I've been developing what I call 'Creative Frameworks', each of which has distinct themes, uses specific tech, or explores unique ideas. They allow me to organize the variety of artworks that I want to make, which spans media, styles, and genres. Many of these frameworks evolve with each new project, allowing me to grow and experiment.

My creative frameworks:

• 100x10x1

• BLONKS

• Chainlife

• Experimental Film

• Haiku

• LIGHTS

• Matto's Fine Art (MFA)

• Tokenized Texts

• Zenerative Art

That may seem like a lot, and it is, but with these I can continue to create my work within them for many years.

100x10x1

Experimental, collaborative EVM generative art

(This project has been through so many iterations and versions - I had to get it right!)

100x10x1 is a conceptual framework and platform to create works in that are each made of 100 layer tokens (each consisting of 10 layers), together forming 1 composite (100x10x1). The first project in this framework, is Composition A, (full title 100x10x1 Composition A or 100x10x1-A for short). It is inspired by abstract expressionism, and it uses a palette based on sunsets in Durham, NC where I and my family live.

Technically, the hardest parts were ensuring that the entire project from art generation to collector interactions were handled by the EVM. All assets are generated on-chain, and the project is dynamic/evolving based on actions performed by the community of token owners - on chain and interacting with the token-controlling contract. This framework creates collaborative art pieces, where in each project, every token owner can put their mark on the collective artwork, while always retaining their own unique mint.

In the first project, Composition A, I explore simple random 'marks' like small ellipses resembling drips, simple and complex curves, and simple and complex lines. Each mark is completely random, but always using a deterministic subpalette.

100x10x1-A is (hopefully) launching Winter/Spring '23 '24. ;-)

100x10x1 projects are deployed by my developer account dev.monkmatto.eth (0xF8d9056db2C2189155bc25A30269dc5dDeD15d46)

BLONKS

CC0, EVM generative, dynamic, evolving PFP+

BLONKS was my first 100% solidity and SVG project, where a random hash generated at mint plus the current owning account's address together seed the contract code to generate an image. 4,444 tokens were minted, raising 10k for me and 10k for charity - but that's just the beginning of the story.

I wrote the scripts to allow upgrades and add ons (not by proxy). This has allowed me to execute the Shapeshifter upgrade earlier this year. Now, BLONKS tokens, while they were dynamic before, now can evolve. Owners can switch which code to execute when rendering BLONKS, and I can add new code variants whenever I like. These new 'Shapeshifter States' are selectable by the owner, always at no cost, but in limited quantities. Here again you can see my desire to add value to- and not be extractive to my collectors.

BLONKS is still awaiting a final upgrade (hopefully coming within the month), but currently includes 4 image renderers (Shapeshifter states):

1. BLONKS

2. DarkBLONKS

3. PepeBLONKS

4. BLOOPS

   and MANY more are in the works!

My vision for BLONKS is for them to be the generative art connoisseurs PFP, and to make that a reality, I will continue to add new features and EVM renderers as my SVG skills improve.

BLONKS are deployed by my developer account dev.monkmatto.eth (0xF8d9056db2C2189155bc25A30269dc5dDeD15d46)

Chainlife

Expansive and evolving world of interactive tokens

Chainlife is an on-chain JavaScript project, but it has a major distinction: it's dynamic, evolving, cooperative, AND it's not just one generative script. It's a collection of generative scripts, some apply to the individual tokens, while others are used in ways to visualize all the tokens, dynamically as they continually evolve and change.

From launch, the project included multiple scripts and methods for owners to interact both with their token and with other owners' tokens, and the project allows me to add new scripts over time, as I wish. The default script runs a cellular automata based on the owner's address and the prior owner's address. Also, each token includes a 'level' aspect that changes with on-chain activity, and each level of the Chainlife world can be played as a cellular automata simulation. Additionally, a different kind of script, using webGL is on-chain and in conjunction with a smart contract function, allows token owners to switch the rendering program their token uses, from the default cellular automata script to one that generates a dynamic and evolving 3D environment.

To say there's a lot going on there is an understatement. I've since added a new generative script that creates a large and highly detailed 'history' painting. Current plans include 2 other very specific scripts, but they are on hold while I develop other projects.

The motivation behind chainlife is to create a dynamic collection that invites collaboration between token owners. The collection follows themes of "life" and of the environment. Ultimately, I hope to incorporate an IRL reforestation project into the chainlife project, and link plots or individual trees to each token. We'll see - that's a pretty crazy idea in the current crypto-world, tbh.

The project is still open, with plenty of tokens left to mint. We'll see how many get minted this year. :)

Chainlife is deployed by my developer account dev.monkmatto.eth (0xF8d9056db2C2189155bc25A30269dc5dDeD15d46)

Experimental Film

Avant-Garde / New Media / Frontier Video Art

Photography and film (along with coding) were my first creative outlets. From middle school in the darkroom, to being a photographer in high school, to taking over entire computer labs in college to process my digital video abstraction scripts.

My experimental films have won many awards and have toured internationally to over 75 festivals and university exhibitions. While the last film I made was in 2012, I know I will continue producing work within this framework.

These are passion projects, traditionally only costing money (and not making any). Financial challenges paused my filmmaking, but hopefully with my newfound stability I can revisit and reignite my practice.

"Haiku"

Poetry project, an AI project, and more

Freestyle Haiku is my poetry blog (freestylehaiku.com) that I've kept for over ten years. Currently, I've published more than 1250 poems there. I hope to keep writing these spiritual and haiku-like poems for as long as I live, and publishing them for free on my blog...

"Freestyle H-ai-ku" is an AI-enhanced exploration of my Freestyle Haiku poetry. This project utilizes AI as a collective unconscious that not only intensifies the expressiveness of my poetry but also unveils hidden truths and newfound meanings within my words. Each poem is individually stored in the smart contract, while image media, AI-generated poem interpretations, and attributes metadata is stored on Arweave. The resulting work is more than a poem or a visual, it is also a vehicle for the introspection of the human condition through the lens of early Artificial Intelligence systems.

This is a creative framework for a few reasons. First, it's not a one-time mint, but a rolling mint allowing me and the AI tech to evolve. The first chapter of poems will all use the same tools and versions, but later chapters may adopt different tools, models, or techniques. With over a thousand poems to mint in this contract, I have plenty of room to explore over time.

Also, because this project puts the poetry on-chain in a composable format (as opposed to merely stored like a backup), other apps and smart contracts I launch can use these poems. So, this Freestyle H-ai-ku collection becomes an integral part to other projects utilizing my poetry.

Due to the amount of data stored with each token's mint, the gas cost is significant. I'm currently listing each token at 2-3x that amount. The 'meta' right now is not prioritizing this kind of work or this kind of release method, but over time I'm confident that I can find an audience who wants to participate in the project by owning the tokens.

This project is created by my general purpose creator account artist.monkmatto.eth (0xA6a4Fe416F8Bf46bc3bCA068aC8b1fC4DF760653)

LIGHTS

Light-hearted handcrafted designs, photographed

LIGHTS is a project where all images are made by hand with 65x65 pin light-brite devices. There is a nostalgia in using these devices, and a freedom for me as an artist. I don't have to use a computer for anything - I just play with colors and make a design.

The first mint in the collection was for 'Folded Hands', a design based on the folded hands or pray emoji, which I see as a symbol of gratitude, appreciation, and humility. Over 3000 editions were minted at a very low cost. Each new token in the contract is inexpensive to create, and free for collectors to mint (by burning Folded Hands tokens). This low barrier for creating and collecting is important to me (a theme that will come up again...)

Tokens minted to far in this collection are:

1. Folded Hands

2. Paris

3. NDS 3 (Nude Descending a Staircase)

   and many more to come.

LIGHTS is an erc-1155 large edition burn-to-mint collection, with assets on the decentralized storage network Arweave. Producing an image takes significant time, but the process is fun and I'm happy to do this for my prior collectors.

This project is created by my general purpose creator account artist.monkmatto.eth (0xA6a4Fe416F8Bf46bc3bCA068aC8b1fC4DF760653)

Matto's Fine Art (MFA)

Fine art on a custom contract allowing various project types and experimental features

Besides making generative art, I've also made award-winning films and photography series. Very little of my photography work has been minted - only some early experiments of old work on Rarible, and some free claim photos of flowers on a manifold contract. I wanted to create a contract that could allow various projects to be released on it though, from on-chain gen-art, to decentralized-storage still images or films, or EVM generated.

I launched a custom contract that will allow me to mint this great variety of work, and customized my API to properly show these projects. The first mint on the contract is AnnoMetta, a web-art piece that creates infinite art, deterministically, changing every hour of every day.

Projects I plan to release here include some photography projects, some experimental animation/film work, and some individual SVG paintings.

This project is created by my general purpose creator account artist.monkmatto.eth (0xA6a4Fe416F8Bf46bc3bCA068aC8b1fC4DF760653)

Tokenized Texts

Exploring experimental publishing methods

I spent years writing a series of novels that I self-published rapid-fire in 2016. I learned a ton in the process, especially about what's broken in the publishing industry. Once NFTs came around, I experimented with publishing the books in NFT format, but none of the angles I tried ever quite fit right.

Finally, now in 2024, I think I've figured it out, and I'm going to try again. I love to write, and I have so much that I've written besides the Infinite Vampire series (pictured above). I'm quite excited to experiment with a new publishing method and share the results as I go.

As of this writing, I haven't published these new tokens, but I will as soon as I finish building the support structures that will go with them... :)

Tokenized Texts will be created by my author address author.monkmatto.eth (0x1f2b8fBc917ac9BEd978a5d766FfC61902DEfb94)

Zenerative Art

Zen-inspired generative art (on-chain)

"Zenerative" is one of my most well-known frameworks. The projects within this framework are rooted in Zen (and Ch'an) Buddhism, which plays such an important role in my life that it is inextricable from my creative practice. Sharing this with others is important to me, both to express the beauty I see and to spread Buddhist ideas and aesthetics.

The core projects in this framework include:

1. Enso

2. FOCUS

3. Scratch

   and some projects releasing soon...

4. Time Between the Lines is Thread Through the Mind

5. Working Title Code: "VV"

   and hopefully many more to follow!

These core 'Zenerative' projects all utilize on-chain javascript, while additional projects associated with these projects vary from EVM generative svgs to personally animated video clips.

All Zenerative projects are created by the same Ethereum account Zenerative.eth (0x983f10B69c6C8d72539750786911359619DF313d)