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Peter Bauman
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July 26, 2023
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The Evolving Platform Ecosystem
Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) shares the findings from an internal Le Random research memo by Conrad House (Nemocake) on platform proliferation.
About the Author
Peter Bauman
The Evolving Platform Ecosystem
Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) shares the findings from an internal Le Random research memo by Conrad House (Nemocake) on platform proliferation.
Le Random’s artist-first ethos means that we are chain and platform agnostic; we follow the artists. This commitment requires extensive research to ensure we maintain vigilance in this rapidly progressing space. We thus conduct hours of research daily on all things generative art to inform both our collecting and our editorial content. Due to the universal relevance of a recent research memo, we decided to share a summary with the public as it aligns with a major trend we see in 2023: The fracturing of the minting platform landscape.
As the number of platforms continues to multiply, there have been a variety of effects on the ecosystem as a whole. First, as an indicator of ecosystem health, the growing number of platforms can only be seen as positive. Evolution means growth, innovation and dynamism, an impressive feat during a broad market downturn. Artists benefit as well, as they are now empowered with more choices and tools than ever before. In addition to attracting new artists, platform breadth allows for established artists to experiment and expand their practice.
For collectors, however, it can be burdensome (or impossible) to track artist releases with the dizzying number of new minting platforms gaining traction. Gone are the days when following Art Blocks and fxhash, already quite time consuming, was enough to have a reasonably firm grasp of the movement. On top of the variety of similar long-form generative platforms like Verse and EditArt, entirely new offerings are emerging that offer compelling alternatives to both artists and collectors.
This article will break down some of the latest trends in the ever-evolving generative art platform ecosystem, as well as identifying several of the platforms we are watching. While Le Random is not promoting or endorsing any of these platforms, we see this wave of development as an excellent opportunity to discover new great art and artists.
Bitcoin Ordinals
- Imagine Art
- Generative
AI
- BrainDrops
- Emergent Properties
- K011
- Fellowship
- SkaldaAI
Open Minting
- Alba
- Prohibition Art
- Mint256
- EditArt
- Re-tain.xyz
- Highlight.xyz (upcoming)
Tooling
- fxhash
Bitcoin Ordinals
Bitcoin Ordinals have been gaining popularity and recognition across the digital collecting community. Built on the most popular crypto currency, Ordinals have the potential to expand NFTs to the formerly resistant Bitcoin community and its potential untapped liquidity. Challenges, however, include limited secondary market volume, difficult collecting mechanics and limits to Bitcoin’s programmability and adaptability. Since Le Random follows artists as a basic tenet, we will closely monitor whether an art scene can be cultivated on Bitcoin like it has on Ethereum and Tezos.
The early participants we are watching:
One of the first Bitcoin-based generative art platforms, Imagine Art emerged following the adoption of BTC inscriptions through the collecting community.
Generative is another option for artists to release their work on Bitcoin.
AI
As AI technology continues to advance, along with renewed broader interest due to AI chatbots, it is not surprising that a number of new AI platforms have entered the market. Further, with recent developments in Midjourney and other AI systems, photorealistic outputs have become a new way to explore post-photography image capturing. Here are the platforms we have been monitoring:
Short-Form AI
One of the first dedicated AI art platforms on Ethereum, BrainDrops was founded by pioneering artist Gene Kogan and collector Justin Trimble. The platform follows a short-form approach with artists curating a selection of outputs to release from their systems.
Long-Form AI
Emergent Properties is the first long-form AI generative art platform released on the Tezos network. The platform follows a novel creation process that combines procedural generative systems with AI programs to generate unique outputs at the time of minting. Their future plans include allowing artists to construct their own “EmProps Token” that can follow any specific creation pipeline, including p5js, JavaScript, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion.
K011 curates long-form AI projects by pioneers, contemporary-established and emerging artists, extending the legacy and philosophy of the Kate Vass Gallery to the web3 space.
Post-Photography
Fellowship is a NFT platform specializing in photography with a recent focus on the Post-Photography/AI genre. Founded by Alejandro Cartagena and Chadwick Tyler, the team has experience in the contemporary photography scene.
Hyper-Emerging
This recently launched platform is positioning itself as a “curator-led platform for AI-assisted art.”
“Open-mint” Platforms
While the consistent quality of works on curated platforms such as Art Blocks and Verse is undeniable, as more artists express themselves digitally, the limited bandwidth of these curated platforms can also constrain the discovery of emerging artists. Fxhash’s pioneering of the “open-mint” concept has been instrumental to the development of countless artists but in particular William Mapan and Zancan. Due to the prospect of discovering new artists and talent, monitoring the latest open-mint platforms in the vein of fxhash is essential. Here are the ones we are tracking:
Currently in a closed beta, this recently launched generative art platform on Ethereum, founded by Haiver, promotes the ability to be both fully on-chain and open.
One of the newest platforms as of publication in July 2023, this open-protocol platform brings generative art to the Arbitrum Layer 2 network. Founded by Jordan Lyall, Prohibition aims to make creating and collecting more accessible for Ethereum users.
Mint265 is an Ethereum-based, fully in-chain and open generative art platform.
This Tezos-based generative art platform encourages collectors to become co-creators by simplifying the process of customizing a piece before minting.
Re-tain enables artists to deploy their work on customized Tezos smart contracts.
- Highlight.xyz (upcoming)
Highlight offers a set of tools for artists to create work on Ethereum.
Tooling
In addition to the specialized platforms outlined above, we’d also like to highlight the continuous improvements of fxhash. We remain impressed by the platform's ability to innovate and grow. Additionally, the fxhash team’s willingness to embrace a multi-chain future illustrates their commitment to chain agnosticism, a core tenant of Le Random’s. The following features highlight fxhash's achievements so far in 2023:
- Fiat payments (January)
Fiat payments via credit card marked the first time collectors could purchase art on the platform without crypto currency.
- Fx(params) (March)
Fx(params) showcases the ability of fxhash to push the boundaries of art in the age of co-creation. Fxhash was instrumental in developing a communal art space for the generative art community with their open and low barrier platform.
The team further enables this decentralization of creativity with fx(params), which allows artists to define a set of parameters that collectors can manipulate before minting their piece. Fx(params) enables artists and collectors to share in the process of co-creation and creative collaboration. Fx(params) stands as one of the best examples of Autonomy, according to the framework I developed.
- Ethereum and on-chain minting (announced in June)
In an effort to broaden the openness, accessibility and availability of the community, the fxhash team has also been developing minting on Ethereum in addition to Tezos.
Closing Thoughts
In an ideal world, each collector would have the time to independently "Do your own research." From time to time we plan on facilitating the process in an attempt to help our community engage with the art we all love.
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Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) is Le Random's Editor-in-Chief.
Conrad House is Le Random's Collection Lead, collaborating closely with thefunnyguys to build Le Random’s iconic, cross-generational generative art collection.