William Mapan Drops Another Algorithmic Art Gem

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Last week, William Mapan released ‘Sketchbook A’, a generative coded collection as part of the ‘Intimacy’ exhibition via verse, to an impressive reception.

No worries if you missed the details; I've got you covered with two reasons why this collection is unique and an impressive milestone for the French artist.

Sketchbook A #10 by William Mapan.

1. ‘Sketchbook A’ Recreates Human Paintings

What I found impressive is William started with physical drawings. He shared the process in his social networks, creating colors and sketches before jumping to the code. Those who have tried to replicate a drawing with code know how hard that is. In this case, you could argue the algorithmic paintings look even better and unlock the door for infinite combinations and patterns.

“Sketchbook A is a series of what appear to be scrawled childlike drawings created with coloured pencils, doodles one might find in a sketchbook. Upon closer inspection, the works are anything but childlike, and anything but scrawled.”
Source: Verse editorial

2. Tiny Supply, Infinite Generations

This is William’s tiniest long-form generative collection, as the supply is 64 pieces. Nevertheless, thanks to how it was coded and set up via verse, anyone could generate and save an output.

Over 1 million outputs have been generated in just eight days… It isn’t about the quantity only, as the algorithm ’supported’ such a high number of generations with a vast diversity of palettes, patterns, and combinations.

Sketchbook A #12 by William Mapan, generated by bobloukas-vault.eth.

Besides having an impressive record of commercial success on all his releases, this collection records a remarkable milestone for William…

We will get right to it, but first, here are some updates from the Podcast…

🎙Kaloh’s Podcast: Valerie Whiteacre and Elena Zavelev

Last week, I had a great chat with Valerie Whitacre, Head of Arts at Trilitech, a London-based hub dedicated to developing and elevating new ideas and innovation built on the Tezos ecosystem.

Yesterday, Elena Zavelev, a curator and founder (CADAF), joined the podcast for episode 18. She runs partnerships and marketing at Live Art and has been involved in digital art education programs for Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

The podcast will go out in a few days.

Kaloh's Podcast Episode 18: Elena Zavelev

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Coming back to Mapan’s impressive milestone…

He is the only artist who has released generative art (openly or curated) in the following top-notch galleries and generative art platforms:

Fxhash - Dragons
ArtBlocks Curated - Anticyclone
Bright Moments Mexico City - 1935
Tonic - Strands of Solitude
LACMA - Distance
PROOF Grails - The Guardian
Sotheby’s - Algorithmic painting: genesis
Verse - Intimacy

Quite impressive, right?

By the way, if you couldn’t afford a Sketchbook A Mint Pass, there are complementary releases for this exhibition:

Through Your Eyes

7 pieces curated by William, to be auctioned on November 13.

Sketchbook A prints

You get a signed print for $650 (no NFT will be delivered).

In case you missed it 👀

Here are other exciting news from the generative and AI art world:

📚[Interesting Read] SuzanneNFTs shared an amazing thread with the story behind 30 generative artists and collections. I discovered the work of Lillian Schwartz, thanks to it!