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FEBRUARY 9TH, 2022
CryptoPunks, for better or worse, opened the floodgates. To the uninformed, the message was: If you want to make a big gobbly-guck of crypto cash – all you have to do is crank out some childish-looking pixelated art under a specific formula.
Because in January 2021 – CryptoPunk #2890 sold for $761,889 (605 ETH).
Yet, CryptoPunks was a first – 10,000 were generated; and each one had a unique attribute. Creators, Larva Labs, built a generative algorithmic engine that randomly assigned each punk its unique characteristic. And the reason why CryptoPunk #2890 sold for so much; it exemplified early crypto art—significant in the history of NFTs – and that’s why, as an investment, it could keep increasing in value.
But thus spoke Zarathustra: Now there’s a rise of 10,000 Generative Projects. Typically themed around a single character, we’ve seen various NFT collections of aliens, robots, penguins, and cats; usually following the CryptoPunk formula: 10,000 pieces are programmatically generated through a set of premade components – to give each NFT a different characteristic – and then formatted as a headshot which can be used as a profile pic.
From that we get: Bears Deluxe (from the team that brought you the pixelated Honey Hive Deluxe and Bees Deluxe), CrypToadz, and Punk Cats (not to be out-done by Moon Cats).
And the derivative list goes on and on…
If you look on YouTube, there’s an entire niche genre of videos giving tutorials on how to create a 10,000 Generative Project – usually presented by someone with the panache of a pyramid scheme salesman, stating how you can make big $$$ simply by creating a 10,000 Generative Project – with no art skills required!
“You can do this in a day and easily put out 10,000 units,” explains one soothsayer.
Within this paradigm, the theory is, all someone (or a company) has to do is create a knockoff version of CryptoPunks or the Bored Ape Yacht Club – and then they’ll soon be eating hot fudge sundaes and frolicking on their newly purchased luxury island. It’s so easy, in fact, a 12-year old did - and made $5 million in three weeks! (Are you going to let a 12-year old make more NFT money than you!?)
But really, what these videos are, is a paint-by-numbers version for the NFT world. Imitation is the best form of flattery - and there are a hell of a lot of flatterers out there in the NFT world.
Some (the optimists) might say this is a creative Renaissance. Others (the pessimists) would look at these imitative projects as nothing more than a soulless money grab.
Though, it’s not to say there aren't interesting 10,000 Generative Projects; it’s all about pushing the genre forward – rather than doing a hackneyed version of what has proven to be successful. Individual artists lean towards creating more intriguing projects - than teams.
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613978bc7e5cf900cb25f3a9/d8dcd406-71a3-41b7-a147-e65cf2f121df/unnamed.gif)
Superlative Secret Society is an example of ‘the good.’ It’s the work of artist Arief Witjaksana – who is based in Tangerang, Indonesia.
SuperlativeSS, a collection of 11k programmatically generated art avatars, made using more than 220 pieces of aesthetic, hand drawn artwork - has an abstract impressionist look. If Miro and Picasso had a generative art NFT baby – it would be SuperlativeSS.
Rather just pixelating an animal – or creating a stoner version of a cat – Witjaksana came to the project with a larger idea; finding inspiration from the history of secret societies and medieval guilds.
As the manifesto states; “The SuperlativeSS are not human, robot, animal or alien; they are metaphysical beings that inhabit the Superlative Multiverse and appear to us as pieces of art.”
SuperlativeSS might be inspired by, say, the CryptoPunk portrait NFTs – but it takes the time and thought - to push the genre forward.
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613978bc7e5cf900cb25f3a9/b5fef015-6523-43bf-92b6-18e1265e8c4b/artifact.png)
Other artists to look towards: Gogos on Tez – puts a smile on my face. Each portrait seems to tell a horrific story that looks like Rick and Morty’s demonic cousin. Background details are mysterious: Artist Arya Mularama, who is based in Jakarta, Indonesia, takes his influences from comic books and skateboard culture and the movies and video games of the ‘90s.
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613978bc7e5cf900cb25f3a9/222da07f-d731-4b12-ab44-2cfe3be7a0ec/ezgif.com-gif-maker.gif)
Fvckrender is also doing some innovative stuff. The self-taught Vancouver based artist has an affinity for sharp architectural geometry, beaming future landscapes and brilliant crystalline arrangements. And Fvckrender’s work is insane. It looks like a futuristic crystallized world or, as Fvckrender puts it,‘his renders pay a dark homage to what may eventually reflect our very existence.’
Fvckrender is one of the digital artists who has pushed through and is selling his work via old-school arthouse Sotheby’s.
![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/613978bc7e5cf900cb25f3a9/02aa9fcc-ca28-401e-86ab-487b507eb029/artifact+%282%29.gif)
And holy fuckballs, you got to check out Skeles by jjjjjohn– the digital artist based in Philly. There’s a lot to unpack in each frame of these randomly generated skeletons; chock full of great humor – within a dance of visual juxtapositions. I mean, who doesn’t like seeing a skeleton wearing overalls, holding a TV – with falling broccoli behind him.
You won't find a sea of instructional YouTube videos - on how to create derivative work in the style of these artists - because they are truly unique.
So, there’s usually a difference when a 10,000 Generative Projects is done by a team – than when it’s done by an individual artist. (And the irony is – that teams rely on the artist but rarely does it benefit the artist.)
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