You are visiting the website of the 2022 generative artwork ‘Markov’s Dream’ by me, Harm van den Dorpel. This artwork will consist of 32 unique non-fungible Ethereum tokens (ERC721).
This artwork consists of a growing series of maximum 32 tokens. Over time, I elaborate and fine-tune the algorithm and its variables. With each significant discovery in this process, I ‘freeze’ it as token, and add it to the collection. The artwork therefore documents the trajectory of the development of a generative body of work.
In many generative NFT projects (such as my own Mutant Garden Seeder), the appearance and configuration of each NFT is based on the moment of minting (the block hash). This allows for surprising and fun outcomes, but not always the most meaningful. Many drops become gas wars, where people try to mint as many as quickly as possible, and there is no curatorial selection process. In this artwork I wanted to exactly decide for myself, what the value of each parameter should be, to research how much peripheral meaning I can extract from one algorithm, and tame entropy.
During the development of this collection, data is stored on a dedicated webserver and served over HTTPS. Once all tokens have been minted, both the generative compiled software and metadata will be stored on IPFS. Additionally, upon purchase, collectors are offered a custom laser cut USB card with all source codes to allow for future recompilation.
The first 20 tokens are consigned to Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle Munich (sales inquiry) and Upstream Gallery Amsterdam (sales inquiry). The last 12 tokens are offered by Folia.
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