January 2025
Discord Chat with CSA_2D7
This transcript is a partially edited conversation between Jonathan Chomko and CSA2D7 regarding Constant 11 (an Ethereum art object), Direct (a performance modifying Constant 11), and CSA Mover (a smart contract on Ethereum written by 0xfff used to automate part of the performance). An unedited second conversation took place in the CSA2D7 Discord between Jonathan and CSA with the intent to simulate a conversation on a bench in McCarren Park similar to a first conversation that took place in-person between Jonathan and CSA a few weeks before, nearby McCarren Park. This medium was partly influenced by Nina Sobell and Emily Hartzell’s “ParkBench, VirtuAlice: Alice Sat Here.”
CSA2D7 Heya Jonathan. Just chilling here ready for you whenever you are
Jonathan Chomko Hey CSA good afternoon!
As I've been thinking about this chat, I wondered how you got into "Constant?”
CSA2D7 Well, the first time I heard about you was through JPG, which was... how to describe it, a decentralized gathering place where Canonites tried to define the next artistic canons for NFTs through social consensus (i.e., arguing, agreeing, voting); founded by MP (María Paula Fernández), Trent (Trent Elmore), and Nic (Nic Hamilton) amongst others. Misha, xsten, WMP, Simon Denny, Chainleft, Tokenfox are all JPG alumni.
So I kind of followed your work from a distance. It was your work “Natural Static” w/ Brian Droitcour and JPG where you kind of popped up again on my radar
And then when you announced "Constant" on X, I got really interested. It kind of hit on some interesting things that were happening in the scene at the time - esp. the onchain aspect
Now that you've had some time to kind of gain some distance from the release of the project, how do you think about it (now vs. then)?
Jonathan Chomko Nice I love JPG, they are a good crew of people!
When I was working on "Constant" there were a few themes I was focusing on; the idea of representing relationships between people on the blockchain, and the idea of making a work that is not static; that changes each time it's transferred.
Usually when I get close to releasing a project I start thinking a lot about elements that are perhaps not central to my interest in the project - I think about how the market will respond, whether it has enough generative variation, etc.
I'm also realizing the more I release projects, the easier it is to try to put too many ideas into one project, and it's better to keep things simple if possible. Let each project ring like a bell, if it can
But looking back now, I'm happy with the decisions I made, and that the ideas resonated with certain people, yourself included!
CSA2D7 It certainly resonated with me. At our last meeting you talked about its aesthetics and how you didn't think it was necessarily an aesthetically-pleasing piece. Can you talk a little bit about how you thought about the project? You mentioned some of Harm Van Den Dorpel's work as a potential route you didn't take
Jonathan Chomko Yeah, I'm happy it did!
In the post, I wrote that I didn't take the Harm-esque approach because it was too visually dense. I was also interested in pure composition. It's very easy in generative art to have lots of elements, and they signal complexity and value, and I felt like I had done that gesture in Natural Static
What I meant about aesthetics is that this work doesn't primarily make an appeal to value through its aesthetics. I feel like a lot of generative art says 'look at what I can do with code, look at the complexity I can achieve with code'. And "Constant" doesn't do that - the aesthetics are there as one part of a larger gesture.
The aesthetics are kinda there to only illustrate the blockchain dynamics, and to point to a sort of relationality that blockchain enables.
I'd be curious to know more about when you decided to embark on the building up of “Constant 11”.
CSA2D7 Yes! The aesthetics illustrate blockchain dynamics, and that relationality is how I always saw the pieces, as building blocks, and that’s why using “Constant 11,” with each 1 representing the two starting blocks was kind of a sign for me.
This was something I was starting to think about when “Constant 0” started to get passed around amongst artists, including Rhea Myers, who was a significant influence on “Constant.” The figure of “0” also matches the circle we made (starting with the original transfer, Jonathan to CSA, and ending with Jonathan to CSA).
With respect to “11,” I had to wait for the collection size to reach that magic number before I could acquire it.
Blockchain dynamics aside, there is an aesthetic similarity to Vera Molnár's work “100 trapèzes” when “Constant 11” starts off (Vera’s work posted below for reference)
And w/ Vera's work you are thinking about motion (trapeze), but her work is static
And in her work there is a distance between each of the blocks, whereas you intentionally have the blocks touching?
![]()
Jonathan Chomko I was so happy to see you post this work of Vera's, I hadn't seen it before! I can also see figures in her work, relationships.
Having the blocks touch was a key part of my concept from the beginning. I was thinking about relationship dynamics, and how two figures touching or leaning on each other can represent those dynamics.
When the piece is first minted, there are two blocks, representing the wallet address of the previous and current minter. The original idea was that there would only be two figures, and each time the piece changed hands the composition would shift.
With only two figures I was worried that the transfer might not be visible, so I made the transfer additive, each new transfer adding a block to the composition. The piece is responsive, so in theory the work can be scaled to allow each block to be full size, but in the window of an NFT marketplace the work becomes squished, horizontally compressed.
I didn’t actually think anyone would transfer it more than a few times, but I was really excited to see what people did. You organized a transfer of “Constant 0” to a whole group of different artists and collectors, which created a lovely organic pattern. And 0xfff made some interesting transfers as well, sending it to themselves to create repeating patterns.
With “Constant 11” it’s been really fun to see the different modes express themselves in the pattern.
CSA2D7 Yea! I mean John Gerrard did a talk in here recently, asking how do we (the crypto, nft, token folk) link back to the Algorists, and this aesthetic relationship to Vera’s work popped in my head. CSA note: John’s talk with Cody Edison on December 20, 2024 in the CSA Discord, “The Last Slides,” completed John’s original lecture at the Digital Art Symposium, LACMA’s Art and Tech Summit in Miami that took place a few weeks before on December 3, 2024.
For all the motion Vera's piece intends to convey, it is completely still and unchanging - of course there were limits to what she was able to do in her time
But that's kind of where I get excited about “Direct” and "Constant"
The idea of building this piece that is visually simple but almost incomprehensible. Is that really 118 transfers? How are we going to understand it visually if it gets exponentially bigger?
Just like seeing the Himalayas up close, we see it but can we really comprehend how dense it is with just our eyes?
So, in this sense, “Constant 11” is for thinking about the blockchain, about things we can't really comprehend, and there's just a simpleness to the project, aesthetically, and conceptually that tie it together
Jonathan Chomko That's really nice to read! I think one of the things that keeps on drawing me back to blockchain work is that there is interaction that is possible with other people. You put up a proposition, and people meet you on the other side and carry the work on.
CSA2D7 Absolutely. This is not right-click-save art, right? I mean, I made a comment to you a little while back that I wanted this work to be the largest sculpture on the blockchain. You kind of laughed it off, because honestly, who knows what that means? But it's the direction we are trying to seek, right? Aim for Richard Serra and Richard Smithson, large; abstract; sculpture; in a way that is only possible on the blockchain through this participatory performance. “Work comes out of work.”
Can you talk a little bit about your experience with blockchain work (including past projects) because I feel like you are right in it. And we should definitely have 0xfff comment on that in the future, because they too are right in it and created the automated portion of “Direct” (w/ their contract “CSA Mover”) specifically for “Constant 11.” They were also part of the original group of artists in “Constant 0.”
Jonathan Chomko Yes, very grateful for 0xfff's contributions, they were also a big supporter of the project initially
CSA2D7 Yes, and 0xfff started the self-transfer (which you previously mentioned) which we homaged in one of the early phases as well
Jonathan Chomko Yeah 0xfff did a lot of fun experiments! I've been doing blockchain stuff since about 2021. I think I've always been curious about where the value is in art on the blockchain.
My first big project was Proof of Work, which I feel was asking the question 'is a work valuable because a lot of effort has been put in it?'
I feel like "Constant" is saying that value lies in relationships; that it's in the space between buyer and seller that value exists.
CSA2D7 On the "Constant" webpage, there's actually a little generator to test out what "Constant" would look like after X transfers. For me it always stopped working after like 27 transfers or something... but that's clearly not an issue right now for “Constant 11” right? We're at 118 or so, and it is currently in John Gerrard’s possession. Part of testing for me was that little generator, and “0.”
Jonathan Chomko On the "Constant" page the simulator uses a pre-set array of wallet addresses, so it might stop working when that array is exhausted. But "Constant" is rendered on-chain differently from say “Draw by Computer” - I've calculated that it should be able to render up to about 7,000 transfers
CSA2D7 7,000 transfers is a lot. If we reach 7,000... I think we should call up Sotheby's or Christie's
Jonathan Chomko Haha yeah 7,000 is very many
CSA2D7 You wrote: "You put up a proposition, and people meet you on the other side and carry the work on." and I think that participatory aspect is really significant to "Constant"
What we're doing with “Direct,” is kind of a natural extension of "Constant", right - but I think where we might differ is how we see that relationship?
I think I read somewhere that you saw it was both kind of a superficial thing - its just the wallet, but I think I see of it as something more - ownership
Jonathan Chomko I think what I meant was that the wallet address doesn't represent a whole person
CSA2D7 Yes! Absolutely. It doesn't
And I agree, but I think there's a transactional depth to letting someone hold "you" (or your artwork, a piece of you) in their wallet and determine the disposition of that thing
Jonathan Chomko Yeah there definitely is! Esp as the work gets denser and denser
CSA2D7 Like when we think about control - you mentioned at coffee that technically, the piece is not generated through the EVM but your server (you can explain this better than me)
So there is still an aspect of control that you theoretically have over the piece as it moves -yes? And this is the nature of some NFTs where the original author still retains some control over how the work appears (esp. if it's a pointer with IPFS)?
Even if its not in the original author's wallet
Jonathan Chomko I don't actually have any control over the work via the contract, whoever's wallet it's in has full authority to send it or keep it
CSA2D7 Agreed - but you have the ability to shut off your server and control how the work appears?
Jonathan Chomko Yeah to some degree - the way "Constant" is rendered is that an html file with an embedded javascript script is generated on the contract.
The image link in the NFT's json points towards my server, which runs the javascript on the generated html page, and returns the SVG to the marketplace.
So there is an intermediary render step, but this render step could also be done by a standalone / arweave hosted page that would provide an unmediated view of what is on the contract, fully out of my control.
CSA2D7 I see, so you're saying if your server goes down, if we also have a standalone / arweave image, that arweave image would not be affected
Jonathan Chomko yeah exactly
and that this idea of transaction depth or trust is still there - there is no recourse if someone doesn't transfer it properly, or just keeps it
CSA2D7 This is still a form of influence / control though
Agreed. I was just trying to get to the contours of the influence / control that each participant has over the piece
I think there's a technical influence that you as the original creator have
And there's also probably a stronger reputational influence that the project has
i.e., who wants to be the person that steals “Constant 11” - although it's possible. I don't know all of the participants. And that’s part of what makes the art object and concept seductive - we are aiming for the largest, the densest, but at any moment the flipside could occur - it could be lost, it could get stolen, it could get halted. And what does it mean to “lose” something, if we can still track it and see it. Is it lost if it's forever viewable as public art?
That question of loss aside, and the two aforementioned influences aside, there is this really deep trust and control that each participant has over the work when they are in possession of it. There is this list that the participants can choose from (generated through my account on X), but they don’t necessarily have to. I was speaking with John Gerrard about this, and he was cycling between a couple of interesting choices. You don’t have to go with the list, if you feel certain about a choice.
And that's part of what makes it an interesting work. Right, if we just went with phase 2, the “CSA Mover” contract that 0xfff created for all of the transfers we wouldn't have this test of what it means to possess a thing, or what it means to lose a thing
If we had relied solely on “CSA Mover,” all of the participants who wanted to take part could just join 0xfff's contract and let me automate the movement without their being a test of ownership
Jonathan Chomko I see yeah! But I think it was important for you to have people hold it and make the choice
new
CSA2D7 I think that's part of the performance that I want to stress in this manual phase, that each participant is choosing the next one, it's a form of, a kind of, social trust that's pretty strong right?
It's like a form of decentralized KYC to an extent
Are you going to pass to someone you don't know, or someone that you do know, and how do you know them, etc.
Each transfer has a little story (or maybe a large story) behind it, like starting off this manual transfer phase with Nina Roehrs, who I have distance from, but also recognize as an important figure in this token-as-art movement
Jonathan Chomko Yeah - we can see paths of trust in how it's transferred
CSA2D7 It's such a simple project but there are so many things you can kind of see. It's kind of an ethnography of this current scene we are in
A lot of which is mediated through X and Discord... btw I saw on X that you have a new project called “Aesthetic Constant?”
Jonathan Chomko Something that I realized in our IRL conversation is how much the blockchain record is part of the piece. Like someone could generate an aesthetically similar piece, but the eventual value of this piece is in its history, which cannot be faked
Yeah “Aesthetic Constant!”
CSA2D7 Its funny because one of the criticisms I've seen or maybe felt on the project is that things in the past have existed that are similar to this participation (Alighiero Boetti, “Viaggi postali (Postal Voyages),” On Kawara, “I got up,” etc. etc.) from the 1960’s
In the Rhizome discord, I saw someone mention that they had an instagram project which posted all of the DMs they received on their public page before they got deleted by Instagram
But I see “Direct” as very distinct from these projects; despite centralized social media (X, and Discord) playing a function and being a part of it; “Direct” is still very much about decentralized participation
Jonathan Chomko I think it's valid to compare it to other types of communication art, but I think it's a gesture that is worth making again on the blockchain, partly because the art can be dynamic, and because of the implications of value and trust.
CSA2D7 Absolutely. It's decentralized, and on the blockchain. This will be an art object at the end of the day that I think has no precedent.
Jonathan Chomko I'm really grateful for the work you're putting in to realize this vision!
CSA2D7It’s the three of us, and all the participants
Jonathan Chomko
True! a collective work
CSA2D7 Constant aside - I was asking you about “Aesthetic Constant?”
Jonathan Chomko Yeah! My vision with the “Aesthetic Constant” is to release a series of the walking animations I've been posting.
CSA2D7 Yes! I love the walking animations that you previously released with Mack - please tell us about that too and how it informs (if it does) “Aesthetic Constant”
Jonathan Chomk The previous animations were recorded from my Shadowing installation. Working on that release I was reminded of how easy it is for us to understand human motion, even with very small amounts of data. It’s one of the patterns are brains are wired to recognize.
“Aesthetic Constant” also builds on “Draw by Computer,” in that they will be on-chain generated animated SVGs.
CSA2D7 Yes! I thought there was this aesthetic link there (and conceptual)
Jonathan Chomko Yeah! I'm also thinking of release dynamics that build on what we're doing here with "Constant"
I think it'll be only allowlist for primary mint, and then each holder gets to invite one person to mint 'beside' them.
CSA2D7 I see “Shadowing,” “Draw by Computer,” and “Constant” in it
Jonathan Chomko Yeah it has all those parts! The final idea is that each participant can also choose to end their cycle instead of inviting someone to mint, so the holders have some control of the supply
CSA2D7 I kind of like having this format, it's a little weird but also forces us to respond organically to each other (vs email or something)
We also have no idea if someone is here or not, if someone will interrupt us or not, but also we're maybe performing or not lol who knows
I felt a little uptight to start, and now feel a little looser
Jonathan Chomko yeah I think it's good, also allows ppl to drop in and out, but also easily scan the convo
CSA2D7 Schrödinger's audience
CSA2D7
0xfff
Constant 11
https://constant.jonathanchomko.com/
This transcript is a partially edited conversation between Jonathan Chomko and CSA2D7 regarding Constant 11 (an Ethereum art object), Direct (a performance modifying Constant 11), and CSA Mover (a smart contract on Ethereum written by 0xfff used to automate part of the performance). An unedited second conversation took place in the CSA2D7 Discord between Jonathan and CSA with the intent to simulate a conversation on a bench in McCarren Park similar to a first conversation that took place in-person between Jonathan and CSA a few weeks before, nearby McCarren Park. This medium was partly influenced by Nina Sobell and Emily Hartzell’s “ParkBench, VirtuAlice: Alice Sat Here.”
CSA2D7 Heya Jonathan. Just chilling here ready for you whenever you are
Jonathan Chomko Hey CSA good afternoon!
As I've been thinking about this chat, I wondered how you got into "Constant?”
CSA2D7 Well, the first time I heard about you was through JPG, which was... how to describe it, a decentralized gathering place where Canonites tried to define the next artistic canons for NFTs through social consensus (i.e., arguing, agreeing, voting); founded by MP (María Paula Fernández), Trent (Trent Elmore), and Nic (Nic Hamilton) amongst others. Misha, xsten, WMP, Simon Denny, Chainleft, Tokenfox are all JPG alumni.
So I kind of followed your work from a distance. It was your work “Natural Static” w/ Brian Droitcour and JPG where you kind of popped up again on my radar
And then when you announced "Constant" on X, I got really interested. It kind of hit on some interesting things that were happening in the scene at the time - esp. the onchain aspect
Now that you've had some time to kind of gain some distance from the release of the project, how do you think about it (now vs. then)?
Jonathan Chomko Nice I love JPG, they are a good crew of people!
When I was working on "Constant" there were a few themes I was focusing on; the idea of representing relationships between people on the blockchain, and the idea of making a work that is not static; that changes each time it's transferred.
Usually when I get close to releasing a project I start thinking a lot about elements that are perhaps not central to my interest in the project - I think about how the market will respond, whether it has enough generative variation, etc.
I'm also realizing the more I release projects, the easier it is to try to put too many ideas into one project, and it's better to keep things simple if possible. Let each project ring like a bell, if it can
But looking back now, I'm happy with the decisions I made, and that the ideas resonated with certain people, yourself included!
CSA2D7 It certainly resonated with me. At our last meeting you talked about its aesthetics and how you didn't think it was necessarily an aesthetically-pleasing piece. Can you talk a little bit about how you thought about the project? You mentioned some of Harm Van Den Dorpel's work as a potential route you didn't take
Jonathan Chomko Yeah, I'm happy it did!
In the post, I wrote that I didn't take the Harm-esque approach because it was too visually dense. I was also interested in pure composition. It's very easy in generative art to have lots of elements, and they signal complexity and value, and I felt like I had done that gesture in Natural Static
What I meant about aesthetics is that this work doesn't primarily make an appeal to value through its aesthetics. I feel like a lot of generative art says 'look at what I can do with code, look at the complexity I can achieve with code'. And "Constant" doesn't do that - the aesthetics are there as one part of a larger gesture.
The aesthetics are kinda there to only illustrate the blockchain dynamics, and to point to a sort of relationality that blockchain enables.
I'd be curious to know more about when you decided to embark on the building up of “Constant 11”.
CSA2D7 Yes! The aesthetics illustrate blockchain dynamics, and that relationality is how I always saw the pieces, as building blocks, and that’s why using “Constant 11,” with each 1 representing the two starting blocks was kind of a sign for me.
This was something I was starting to think about when “Constant 0” started to get passed around amongst artists, including Rhea Myers, who was a significant influence on “Constant.” The figure of “0” also matches the circle we made (starting with the original transfer, Jonathan to CSA, and ending with Jonathan to CSA).
With respect to “11,” I had to wait for the collection size to reach that magic number before I could acquire it.
Blockchain dynamics aside, there is an aesthetic similarity to Vera Molnár's work “100 trapèzes” when “Constant 11” starts off (Vera’s work posted below for reference)
And w/ Vera's work you are thinking about motion (trapeze), but her work is static
And in her work there is a distance between each of the blocks, whereas you intentionally have the blocks touching?
Jonathan Chomko I was so happy to see you post this work of Vera's, I hadn't seen it before! I can also see figures in her work, relationships.
Having the blocks touch was a key part of my concept from the beginning. I was thinking about relationship dynamics, and how two figures touching or leaning on each other can represent those dynamics.
When the piece is first minted, there are two blocks, representing the wallet address of the previous and current minter. The original idea was that there would only be two figures, and each time the piece changed hands the composition would shift.
With only two figures I was worried that the transfer might not be visible, so I made the transfer additive, each new transfer adding a block to the composition. The piece is responsive, so in theory the work can be scaled to allow each block to be full size, but in the window of an NFT marketplace the work becomes squished, horizontally compressed.
I didn’t actually think anyone would transfer it more than a few times, but I was really excited to see what people did. You organized a transfer of “Constant 0” to a whole group of different artists and collectors, which created a lovely organic pattern. And 0xfff made some interesting transfers as well, sending it to themselves to create repeating patterns.
With “Constant 11” it’s been really fun to see the different modes express themselves in the pattern.
CSA2D7 Yea! I mean John Gerrard did a talk in here recently, asking how do we (the crypto, nft, token folk) link back to the Algorists, and this aesthetic relationship to Vera’s work popped in my head. CSA note: John’s talk with Cody Edison on December 20, 2024 in the CSA Discord, “The Last Slides,” completed John’s original lecture at the Digital Art Symposium, LACMA’s Art and Tech Summit in Miami that took place a few weeks before on December 3, 2024.
For all the motion Vera's piece intends to convey, it is completely still and unchanging - of course there were limits to what she was able to do in her time
But that's kind of where I get excited about “Direct” and "Constant"
The idea of building this piece that is visually simple but almost incomprehensible. Is that really 118 transfers? How are we going to understand it visually if it gets exponentially bigger?
Just like seeing the Himalayas up close, we see it but can we really comprehend how dense it is with just our eyes?
So, in this sense, “Constant 11” is for thinking about the blockchain, about things we can't really comprehend, and there's just a simpleness to the project, aesthetically, and conceptually that tie it together
Jonathan Chomko That's really nice to read! I think one of the things that keeps on drawing me back to blockchain work is that there is interaction that is possible with other people. You put up a proposition, and people meet you on the other side and carry the work on.
CSA2D7 Absolutely. This is not right-click-save art, right? I mean, I made a comment to you a little while back that I wanted this work to be the largest sculpture on the blockchain. You kind of laughed it off, because honestly, who knows what that means? But it's the direction we are trying to seek, right? Aim for Richard Serra and Richard Smithson, large; abstract; sculpture; in a way that is only possible on the blockchain through this participatory performance. “Work comes out of work.”
Can you talk a little bit about your experience with blockchain work (including past projects) because I feel like you are right in it. And we should definitely have 0xfff comment on that in the future, because they too are right in it and created the automated portion of “Direct” (w/ their contract “CSA Mover”) specifically for “Constant 11.” They were also part of the original group of artists in “Constant 0.”
Jonathan Chomko Yes, very grateful for 0xfff's contributions, they were also a big supporter of the project initially
CSA2D7 Yes, and 0xfff started the self-transfer (which you previously mentioned) which we homaged in one of the early phases as well
Jonathan Chomko Yeah 0xfff did a lot of fun experiments! I've been doing blockchain stuff since about 2021. I think I've always been curious about where the value is in art on the blockchain.
My first big project was Proof of Work, which I feel was asking the question 'is a work valuable because a lot of effort has been put in it?'
I feel like "Constant" is saying that value lies in relationships; that it's in the space between buyer and seller that value exists.
CSA2D7 On the "Constant" webpage, there's actually a little generator to test out what "Constant" would look like after X transfers. For me it always stopped working after like 27 transfers or something... but that's clearly not an issue right now for “Constant 11” right? We're at 118 or so, and it is currently in John Gerrard’s possession. Part of testing for me was that little generator, and “0.”
Jonathan Chomko On the "Constant" page the simulator uses a pre-set array of wallet addresses, so it might stop working when that array is exhausted. But "Constant" is rendered on-chain differently from say “Draw by Computer” - I've calculated that it should be able to render up to about 7,000 transfers
CSA2D7 7,000 transfers is a lot. If we reach 7,000... I think we should call up Sotheby's or Christie's
Jonathan Chomko Haha yeah 7,000 is very many
CSA2D7 You wrote: "You put up a proposition, and people meet you on the other side and carry the work on." and I think that participatory aspect is really significant to "Constant"
What we're doing with “Direct,” is kind of a natural extension of "Constant", right - but I think where we might differ is how we see that relationship?
I think I read somewhere that you saw it was both kind of a superficial thing - its just the wallet, but I think I see of it as something more - ownership
Jonathan Chomko I think what I meant was that the wallet address doesn't represent a whole person
CSA2D7 Yes! Absolutely. It doesn't
And I agree, but I think there's a transactional depth to letting someone hold "you" (or your artwork, a piece of you) in their wallet and determine the disposition of that thing
Jonathan Chomko Yeah there definitely is! Esp as the work gets denser and denser
CSA2D7 Like when we think about control - you mentioned at coffee that technically, the piece is not generated through the EVM but your server (you can explain this better than me)
So there is still an aspect of control that you theoretically have over the piece as it moves -yes? And this is the nature of some NFTs where the original author still retains some control over how the work appears (esp. if it's a pointer with IPFS)?
Even if its not in the original author's wallet
Jonathan Chomko I don't actually have any control over the work via the contract, whoever's wallet it's in has full authority to send it or keep it
CSA2D7 Agreed - but you have the ability to shut off your server and control how the work appears?
Jonathan Chomko Yeah to some degree - the way "Constant" is rendered is that an html file with an embedded javascript script is generated on the contract.
The image link in the NFT's json points towards my server, which runs the javascript on the generated html page, and returns the SVG to the marketplace.
So there is an intermediary render step, but this render step could also be done by a standalone / arweave hosted page that would provide an unmediated view of what is on the contract, fully out of my control.
CSA2D7 I see, so you're saying if your server goes down, if we also have a standalone / arweave image, that arweave image would not be affected
Jonathan Chomko yeah exactly
and that this idea of transaction depth or trust is still there - there is no recourse if someone doesn't transfer it properly, or just keeps it
CSA2D7 This is still a form of influence / control though
Agreed. I was just trying to get to the contours of the influence / control that each participant has over the piece
I think there's a technical influence that you as the original creator have
And there's also probably a stronger reputational influence that the project has
i.e., who wants to be the person that steals “Constant 11” - although it's possible. I don't know all of the participants. And that’s part of what makes the art object and concept seductive - we are aiming for the largest, the densest, but at any moment the flipside could occur - it could be lost, it could get stolen, it could get halted. And what does it mean to “lose” something, if we can still track it and see it. Is it lost if it's forever viewable as public art?
That question of loss aside, and the two aforementioned influences aside, there is this really deep trust and control that each participant has over the work when they are in possession of it. There is this list that the participants can choose from (generated through my account on X), but they don’t necessarily have to. I was speaking with John Gerrard about this, and he was cycling between a couple of interesting choices. You don’t have to go with the list, if you feel certain about a choice.
And that's part of what makes it an interesting work. Right, if we just went with phase 2, the “CSA Mover” contract that 0xfff created for all of the transfers we wouldn't have this test of what it means to possess a thing, or what it means to lose a thing
If we had relied solely on “CSA Mover,” all of the participants who wanted to take part could just join 0xfff's contract and let me automate the movement without their being a test of ownership
Jonathan Chomko I see yeah! But I think it was important for you to have people hold it and make the choice
new
CSA2D7 I think that's part of the performance that I want to stress in this manual phase, that each participant is choosing the next one, it's a form of, a kind of, social trust that's pretty strong right?
It's like a form of decentralized KYC to an extent
Are you going to pass to someone you don't know, or someone that you do know, and how do you know them, etc.
Each transfer has a little story (or maybe a large story) behind it, like starting off this manual transfer phase with Nina Roehrs, who I have distance from, but also recognize as an important figure in this token-as-art movement
Jonathan Chomko Yeah - we can see paths of trust in how it's transferred
CSA2D7 It's such a simple project but there are so many things you can kind of see. It's kind of an ethnography of this current scene we are in
A lot of which is mediated through X and Discord... btw I saw on X that you have a new project called “Aesthetic Constant?”
Jonathan Chomko Something that I realized in our IRL conversation is how much the blockchain record is part of the piece. Like someone could generate an aesthetically similar piece, but the eventual value of this piece is in its history, which cannot be faked
Yeah “Aesthetic Constant!”
CSA2D7 Its funny because one of the criticisms I've seen or maybe felt on the project is that things in the past have existed that are similar to this participation (Alighiero Boetti, “Viaggi postali (Postal Voyages),” On Kawara, “I got up,” etc. etc.) from the 1960’s
In the Rhizome discord, I saw someone mention that they had an instagram project which posted all of the DMs they received on their public page before they got deleted by Instagram
But I see “Direct” as very distinct from these projects; despite centralized social media (X, and Discord) playing a function and being a part of it; “Direct” is still very much about decentralized participation
Jonathan Chomko I think it's valid to compare it to other types of communication art, but I think it's a gesture that is worth making again on the blockchain, partly because the art can be dynamic, and because of the implications of value and trust.
CSA2D7 Absolutely. It's decentralized, and on the blockchain. This will be an art object at the end of the day that I think has no precedent.
Jonathan Chomko I'm really grateful for the work you're putting in to realize this vision!
CSA2D7It’s the three of us, and all the participants
Jonathan Chomko
True! a collective work
CSA2D7 Constant aside - I was asking you about “Aesthetic Constant?”
Jonathan Chomko Yeah! My vision with the “Aesthetic Constant” is to release a series of the walking animations I've been posting.
CSA2D7 Yes! I love the walking animations that you previously released with Mack - please tell us about that too and how it informs (if it does) “Aesthetic Constant”
Jonathan Chomk The previous animations were recorded from my Shadowing installation. Working on that release I was reminded of how easy it is for us to understand human motion, even with very small amounts of data. It’s one of the patterns are brains are wired to recognize.
“Aesthetic Constant” also builds on “Draw by Computer,” in that they will be on-chain generated animated SVGs.
CSA2D7 Yes! I thought there was this aesthetic link there (and conceptual)
Jonathan Chomko Yeah! I'm also thinking of release dynamics that build on what we're doing here with "Constant"
I think it'll be only allowlist for primary mint, and then each holder gets to invite one person to mint 'beside' them.
CSA2D7 I see “Shadowing,” “Draw by Computer,” and “Constant” in it
Jonathan Chomko Yeah it has all those parts! The final idea is that each participant can also choose to end their cycle instead of inviting someone to mint, so the holders have some control of the supply
CSA2D7 I kind of like having this format, it's a little weird but also forces us to respond organically to each other (vs email or something)
We also have no idea if someone is here or not, if someone will interrupt us or not, but also we're maybe performing or not lol who knows
I felt a little uptight to start, and now feel a little looser
Jonathan Chomko yeah I think it's good, also allows ppl to drop in and out, but also easily scan the convo
CSA2D7 Schrödinger's audience
CSA2D7
0xfff
Constant 11
https://constant.jonathanchomko.com/
May 2024
Constant
“there are two strains of *nft art* emerging - one is an extension of postinternet as the production of unique images using the legder as means of distribution. The other strain is creating experiments with the material (code) and structure of the chain itself. Image vs Process” - @brachlandberlin
Constant grew from a few ideas; one was a return to the topic of symmetry, explored in Token Hash among others, and another the idea for a new mechanic of using wallet address as seeds for a generative artwork.
My first explorations stemmed from Natural Static, mirroring random pixels to reveal the inherent lack of randomness in their distribution.
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These tests were interesting, but one thing I wanted to bring to Constant from my previous work with Natural Static was an understanding of the context. Most viewers will encounter the work as a thumbnail on a NFT marketplace, where density gets lost.
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I reduced the grid of pixels to a line traced through random points, and then mirrored this line, adding small random variations. The two figures reminded me of my choreographic work, how having only two dancers on stage drew thoughts to the relationship between them.
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I also explored pixel grid forms, with some Harm van den Dorpel-esque imperfect symmetry studies, but this level of density felt like territory I had explored before, with Proof of Work and Natural Static.
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I liked the gesture of moving from the density of Natural Static to the simplicity of two forms.
I began working with rectangles and rotation, and saw a clear relational dynamic between them; who takes more space, who is leaning on who, where is the connection?
Throughout this process I was set on the idea that the visual content of the work would be derived from the wallet address of two participants; previous and current minter, or seller and buyer.
This image below shows how Constant would evolve during the mint; each new minted piece contains an element of the one before it.
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Making a work that changes when it is transferred breaks the fundamental value proposition of NFTs; that they are stable artworks that can be bought and sold. Allowing the work to evolve over time changes this value proposition, and points to the relationships between artists and collectors as the source of value.
Throughout my practice, the visual content of a work has not been my primary interest. What excites me more is the creation of a protocol that enables connection, or shapes an experience.
Shadowing is a good example of this. The system captures the movements of people under a streetlamp, and plays them back as shadows. The visual of language of the work is there to signal that your participation was recorded, and to show you the movements and gestures others performed under the lampl. The greatest joy of the project was not in creating the visual language of it but was in watching people play under the lamp.
My favourite works from the NFT canon are not those that make pretty pictures with code; they are those that use the affordances of the blockchain to create propositions with pleasing tension; Stevie P’s Money Making Opportunity, or Rhea Myers Proof of Existence come to mind.
In a recent inteview in Outland, Myers stated that the point of her work is to raise the negative; claiming that a hash on the blockchain is proof of existence immediately raises objections.
“The objections are the point. That’s the point of the artwork—this doesn’t work. Let’s think about why not.“ Outland, 2024
Constant works in a similar way - wallet addresses are not equivalent to their owners complex personalities, and blockchain transactions are not equivalent to real connection.
But in creating a work that shifts each time it changes changes hands echoes the fragility of our real relationships, and reminds us that behind each blockchain address is you and me.
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Constant opens May 29 at 1pm EST on constant.jonathanchomko.com
“there are two strains of *nft art* emerging - one is an extension of postinternet as the production of unique images using the legder as means of distribution. The other strain is creating experiments with the material (code) and structure of the chain itself. Image vs Process” - @brachlandberlin
Constant grew from a few ideas; one was a return to the topic of symmetry, explored in Token Hash among others, and another the idea for a new mechanic of using wallet address as seeds for a generative artwork.
My first explorations stemmed from Natural Static, mirroring random pixels to reveal the inherent lack of randomness in their distribution.
These tests were interesting, but one thing I wanted to bring to Constant from my previous work with Natural Static was an understanding of the context. Most viewers will encounter the work as a thumbnail on a NFT marketplace, where density gets lost.
I reduced the grid of pixels to a line traced through random points, and then mirrored this line, adding small random variations. The two figures reminded me of my choreographic work, how having only two dancers on stage drew thoughts to the relationship between them.
I also explored pixel grid forms, with some Harm van den Dorpel-esque imperfect symmetry studies, but this level of density felt like territory I had explored before, with Proof of Work and Natural Static.
I liked the gesture of moving from the density of Natural Static to the simplicity of two forms.
I began working with rectangles and rotation, and saw a clear relational dynamic between them; who takes more space, who is leaning on who, where is the connection?
Throughout this process I was set on the idea that the visual content of the work would be derived from the wallet address of two participants; previous and current minter, or seller and buyer.
This image below shows how Constant would evolve during the mint; each new minted piece contains an element of the one before it.
Making a work that changes when it is transferred breaks the fundamental value proposition of NFTs; that they are stable artworks that can be bought and sold. Allowing the work to evolve over time changes this value proposition, and points to the relationships between artists and collectors as the source of value.
Throughout my practice, the visual content of a work has not been my primary interest. What excites me more is the creation of a protocol that enables connection, or shapes an experience.
Shadowing is a good example of this. The system captures the movements of people under a streetlamp, and plays them back as shadows. The visual of language of the work is there to signal that your participation was recorded, and to show you the movements and gestures others performed under the lampl. The greatest joy of the project was not in creating the visual language of it but was in watching people play under the lamp.
My favourite works from the NFT canon are not those that make pretty pictures with code; they are those that use the affordances of the blockchain to create propositions with pleasing tension; Stevie P’s Money Making Opportunity, or Rhea Myers Proof of Existence come to mind.
In a recent inteview in Outland, Myers stated that the point of her work is to raise the negative; claiming that a hash on the blockchain is proof of existence immediately raises objections.
“The objections are the point. That’s the point of the artwork—this doesn’t work. Let’s think about why not.“ Outland, 2024
Constant works in a similar way - wallet addresses are not equivalent to their owners complex personalities, and blockchain transactions are not equivalent to real connection.
But in creating a work that shifts each time it changes changes hands echoes the fragility of our real relationships, and reminds us that behind each blockchain address is you and me.
Constant opens May 29 at 1pm EST on constant.jonathanchomko.com
Natural Static
NFT series, 2023, 260 tokens
NFT series, 2023, 260 tokens
Natural Static feeds videos of natural motion feeds into a pixel-based water simulation, creating a representation of physical motion that is both highly digital and deeply analog.
Click Generate on the embedded version below and see the range of the system, or use the full-frame generator.
Natural Static was released with JPG alongside an online exhibition curated by Brian Droitcour and was the subject of a solo exhibition at Public Works Administration in New York City in October 2023. View minted works here.
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Traits
The piece uses WebGL to turn each pixel on your screen into its own feedback system. Each pixel has a high probability of sampling its previous state, and a low probability of sampling the underlying video.
Information on the filming location, weather and time of day for video can be obtained by calling getVideoInfo(tokenId) on the contract. In the case a video file is lost, the artist authorizes the collector to re-create the video using the parameters in the video info file.
Click Generate on the embedded version below and see the range of the system, or use the full-frame generator.
Natural Static was released with JPG alongside an online exhibition curated by Brian Droitcour and was the subject of a solo exhibition at Public Works Administration in New York City in October 2023. View minted works here.
Traits
The piece uses WebGL to turn each pixel on your screen into its own feedback system. Each pixel has a high probability of sampling its previous state, and a low probability of sampling the underlying video.
- Feedback Type
- Increment - pixels are incremented until they reach max brightness , then roll over to min brightness.
- Decrement - pixels are decremented until they reach min brightness, then roll over to max brightness.
- RGBIncrement - the red, green and blue channels of each pixel are incremented at varying rates, and are individually rolled over to 0.
- RGBDecrement - the red, green and blue channels of each pixel are decremented at varying rates, and are individually rolled up to 1.
- Feedback Speed
- A value between 2 and 5 is used to select the speed from a list of pre-calculated frequencies, which are pulled from the videos using Fourier transform analysis. This mathematical function finds the dominant frequencies in a signal. Videos with gentle motion will have a lower set of frequency values than videos with strong currents.
- Colour Mode
- Colour Mode translates the pixels in the feedback system into the final output you see, performing various combinations or translations of the base RGB values in the feedback system.
- Video Speed
- Either half or full, and changes the rate at which the underlying video is played back at.
- Video Id
- The index of the video which your piece samples from.
Information on the filming location, weather and time of day for video can be obtained by calling getVideoInfo(tokenId) on the contract. In the case a video file is lost, the artist authorizes the collector to re-create the video using the parameters in the video info file.
Sept 19 2022
Colour Time Verse
I’ve been developing two new Colour Time works for an upcoming show with Verse in London.
Colour Time Sync is a 20-minute-long colour animation which is synchronized across all representations of the work, allowing viewers in the gallery and online to experience the colour shifts at the same time.
Colour Time Generative is uses the same colour sequence as Colour Time Sync. Instead of animating through time, Generative draws this colour sequence into a gradient. As pieces are minted, the gradient is streched. Each buyer owns a section of this ever-expanding continuum. The appearance of a buyers section continually shifts as the gradient expands until the sale closes.
Below are some outputs from the generative system, which will on display in the gallery as prints. The numbers in the titles indicate the token ID and hypothetical collection size.
![Colour Time Generative 5 of 116]()
![Colour Time Generative 14 of 45]()
![Colour Time Generative 22 of 110]()
![Colour Time Generative 48 of 100]()
In a standard generative release, the decisive moment occurs during minting, random values collected and hashed into a random seed which determines the output.
In Colour Time Generative the seed of randomness is the market as a collective force, turning not just the minter but the market as a whole into co-creators of the work.
https://verse.works/exhibitions/colour-time
I’ve been developing two new Colour Time works for an upcoming show with Verse in London.
Colour Time Sync is a 20-minute-long colour animation which is synchronized across all representations of the work, allowing viewers in the gallery and online to experience the colour shifts at the same time.
Colour Time Generative is uses the same colour sequence as Colour Time Sync. Instead of animating through time, Generative draws this colour sequence into a gradient. As pieces are minted, the gradient is streched. Each buyer owns a section of this ever-expanding continuum. The appearance of a buyers section continually shifts as the gradient expands until the sale closes.
Below are some outputs from the generative system, which will on display in the gallery as prints. The numbers in the titles indicate the token ID and hypothetical collection size.
In a standard generative release, the decisive moment occurs during minting, random values collected and hashed into a random seed which determines the output.
In Colour Time Generative the seed of randomness is the market as a collective force, turning not just the minter but the market as a whole into co-creators of the work.
https://verse.works/exhibitions/colour-time
Apr 5 2022
Colour Time Development
Colour Time is a series of twelve on-chain animated SVGs created during a motorcycle trip from Montreal to Los Angeles in November of 2022.
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The origins of this series lie in earlier explorations on colour, notably Colour Calendar and colour-time.com. Colour Calendar explores the effect of relative contrast on colour perception and our emotional relationship to colour.
colour-time.com explores complementary colour after-images, presenting a slowly shifting pane of colour. Upon viewing, the eye becomes saturated and begins to generate a complementary colour after-image, which is then met or challenged by the on-screen colour.
These on-chain NFTs are the third iteration of this exploration, and combine the effects of colour relativity and complementary colour afterimages. Named for the location in which they were created, they attempt to express the impossibility of capturing and relaying a day's driving, expressing instead a slice of colour and rhythm.
Each work consists of two planes of colour, which shift between two points of colour. Each plane shifts at a different speed, ie 20-second loop for the background, 13-second loop for the foreground, building visual complexity as loops phase in and out of sync.
http://colourtime.jonathanchomko.com/
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Sale opens Thursday April 14 at 10 am PST, 1 pm EST, 5 pm GMT. Tokens are priced at 1 ETH.
Colour Time is a series of twelve on-chain animated SVGs created during a motorcycle trip from Montreal to Los Angeles in November of 2022.
The origins of this series lie in earlier explorations on colour, notably Colour Calendar and colour-time.com. Colour Calendar explores the effect of relative contrast on colour perception and our emotional relationship to colour.
colour-time.com explores complementary colour after-images, presenting a slowly shifting pane of colour. Upon viewing, the eye becomes saturated and begins to generate a complementary colour after-image, which is then met or challenged by the on-screen colour.
These on-chain NFTs are the third iteration of this exploration, and combine the effects of colour relativity and complementary colour afterimages. Named for the location in which they were created, they attempt to express the impossibility of capturing and relaying a day's driving, expressing instead a slice of colour and rhythm.
Each work consists of two planes of colour, which shift between two points of colour. Each plane shifts at a different speed, ie 20-second loop for the background, 13-second loop for the foreground, building visual complexity as loops phase in and out of sync.
http://colourtime.jonathanchomko.com/
Sale opens Thursday April 14 at 10 am PST, 1 pm EST, 5 pm GMT. Tokens are priced at 1 ETH.