100 UNTITLED SPACES BY SNOWFRO
This was part of an ongoing series of articles that released was digitally in November 2022. They were first published in the print edition of the Bright Moments Quarterly that was distributed at NFT ART CDMX in Mexico City.
Malte Rauch: Hi Erick, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. I would like to begin by asking: How would you describe your relationship to Mexico City? What do you associate with the city and what does it mean to exhibit your work there?
Snowfro: I was born in Mexico City in 1981, and lived there during the first years of my life. My parents moved to the US when I was around five or six years old. But the rest of my family stayed in Mexico City. As a teenager, I would often spend my entire summer there. In fact, I think the nicest moments of my youth were spent in this city.
Growing up, I could see how radically different the two sides of my family lived in their respective lifestyles. I remember being fascinated by this difference. Now I consider myself raised in the US even though I still feel a deeply rooted connection to Mexico. The culture and food are just fantastic; they have an intensity that we essentially lack in our North American culture. And the level of urbanity in Mexico City is just as stunning: the density, the speed, the brutality of the architecture. If I think about it now, the experience of architecture and urban space in Mexico City has probably been formative for me in many ways.
In previous interviews, you mention that you started to explore your artistic passion around the time you met your wife. How has your creative practice developed since then? And how do you find the time for your own creative work now – while running Art Blocks?
Carving out the time for my artistic work has become quite complex. You know, Art Blocks was born out of Covid because I suddenly had more time than previously, but now it is of course consuming most of my time.
In a way, I have always tinkered with tech. I like to try out new things. Growing up, I saw my brother do beautiful things with his hands; but I was more the tinkerer playing around with computers.
One of the first experiences that changed my perspective in this regard was seeing the audiovisual show of Amon Tobin at Coachella in 2012. If I had to pinpoint a moment in time where I realized that I could become an artist myself, it was there. The way projection mapping and light was used in Tobin’s show made me think that I could do something similar. Art didn’t have to be manual, it could be immersive and tech-driven.
So I began to start with creative projects in our home, which wasn’t a particularly large apartment at the time. I would take up the dining table, running software and testing it in the space. I experimented a lot with projection mapping and I would show my work during DJ sets and other music events.
Around the time when we moved from our apartment to a house, I grew increasingly frustrated with projection mapping. You know, it takes eight hours to set it up and then the show itself lasts two hours and it isn’t even the center of the event. It just became such a grind to set up these pieces for a very limited reward. But, I was making an artwork that people felt drawn to—and that was incredibly intoxicating.
At the time, I was running a tile company. And in business, the whole idea is to understand what people want and facilitate it. In art, you also seek to create something that people want. But you do not seek to create a commodity people want; you create experiences they feel drawn to. In terms of my artistic trajectory, projection mapping led me to sculpture. I produced little blocks with a 3D printer and painted them by hand. And I would mix the colored blocks to achieve color gradient.
Then my first child was born. And that of course changed my practice. Family life and running my business kept me busy all week. And for two or three years, I didn’t create very much. But it was around that time in 2017 that I discovered Blockchain and Punks.
How did these experiences with your artistic work influence the early architecture of Art Blocks?
As I mentioned, Art Blocks was really born out of Covid. During the pandemic, I found these extra three hours every day that I could spend on building Art Blocks. I had been ideating the platform for several years, but the pandemic was the catalyst that brought it to life. In fact, the first idea emerged when I explored projection mapping. I invited people to control the setting, hitting a few buttons to change the projection. And this idea of actively involving the audience in the artwork continued to fascinate me.
The UI of Art Blocks is very intentional. Before the launch of the platform, generative artists tweaked their algorithms until they were ready to release a curated set of outputs. Humans have a hard time making decisions. That applies to both artists and collectors. The near impossibility to choose in generative art is incredibly hard, and the idea to celebrate everything that an algorithm is capable of was crucial for the UI and architecture of Art Blocks.
But everything apart from the UI was a surprise and accident. Most things weren’t planned. The bot on Discord, for example, was the idea of a community member. It allowed people to follow and comment on the mints in real time. Who knows whether Art Blocks would have developed in the same fashion without this feature?
The curatorial board was also not planned; and it was really born from the concern that I had a hard time saying “no” to artists. Some submissions I felt were not as good as others, but I did not want to be the person who personally tells people that we cannot accept their works. So we installed a curation board that is not beholden to anyone personally and that can thus introduce a certain impartiality and objectivity. Even at that point, I thought we would have two or three projects a month. And then we had 300 applicants in the first few days of opening the application process.
Many generative artists seem drawn to engage with the history of abstract painting. You, one the other hand, often mention the minimalist artist Donald Judd as one of the inspirations for Art Blocks. Judd’s work is incredibly multi-faceted and deals with the beauty of raw materials, the most elementary principles of composition, and an entirely new experience of space. Which aspect about his work inspires you? And how did it influence Art Blocks?
Donald Judd is a complex and also a very controversial figure. I actually did not discover him until I visited Marfa for the first time, which was after I started to explore my artistic interests. Discovering Judd was important for me and his impact is significant in many ways. Most importantly, perhaps, I resonate with the raw, simple, and brutalist nature of his work. My wife and I are fascinated by the simplicity of mid-century American architecture, and something of this simplicity is also present in Judd’s minimalism, I feel.
So Judd’s work definitely resonated with me because of his minimalism. But it also resonated with me because of his particular approach to “making.” You look at one of Judd’s works and you see simplicity and precision. You look at another work that may be almost like the first one, but slightly different. And this makes you wonder: why did he introduce this small difference? Why did he choose to do things in a particular fashion?
Judd is not inspirational for the aesthetic of my art. But he is immensely important for the way I experience art and for how I see the platform Art Blocks. The way Judd creates rules and then keeps iterating these rules was the reason why I thought Art Blocks could be successful. You look at one piece and it is amazing. But then you look at more and you realize that they form this constellation of works with slightly changing rules. Let’s take Judd “100 Untitled Works In Mill Aluminum” as an example. If I look at the variation of the boxes, I wonder: did Judd feel that this system was exhausted at some point? Or did he just feel that it had to end somewhere?
With Art Blocks, I wanted to give artists the freedom to say “this is my collection.” This was something that I yearned for and I thought other artists would like it as well. It would be similar to exploring Judd’s work insofar as you could go through the different outputs and marvel at the differences and variations.
Let’s talk about the role of color in your work, which actually forms a nice contrast to Judd’s minimalism. In your work, brilliant colors play an important role, and color gradients are central to the aesthetic of the Chromie Squiggle.
That’s true! Gradients fascinate me because of the way they create a continuum. When you zoom in, you only see the individual colors. When you zoom out, the colors appear connected and interact with each other. Your perception connects the colors to a spectrum if the perspective is right and isolates them again if you come closer.
In fact, this interest in color gradients dates back to my tile business. We would 3D print molds for our tiny mosaic tiles and I would spend hours creating specific color transitions. On a computer you have, of course, a broad range of colors that you can use to create a gradient. With tiles, however, you are confined to 22 colors or so. Still, with the right arrangement and enough distance it is perfectly possible to create a color transition. The closer the colors you have placed next to each other, the further you can step back and vice versa. So even before I considered myself an artist, I was exploring color gradients through tiles.
On a more personal note, I have always been drawn to yellow, the combination of yellow and black and, more broadly, the combination of bright colors and gray scales. Colors have played an important part in my life. They saturate my life, from my business to the way I dress. When I see something colorful in someone’s life, it stands out to me. There is, I would say, something like a micro-delight in everything colorful. Colors also bring back my early life in Mexico City with the rich and colorful local culture.
You know, I would go so far as to say that color can make situations more inclusive: it lowers people's defenses and makes them more open-minded. Observing the changing reactions to the Chromie Squiggle, I feel that something of this culture is transmitted through the Squiggle as well.
I would like to pivot to your work for Mexico City. What was your first contact with Bright Moments and what do you make of the idea to mint and exhibit generative art IRL?
If you look back at the early archives for Art Blocks, the initial idea was to offer a live interaction with generative art. I alluded to this earlier, but the idea for Art Blocks was really born out of my work with projection mapping: that you could click on a button and trigger something larger than life.
During the Tobin show, there was this interesting mismatch that the people involved with projection mapping were not credited as artists. And, of course, this makes sense: the visuals are not the reason why people go to the show. Still, they are the ones who make it special. The visuals tie it all together. And I wanted to give a platform to these creators, one where the audience could interact with the work.
When I started out with projection mapping, I really wanted the audience to participate. I gave people the iPad to control the visuals. At the beginning, people were afraid that they would ruin the show. Later, there was just one button that changed the visuals within a range. And people loved the idea of participating in the work in this fashion.
A few months after we had launched Art Blocks, Seth reached out and told me about his idea of IRL minting. And given my previous fascination with audience participation, I was like “yes!” Seth’s vision immediately made sense to me. Even before our conversation, I had thought about the possibility of having minting booths, where people would mint generative artworks on the set. Minting at home and minting in a curated setting is a very different thing. And so I was immediately hooked by Seth’s idea of NFT exhibitions and IRL minting.
Unfortunately, I could not come out to LA when it all started because I was working day and night on Art Blocks. And I also thought that I already know that this is great. My feeling was: I don’t even have to see it to know that. Then I went to New York and it was even more amazing than I thought it would be. Sometimes we think we already know what to expect, but then the actual experience exceeds our expectations. Now, there is an established legacy of Bright Moments artists and exhibitions, and I am very proud to become part of this.
On-demand generative IRL minting will have an impact in the world beyond just the crypto space and even the art world. The very idea of it speaks to us as humans. One day, in the near or far future, someone will create an on-demand generative work that will involve many, many people. We could see a NFT that 1m people mint for $1 to make an impact.
The Chromie Squiggle is one the defining works of on-chain generative art. What does it mean to you to release the sequel to this project?
There are a few things to say here. I did not anticipate the impact of the Chromie Squiggle in any way. To be honest, we, as generative artists, have a lot of work to do to keep our feet on the ground. The amount of attention we have received in a small period of time is rather singular. And as a major NFT collector, founder of Art Blocks, and also artist, I have been put in an interesting position that is not always easy to navigate.
The Squiggle was intended to define me as an artist and as the person I am. But in my mind, the Squiggle would not be what it is without all the other works that have been launched on Art Blocks. It wouldn’t have the same meaning without all the generative artists that have become associated with the platform. The Squiggle is not only a recognition of on-chain generative art as a whole, but of all the things that have come with it.
In fact, my personal hope for the Squiggle is that it should not only represent art, but a certain culture. I want to lean more strongly into the idea that it defines me as someone who is generally a humble and kind person. Someone who is considerate and empathetic to all of the people who surround me. This is how I strive to live my life. We need more kindness, more empathy in the world. And if the Squiggle can make a contribution to this, I am satisfied. Many of the Squiggle holders whom I have met seem to really embody this culture of kindness. If the Squiggle can become a mark of kindness, I would consider that to be a huge achievement in my life.
Now, I have to admit that I did not plan to put out a sequel to the Squiggle for some time. But then Bright Moments selected Mexico City, the city where I was born, as their next destination. First I said no to the offer of doing something there, as I just have too much to do. But then the idea started to grow and I felt that I just couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to release my work there and celebrate it with my friends and family.
The project I am working on right now is quite conceptual. It is a 3D space created in Three.js (I started in p5.js but had to change). The work is twofold: One algorithm maps out an architectural space. In principle, I could have hired someone to model this because it is about the concept, not the craftsmanship. But I am really excited about the challenge to code it myself. And then there is a second algorithm within this architectural space. The second algorithm is a very minimal color composition, and it is one of my favorite algorithms. Because of its simplicity, I have always been reluctant to release it as a stand-alone piece. So I am very content to have found a place for it in this project.
In 2021, the tech of NFTs was at the center of everyone’s attention in the generative art community. For 2022, I felt that the generative art as art will be at the forefront. For 2023, I hope that conceptual generative artworks will become more prominent. And my own work is a gesture in that direction.
Your new project is, in part, a homage to the Mexican architect Luis Ramiro Barragán, whose work combines a minimalist formal language with strong colors. Describe your relationship to Barragán and what it means to “recreate” his formal vocabulary with generative art.
There is a fine line to walk here. I don’t want to put Barragán into a box, and I don’t want to suggest one could just do what he did with a computer. That being said, I want to tap into the things that his works inspire in me. Barragán leads me to peace. There is a perfect harmony in Barragan’s architecture between art and its surroundings.
Although I am usually a rather risk averse person, I am also drawn to the absolute terror and danger of his architecture. The large majority of his staircases – steep and without any kind of railing – could never be built in the US. And there is something in the danger of these staircases that makes me reflect about the last years, about the insanity of the new medium that we work with.
Many of the environments Barragan created also have this one central piece of art. I love this plain presentation of art, and it inspired me to place this simple algorithm within the space. As I mentioned, this algorithm was initially made for release on Art Blocks as a standalone project, but I could never bring myself to release it there. It just seemed too simple. Now, it feels like the perfect fit. It speaks to my passion for Barragan’s minimalist architecture and Judd’s “100 Untitled Works,” hence the name: 100 Untitled Spaces. There is still a lot of work to do, but I am quite content with the project so far. It checks all the boxes for me insofar as it really pushes the boundaries of what we do by placing the generative artwork within a generative space. And it leaves a possibility open that is beyond exciting to me: that someone could one day rebuild this space in the physical world to display the work.
Does the fact that this work will be minted and exhibited IRL influence your work with the code?
Yes, I think the composition I have chosen – the placement of a generative artwork within a generative space – is really compelling to me in the context of the IRL setting.
As a collector, you get two treats: you get to see this intriguing space and you get to see the artwork. And you will probably be able to double click on the space. So you will first notice the stairs, then you will explore the space, and finally you will see the artwork within the space.
My brain hurts when thinking about the physical exhibition space and all the possibilities we have there, but suffice it to say that the exhibition design will reflect the dramaturgy of the piece itself. The curation team at Bright Moments is quite helpful in thinking through different ideas. And I certainly want to recreate something of the explorative experience that is at play in the works themselves in my exhibition space at Prim.
In conclusion, I would like to take a step back and ask you a few questions about broader developments in the ecosystem. Art Blocks has altered the history of generative art and captured the imagination of artists and collectors alike. Where do you see the platform headed?
We have so many different directions at Art Blocks. Early on, I joked about the idea of having generative posters at IKEA. That felt possible, but it seemed years away. Now, all of these crazy ideas seem to be happening much faster. To be clear, we aren't having any conversations with IKEA, but there are so many avenues for extending the platform. There is printing, embroidery, generative content – and I am just very excited to explore this.
NFTs made all of this possible. The technology of non-fungible tokens is empowering a distribution model that simply did not exist before. If the cost for producing 1 million items that are identical is the same as producing 1 million items that are different, then it seems inevitable to me that we will embrace the model that allows for more individuality. It’s just the more human thing to do.
Continuing this line of thought, through Art Blocks I want to participate in the creation of an NFT that is not valuable because it is scarce, but because people want to own it. Personally I am convinced humans are generally drawn to this design language. Generative content production will be in higher demand. Of course, we will continue to see “pure” generative art (and I will always be there to collect it), but we will also see all of these other applications for generative algorithms.
And I would like to add another thought. If Art Blocks itself is a piece of generative art, a work whose essential function is to connect people over art, I think we can apply the same concept to a broader group of people. Art Blocks was created to be a democratic, inclusive platform. Last year, this was lost during a certain period of time due to the price action, but it has come back, and I want to lean more strongly into this direction going forward.
What do you think about the rise of comparable generative art platforms on other chains, and in particular the rise of Fx(hash) in the Tezos ecosystem?
If it costs $5 to enter a community, this can make art more impactful. And I appreciate Fx(hash) and the Tez ecosystem in general a lot for making this possible. Moreover, I also really like the idea of artists being on a circuit and releasing different works on different platforms.
FX(hash) is not strictly on-chain like Art Blocks is. But that gives artists also the opportunity to create in a very free way. Art Blocks, especially the Curated section, requires discipline in that it forces artists to really lean into their technical craft. But we now often see people apply to Art Blocks Curated with a pure Fx(hash) portfolio, and I think that is an amazing cross-pollination between the platforms.
And the way Fxhash empowers creative coders with its low barriers is incredibly helpful for the ecosystem as a whole. On Art Blocks, you currently might have to spend $1,000 just to upload your script, an amount that can be hard to afford for creators. Fx(hash) allows creatives to get started in a very playful way.
What I dislike is divineness. Some people are critical of me because I am not an active collector in the Tez ecosystem. To be honest, I just don’t understand that reproach. The fact that I am not active in the ecosystem doesn’t mean at all that I have anything against it. My mind is simply razor-focused on Etherum and the development of Art Blocks.
Most importantly, however, we should all recognize that the generative art community is growing, and that this movement is more than Art Blocks on Eth, more than Fx(hash) on Tezos. This is what I am most excited about.
Last week, Ethereum Mainnet merged with the Beacon Chain. How do you view the future of Ethereum going forward and what does the merge mean for Art Blocks? In particular, I would be curious to learn how you view the importance of L2s for Art Blocks.
Art Blocks has many things we are headed towards. One of them is potentially exploring enabling the release of artworks on a layer 2 scaling solution in the future. Currently, gas costs make it impossible to sell art for $20 on Ethereum, for example, but plenty of good art can and should be $20, or even $10, so it is meaningful for me that Art Blocks can at some point provide an environment to support lower cost artworks and lower barriers to entry for artists.
In a broader perspective, the expansion of Eth into L2s is just amazing. Blockchain technology is all about security and decentralization, and L2s are the next big step in that direction. Right now it is hard to survey the L2s; and they all have pros and cons. But soon the time will come where people will start to heavily build and invest into L2s. When we get to the point of 100,000 TPS, it will be an insane time. Little by little, we will see Etherum scale to a completely new level.
