Writing / Artist statement
Checks: an image becomes a set of rules
Early process notes distinguish the original image, a rejected distribution idea and a developing compositing system.
Jack Butcher · 7 January 2023 – 10 January 2023 · 10 selected posts
14:08:43 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
Transparency time: Working on the next iteration of Checks and itching to share some of the ideas/revisions/thinking. Went back and forth on doing this — but ultimately, the process is as much a part of the art as the art itself, so will be sharing more in the thread below. https://t.co/4g84V9wYBb
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14:16:27 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
This began life as a single piece of artwork, captioned: "This artwork may or may not be notable" Priced at $8 per edition, a nod to the new meta of "purchasing" status. No prizes for guessing the very notable "legacy" artist that inspired the visual.
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14:19:06 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
An edition limited by time only (a nod to the idea that the only requirement to get a check, was $8). It ran 24 for hours on @ourZORA, and 16,031 identical pieces were minted.
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14:46:30 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
This piece from March 2021 "NFTs, explained." contains the genesis of this idea: Since then I have been exploring the overlap between social contracts, NFTs, digital provenance, what art is, how it evolves, and who decides all of the above. https://t.co/uvCuFGtuWG https://t.co/8kiLHLiRhp
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15:13:59 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
@visualizevalue @naval While I think this would make a great artistic statement, it leaves the possibility open for someone to burn the art they purchased and get nothing in return. It's the original piece, sliced in to 80 1/1s — distributed to the top 80 burners of the edition. Not quite right.
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15:33:26 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
@visualizevalue @naval In my agency art director days, I always used to start with wikipedia if I was trying to find a creative angle on something that was rooted in truth. Full transparency, the 80 checks in the original piece were not intentional so this is a fully reverse engineered rationale: https://t.co/6HG3iW7b7t
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17:17:02 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
Some new wireframe sketches informed by our semiperfect concept, and true to the invisible grid of the original piece: 80, 40, 20, 10, 5, 4, 1, 0 https://t.co/JTs2anJ25M
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23:45:29 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
Recruited the legendary @jalil_eth & @traf to build some proper tech for the next round. Below courtesy of the giga talented @traf (all this animation is done in-browser) https://t.co/f1YNBQF1Kw
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01:24:08 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
@jalil_eth @traf Current working mechanic (not final): Burn your edition for an on-chain original. Burn 2 originals for the next smallest edition original. 80 > 40 > 20 > 10 > 5 > 4 > 1 Stop wherever you like. https://t.co/XzKl1XI7Fu
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14:01:11 UTC · Original post on X · Link to this transcript
"Token as canvas" enables this connection and interactivity, and the underlying infrastructure is as much a part of the work as the visual component. Without it, the piece has an entirely different (and limited) meaning.
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