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 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 at scale, but one thing I wanted to bring to Constant from my previous online work was an understanding of context. Most viewers will see the work as a thumbnail; where density does not translate well.
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I reduced the grid of pixels to a line traced through random points, drawing a line through the set, and then imperfectly mirrored these points to create asymmetry. I was reminded of my choreographic work, how working with two dancers becomes so much more relationally charged than working with more.
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I also explored pixel-like forms, with some Harm van den Dorpel-esque imperfect symmetry studies, but these felt like territory I had explored before, with Proof of Work and Natural Static.
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Working with rectangles and rotation, a clear relational dynamic became visible; who takes more space, who is leaning on who, where is the connection? I also liked how the rotation broke the cartesian grid of so much generative work, and how its simplicity resisted the tendency to complexity in digital art.
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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 experience.
One of my first works, Shadowing, is a good example of this. The system captures the movements of people under a streetlamp, and plays them back with a delay. The visual of silhouettes is in service of the recognition of oneself and others, and the greatest joy I received from the project was not 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 and rich 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 rich 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 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 at scale, but one thing I wanted to bring to Constant from my previous online work was an understanding of context. Most viewers will see the work as a thumbnail; where density does not translate well.
I reduced the grid of pixels to a line traced through random points, drawing a line through the set, and then imperfectly mirrored these points to create asymmetry. I was reminded of my choreographic work, how working with two dancers becomes so much more relationally charged than working with more.
I also explored pixel-like forms, with some Harm van den Dorpel-esque imperfect symmetry studies, but these felt like territory I had explored before, with Proof of Work and Natural Static.
Working with rectangles and rotation, a clear relational dynamic became visible; who takes more space, who is leaning on who, where is the connection? I also liked how the rotation broke the cartesian grid of so much generative work, and how its simplicity resisted the tendency to complexity in digital art.
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 experience.
One of my first works, Shadowing, is a good example of this. The system captures the movements of people under a streetlamp, and plays them back with a delay. The visual of silhouettes is in service of the recognition of oneself and others, and the greatest joy I received from the project was not 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 and rich 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 rich relationships, and reminds us that behind each blockchain address is you and me.
Constant opens May 29 at 1pm EST on constant.jonathanchomko.com
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 uses clock time to synchronize the work for all viewers, allowing both the viewers in the gallery and online to inhabit the same temporal frame.
Colour Time Generative is derived from the same colour data as Colour Time Sync. Instead of animating through time, Generative draws this timeline as a gradient. The horizontal width of this gradient is infinitely variable; as pieces are minted, the gradient expands. Each buyer owns a section of a continuum, which is constantly shifting until the sale closes.
Below are some outputs from the Generative system, which will on display in the gallery. 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, a quick roll of the dice determining the output. In Colour Time Generative the seed of randomness is the market as a collective force, turning not just the minter but also the market into co-creators of the work.
The output of a generative work derives value from its relation to the larger generative series - rarity and aesthetics are judged of an individual work are evaluated in relation to the collection as a whole.
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 uses clock time to synchronize the work for all viewers, allowing both the viewers in the gallery and online to inhabit the same temporal frame.
Colour Time Generative is derived from the same colour data as Colour Time Sync. Instead of animating through time, Generative draws this timeline as a gradient. The horizontal width of this gradient is infinitely variable; as pieces are minted, the gradient expands. Each buyer owns a section of a continuum, which is constantly shifting until the sale closes.
Below are some outputs from the Generative system, which will on display in the gallery. The numbers in the titles indicate the token ID and hypothetical collection size.
In a standard generative release, the decisive moment occurs during minting, a quick roll of the dice determining the output. In Colour Time Generative the seed of randomness is the market as a collective force, turning not just the minter but also the market into co-creators of the work.
The output of a generative work derives value from its relation to the larger generative series - rarity and aesthetics are judged of an individual work are evaluated in relation to the collection as a whole.
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.
Token, Hash
To buy an NFT is to pay to put your wallet address beside a number in a distributed database. This database becomes the point from which all the social and emotional dynamics of ownership emerge, yet the link between this distributed database and its visual representation can be quite tenuous.
CryptoPunks attempt to solidify this link between ID and image by embedding an encoded version of all the punks in their contract. This image circulates freely online, but the authenticity of any image can be verified by entering its data into a cryptographic hash function and comparing the output to the hash encoded in the contract.
![To find your CryptoPunk using its token ID, count the punks from left to right, top to bottom until you reach your token ID.]()
Artists such as Deafbeef have taken further steps to strengthen the link between token ID and artwork by encoding the parameters for each audio-visual artwork on-chain, and embedding the scripts used to generate the work on each transaction. This provides the collector with all the code necessary to recreate the artwork, should the original render be lost or damaged.
Projects such as Loot are considered fully ‘on-chain,’ storing all data on the blockchain and generating the visual components of the artwork on the blockchain. This removes the need for a collector to run parameters through scripts, but introduces new challenges.
Randomness is key to generative work, but typical random functions return different values each time they are called. If these functions were used in on-chain generative projects, the image for a given token ID would change each time it was viewed.
To solve this issue, artists working on-chain generate their random values deterministically. Deterministic number generation relies on the same cryptographic hash function which CrytoPunks used to encode their image of all punks; provided with a consistent input, the function returns a consistent output. Important, though is that any small change in the input will result in a wildly and randomly different output.
In the case of Loot, randomness is obtained by feeding a hash function a piece of in combination with the token ID. The hash function will return the same value each time WEAPON56 is input but will give a non-predictably different value if WEAPON57 is entered.
The resulting number output from the hash function is very long, and to become useful as a selector for a list of weapons, the hash is divided by the number of items in a list, and the remainder is used as an index for that list of weapons. This approach can be applied to different lists of items of varying lengths, a single hash branching into a new random value for each list.
Autoglyphs, Loot, Artblocks et al. each input different values to their deterministic generation functions, but the central concept remains the same; use a stable input to return a stable, random value.
Images for on-chain NFT projects are drawn anew each time they are requested, all randomness growing from the token ID and its hashed value.
In Token Hash these two values which originate the complex structure of the generative on-chain NFT are laid bare. The hash is rounded to the size of the collection, allowing these two numbers to express the core characteristics of the on-chain generative NFT; rarity, symmetry and beauty.
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Token Hash public sale opens Thursday Oct 7 at 10 am EST.
1000 tokens will be available for sequential minting, at 0.02 ETH each.
http://tokenhash.jonathanchomko.com/
https://opensea.io/collection/token-hash
To buy an NFT is to pay to put your wallet address beside a number in a distributed database. This database becomes the point from which all the social and emotional dynamics of ownership emerge, yet the link between this distributed database and its visual representation can be quite tenuous.
CryptoPunks attempt to solidify this link between ID and image by embedding an encoded version of all the punks in their contract. This image circulates freely online, but the authenticity of any image can be verified by entering its data into a cryptographic hash function and comparing the output to the hash encoded in the contract.
Artists such as Deafbeef have taken further steps to strengthen the link between token ID and artwork by encoding the parameters for each audio-visual artwork on-chain, and embedding the scripts used to generate the work on each transaction. This provides the collector with all the code necessary to recreate the artwork, should the original render be lost or damaged.
Projects such as Loot are considered fully ‘on-chain,’ storing all data on the blockchain and generating the visual components of the artwork on the blockchain. This removes the need for a collector to run parameters through scripts, but introduces new challenges.
Randomness is key to generative work, but typical random functions return different values each time they are called. If these functions were used in on-chain generative projects, the image for a given token ID would change each time it was viewed.
To solve this issue, artists working on-chain generate their random values deterministically. Deterministic number generation relies on the same cryptographic hash function which CrytoPunks used to encode their image of all punks; provided with a consistent input, the function returns a consistent output. Important, though is that any small change in the input will result in a wildly and randomly different output.
In the case of Loot, randomness is obtained by feeding a hash function a piece of in combination with the token ID. The hash function will return the same value each time WEAPON56 is input but will give a non-predictably different value if WEAPON57 is entered.
The resulting number output from the hash function is very long, and to become useful as a selector for a list of weapons, the hash is divided by the number of items in a list, and the remainder is used as an index for that list of weapons. This approach can be applied to different lists of items of varying lengths, a single hash branching into a new random value for each list.
Autoglyphs, Loot, Artblocks et al. each input different values to their deterministic generation functions, but the central concept remains the same; use a stable input to return a stable, random value.
Images for on-chain NFT projects are drawn anew each time they are requested, all randomness growing from the token ID and its hashed value.
In Token Hash these two values which originate the complex structure of the generative on-chain NFT are laid bare. The hash is rounded to the size of the collection, allowing these two numbers to express the core characteristics of the on-chain generative NFT; rarity, symmetry and beauty.
Token Hash public sale opens Thursday Oct 7 at 10 am EST.
1000 tokens will be available for sequential minting, at 0.02 ETH each.
http://tokenhash.jonathanchomko.com/
https://opensea.io/collection/token-hash
August, 2024
Blockchain Principles
A blockchain is a permanent and unalterable ledger of transactions and data, hosted and served by a decentralized network of computers who are rewarded in cryptocurrency for their computational effort.
Blockchains vary in implementation, but have a few key properties; the information they contain is publicly accessible and is unalterable by those reading the information.
Bitcoin was the first implementation of a blockchain and only records how much of the currency each participant possesses. Ethereum builds on this functionality, allowing participants to also write software to the blockchain which can send and receive cryptocurrency. Other blockchains, like Filecoin, or Arweave, are primarily designed as permanent, decentralized data storage systems.
The decentralized nature of these systems is important to the blockchain ethos; there is no single point of control in the network, only a network of incentives. Independent operators run ‘nodes’, which process and add data to the blockchain, and are rewarded in cryptocurrency for their work.
Data is written to the blockchain using a wallet, which is typically a software application which manages a user’s cryptographic keys. Each wallet has a public key, which serves as the user’s public address or mailbox, and a private key, which acts as a password to that mailbox. If the private key is obtained by a hacker, the contents of the wallet can easily and irreversibly be taken.
As these systems are decentralized, there is no authority to which a user can address themselves if something goes wrong. Sending a transaction to the wrong address cannot be reversed.
Wallets are specific to each blockchain; a user needs an Ethereum wallet to transact on the Ethereum blockchain, and this wallet would not work for Bitcoin transactions.
A simple Ethereum transaction would be for Alice to send 1 ETH to Bob. Alice initiates this transaction from her wallet. Her wallet will check if she has enough balance in her account, and that Bob’s address is a legitimate Ethereum address, and then will broadcast the transaction.
If Alice has the funds, and Bob’s address is legitimate, the transaction is broadcast to the network. Chunks of data are grouped and written to the ledger in blocks, and each new block is linked to the previous using a cryptographic technique called a hash function.
A hash function can take in any type of data, and returns a fixed length string of numbers and letters called a hash. Hashing is a widely used cryptographic technique, and its unique ability is that it is repeatable but not reversible. Each time a dataset is entered into a hash function, it will return the same output value. However if the dataset is slightly altered, the output value will be very different.
Each new block of data added to a blockchain contains its own hash, and the hash of the previous block. This creates a link between each block of data.
Each node of a blockchain contains a complete copy of that blockchain. The Ethereum blockchain is for example 1.8 Terabytes as of August 2024. Blockchain nodes communicate with each other to ensure that they have the same data.
When a new block is processed by one of the nodes, it is broadcast to the network of other nodes. The other nodes perform a range of checks on this new block, checking that its previous block hash matches their previous block hashes, and the nodes add it to the blockchain.
If a node tries to modify the data on a new block, the other nodes, having seen the transactions broadcasted, would catch the discrepancy and reject the new block. If a node tries to modify a previous block, other nodes would catch this discrepancy by comparing the block hash they have for that block with the provided block hash.
These functions combine to create a sense of security, that information entered onto a blockchain cannot be edited or changed. This sense of security is great enough that people trust it with vast sums of money; 25 million users entrust around 210 Billion in value on Ethereum, and 40 million users entrust Bitcoin to secure 580 billion in value.
The advantage of blockchain over a simple database is that no single entity can edit the data. A state cannot freeze the assets of a given blockchain wallet, and cannot restrict how it moves its funds. The disadvantage is that there is no recourse if you make a mistake; and no government guarantee of the money you use to buy into the system, as you might find in a bank account.
As long as the internet is operational, and incentives are aligned such that nodes continue to host a given blockchain, users can access and transact with their crypto. But blockchain can do more than just transfer funds. Blockchains can host software, which can store and manipulate funds, acting not just on user input but autonomously, on encoded directives.
A blockchain is a permanent and unalterable ledger of transactions and data, hosted and served by a decentralized network of computers who are rewarded in cryptocurrency for their computational effort.
Blockchains vary in implementation, but have a few key properties; the information they contain is publicly accessible and is unalterable by those reading the information.
Bitcoin was the first implementation of a blockchain and only records how much of the currency each participant possesses. Ethereum builds on this functionality, allowing participants to also write software to the blockchain which can send and receive cryptocurrency. Other blockchains, like Filecoin, or Arweave, are primarily designed as permanent, decentralized data storage systems.
The decentralized nature of these systems is important to the blockchain ethos; there is no single point of control in the network, only a network of incentives. Independent operators run ‘nodes’, which process and add data to the blockchain, and are rewarded in cryptocurrency for their work.
Data is written to the blockchain using a wallet, which is typically a software application which manages a user’s cryptographic keys. Each wallet has a public key, which serves as the user’s public address or mailbox, and a private key, which acts as a password to that mailbox. If the private key is obtained by a hacker, the contents of the wallet can easily and irreversibly be taken.
As these systems are decentralized, there is no authority to which a user can address themselves if something goes wrong. Sending a transaction to the wrong address cannot be reversed.
Wallets are specific to each blockchain; a user needs an Ethereum wallet to transact on the Ethereum blockchain, and this wallet would not work for Bitcoin transactions.
A simple Ethereum transaction would be for Alice to send 1 ETH to Bob. Alice initiates this transaction from her wallet. Her wallet will check if she has enough balance in her account, and that Bob’s address is a legitimate Ethereum address, and then will broadcast the transaction.
If Alice has the funds, and Bob’s address is legitimate, the transaction is broadcast to the network. Chunks of data are grouped and written to the ledger in blocks, and each new block is linked to the previous using a cryptographic technique called a hash function.
A hash function can take in any type of data, and returns a fixed length string of numbers and letters called a hash. Hashing is a widely used cryptographic technique, and its unique ability is that it is repeatable but not reversible. Each time a dataset is entered into a hash function, it will return the same output value. However if the dataset is slightly altered, the output value will be very different.
Each new block of data added to a blockchain contains its own hash, and the hash of the previous block. This creates a link between each block of data.
Each node of a blockchain contains a complete copy of that blockchain. The Ethereum blockchain is for example 1.8 Terabytes as of August 2024. Blockchain nodes communicate with each other to ensure that they have the same data.
When a new block is processed by one of the nodes, it is broadcast to the network of other nodes. The other nodes perform a range of checks on this new block, checking that its previous block hash matches their previous block hashes, and the nodes add it to the blockchain.
If a node tries to modify the data on a new block, the other nodes, having seen the transactions broadcasted, would catch the discrepancy and reject the new block. If a node tries to modify a previous block, other nodes would catch this discrepancy by comparing the block hash they have for that block with the provided block hash.
These functions combine to create a sense of security, that information entered onto a blockchain cannot be edited or changed. This sense of security is great enough that people trust it with vast sums of money; 25 million users entrust around 210 Billion in value on Ethereum, and 40 million users entrust Bitcoin to secure 580 billion in value.
The advantage of blockchain over a simple database is that no single entity can edit the data. A state cannot freeze the assets of a given blockchain wallet, and cannot restrict how it moves its funds. The disadvantage is that there is no recourse if you make a mistake; and no government guarantee of the money you use to buy into the system, as you might find in a bank account.
As long as the internet is operational, and incentives are aligned such that nodes continue to host a given blockchain, users can access and transact with their crypto. But blockchain can do more than just transfer funds. Blockchains can host software, which can store and manipulate funds, acting not just on user input but autonomously, on encoded directives.