much art lately - it’s because I’ve been mostly busy grinding on the tech side of things. Let’s say, I hope to do an ordinals piece by the end of the year!
Do you collect any pieces from any other artists, if so who are your favorites?
Looking at my profile, I see I’ve collected nearly 1k pieces in the 3 years since I joined the space. Lately though I have definitely slowed down on my collecting. Rather than naming favorite artists I would say my favorite genres of art to collect are generative art, onchain art, and conceptual art. I think that making visually appealing art is just the first step - I like to see art that makes me change my mind or think about something new. Coming back to words that describe me - I like collecting art that makes me curious.
Final Remarks
Before wrapping up, I also want to take the time to thank the Onchain Alien Ambassadors out there that support my work. You all give me the energy and support to do all this 
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Seattledog.eth
Macvynls.eth
OG.eth
Lucrece.eth
thebluffer.eth
Nonlinear.eth
Brennen.eth
Pi-chi.eth
Inceptionally.eth
T0p0s.eth
Tani.eth
Discodancin
mbranson
I hope you enjoyed that interview and came away with the same conclusion that many and myself have come to when they learn about yungwknd. Yungwknd is an extremely talented coder, artist and overall cool person I would like to grab a beer with one day. What really stood out to me about yungwknd is his overall approach to the space. He pursues a path that many do not embark on, creating pieces that not only show us the realm of what is possible with code and tech but makes of think of new ways to interact with art.
The other thing that stood out to me is just how much he supports this space, by collecting and supporting not just artists but people like myself. I may not be the most popular creative person out there but having the support of someone like yungwknd and bumping elbows with him in this digital space is the goal of this whole creative journey I am on. I lose sight of that sometimes and interviews like this remind me, that it is all worth it in the end. Don't lose that curiosity yungwknd!
Lastly, I am giving away a piece by yungwknd. Just RT the message about this interview and you are in.
I hope you all have a great rest of your week. Make sure to share and tag a friend that may enjoy this content. If you have other artist, collectors or builders you would like me to speak to, message me.
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