PLACEHOLDER

Metropolis is a long-form generative art collection exploring the node-based systems that enable and possess modern society. These literal and theoretical systems are critical to computing, blockchains, logistics, and most apparently, the formation and function of cities. 

The project will be extended beyond online distribution via individual exhibitions at the five Bright Moments gallery locations around the world. The five primary traits – New York City, Berlin, London, Mexico City, and Los Angeles  – stylistically represent their respective city. 

MECHANIC INFORMATION:
- While Metropolis has a total count of up to 1000 mints, only the first 500 will be made available for sale.  
- These first 500 editions will come with the ability to mint a second piece for free. 
- This second mint will be unique, but visually related to the first—creating a diptych between the two. 
- To claim a second mint, the owner must generate a QR code via the Bright Moments portal and take it to the Bright Moments gallery in the city dictated by its respective city trait on the date of the city's exhibition. 
- Delegate minting of the second piece is possible. If the owner is unable to attend a show physically, they can arrange for another person to redeem. 
- Redeeming after the city's exhibition will not be allowed.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

- The style of Metropolis is heavily influence by cubism and abstract expressionism. 
- Technically, the project is an attempt to emulate painting photorealistically within an on-chain algorithm. 
- Metropolis is a demanding program and modern hardware is necessary to view the live generator. Viewing the project on mobile and low-power computers will result in a lower resolution image. 

CONTROLS:
- Pressing the "C" key within the live generator will capture an image.
- Pressing the "4" key within the live generator will reload the piece in 4K resolution (HARDWARE INTENSIVE).

Metropolis #0

Parnassus is a generative project inspired by the work of German painter Paul Klee. It is an attempt to bridge Klee's analog practice (often credited as foundational to computer art and pointillism) with the capabilities of generative art.

Parnassus is a heavy script and best viewed on a modern device. 

10% of proceeds will be donated to Ukraine relief efforts.

INPUT
"A": Toggle animation
"P": Portrait lock
"L": Landscape lock
"H": Download uncompressed screenshot
"C": Download compressed screenshot

Parnassus #0

Recursion is a common technique of computational problem solving involving self-referential functions. Tectonics is a generative, 90-piece visual study of recursion, an exploration that produced unlikely associations with traditional cubism.

Tectonics #003

Chimera is a mutation, its genetics a merging of past and present. 

New creative mediums almost always ingest those that came before. Pictograms and hieroglyphics turned into paintings, which eventually became moving images and photoreal graphics. Spoken words evolved into written text, eventually becoming complex screenplays, computer code, and a world of hyperlinks. Most mediums are not discarded, but combined or extended to incorporate new technology or ideas. 

When a new medium comes into existence, the capabilities of both the artist and viewer increase in number. The potential subjects within said medium can grow in complexity as well, some fully dependent on the medium that holds them. Other subjects are timeless, popping in and out of multiple movements and genres throughout history. An example of the latter is still life. From ancient carvings through contemporary art, scenes of commonality, beauty, and metaphor have persisted. Traditionally viewed as a type of technical practice or meditation (the bottom of the “hierarchy of genres”), some examples of still life have gone on to be among the most important works in art history. 

Chimera is a natural progression of still life. It is an old tradition in the very new medium of on-chain generative art, a movement that will have an enormous presence in the future. Chimera simultaneously reaches into the past while exploiting the capabilities of the present and seeks to represent a unique moment in time, a generation of art in between digital and physical realities, encapsulating where we came from and where we are going. 

NOTES:

The first 32 editions minted will be accompanied by a 1/1 16”x16” giclée print on linen canvas, stretched, mounted, and varnished by hand. They will be available free of additional charge to any original holder that provides the artist with a mailing address. See examples on @mpkoz social media. Canvas prints will only be produced once, but museum-quality paper prints will be available for an additional cost to any holder in the future. 

Chimera is graphically intensive. Modern hardware is recommended. Ensure that your browser has hardware acceleration enabled.

The charitable portion of this release will be donated to various cancer research efforts, including MMRF and others.

Chimera is dedicated to my mom. 

CONTROLS:

“A”: Toggle animations
“R”: Toggle autorotation
“C”: Capture screenshot
“H”: Capture HD screenshot (CPU intensive) 

—

Thank you to all that participate in, share, or otherwise support this release. It means more to me than I can say.


Chimera #595

An impermanent still life turned generative and unending. Birds of Paradise was arranged by hand, processed by photogrammetry software, and manipulated entirely with code. Made in collaboration with SuperRare for large-scale display at Art Basel 2021. All plants used are common or native to Florida. Each unique bidder over the reserve will receive a 1/1 giclée print.

Birds of Paradise

My Perpetuation series continues binding traditional methods and genres with modern techniques. This piece is a floral study sourced from a GAN which was trained on several thousand images of lilies, jasmine, and snow drop. The flowers are drawn and manipulated by the computer in perpetuity, an endless collaboration.

The owner will be sent its physical counterpart, a 1/1 handmade holographic display, showcasing the artwork in full 3D without glasses. See my social media (@mpkoz) for examples.

Perpetuation: Jardin de Lys

Tectonics #066

Recursion is a common technique of computational problem solving involving self-referential functions. Tectonics is a generative, multi-output visual study of recursion, an exploration that produced unlikely associations with traditional cubism.

Mecha is a study of synthesized texture - procedurally, thematically, and physically. Each of these elements is approached with maximalism in mind. From the algorithm used to create Mecha, pushed to its breaking point, to the cutting-edge printmaking technology used to turn its pixels into atoms, Mecha seeks to expand boundaries in the physical realization of digital art.

Mecha was made in partnership with Avant Arte and was written in GLSL and JavasScript. All primary sales are accompanied by a three-dimensional UV resin print on aluminum plate. Every edition is straight from the algorithm and does not rely on any post-processing. 

Mecha 34

TECTONICS by mpkoz

Chimera #7

Chimera is a mutation, its genetics a merging of past and present. 

New creative mediums almost always ingest those that came before. Pictograms and hieroglyphics turned into paintings, which eventually became moving images and photoreal graphics. Spoken words evolved into written text, eventually becoming complex screenplays, computer code, and a world of hyperlinks. Most mediums are not discarded, but combined or extended to incorporate new technology or ideas. 

When a new medium comes into existence, the capabilities of both the artist and viewer increase. The potential subjects within said medium can grow in complexity as well, some fully dependent on the medium that holds them. Other subjects are timeless, popping in and out of multiple movements and genres throughout history. An example of the latter is still life. From ancient carvings through contemporary art, scenes of commonality, beauty, and metaphor have persisted. Traditionally viewed as a type of technical practice or meditation (the bottom of the “hierarchy of genres”), some examples of still life have gone on to be among the most important works in art history. 

Chimera is a natural progression of still life. It is an old tradition in the very new medium of on-chain generative art, a movement that will have an enormous presence in the future. Chimera simultaneously reaches into the past while exploiting the capabilities of the present and seeks to represent a unique moment in time, a generation of art in between digital and physical realities, encapsulating where we came from and where we are going. 

NOTES:

Chimera is graphically intensive. Modern hardware is recommended. Ensure that your browser has hardware acceleration enabled.

The charitable portion of this release will be donated to various cancer research efforts.

CONTROLS:

“A”: Toggle animations
“R”: Toggle autorotation
“C”: Capture screenshot
“H”: Capture HD screenshot (CPU intensive) 

—

Thank you to all that participate in, share, or otherwise support this release. It means more to me than I can say.

Chimera #936

Chimera by mpkoz

Parnassus #43

Parnassus #85

Parnassus

An impermanent still life turned generative and unending. Birds of Paradise was arranged by hand, processed by photogrammetry software, and manipulated entirely with code. Made in collaboration with SuperRare for large-scale display at Art Basel 2021. All plants used are common or native to Florida.

Olympics is a true fusion of analog and digital technologies in both its input and its output. The imagery in this piece was sourced from personal photos and video taken while backpacking through Olympic National Park. The media was analyzed and manipulated procedurally with custom software written by the artist. Aside from the high-res digital file, the purchaser of Olympics will also receive a pseudo-holographic display made by the artist from repurposed electronics and machined aluminum. This display allows the viewer to experience the artwork in full 3D without glasses or other hardware. See the artist's social media (@mpkoz) for examples. Additionally, any individual bidding over the reserve price will receive a unique, signed giclée print on museum-quality paper free of charge.


Olympics

SuperRare

My Perpetuation series continues binding traditional methods and genres with modern techniques. This piece focuses on the foundational exercise of figure drawing, only for our anatomy to be endlessly transformed and reinterpreted by the computer.

The winner will be sent its physical counterpart, a 1/1 handmade holographic display, which showcases the artwork in full 3D without glasses. See my socials (@mpkoz) for examples of the physical piece.

A 4K digital file will also be provided.

Perpetuation: Figure Study

"Perpetuation: Magnolia" is sourced from photogrammetric scans of real flowers. They are encased and manipulated permanently. 

The first in my Perpetuation series. 

1 of 1
Motion/video
1080x1080

A high resolution 4K video will be sent to the winner. It is looping and approximately 10 minutes long. 

Perpetuation: Magnolia

Foundation

SUBTRACTION is a collection of generative artwork by Michael Kozlowski and ThankYouX that traverses two- and three-dimensions, investigating the unexpected product of mixing opposite forms, techniques, and mediums. Every piece is unique and derived from a combination of physical artwork, custom software, and artificial intelligence.

FORM #155

SUBTRACTION is a collection of generative artwork by mpkoz and ThankYouX that traverses two- and three-dimensions, investigating the unexpected product of mixing opposite forms, techniques, and mediums. Every piece is unique and derived from a combination of physical artwork, custom software, and artificial intelligence.

FORM #489

-SUBTRACTION-

EVOLVE is a unique collaboration between ThankYouX and Michael Kozlowski and the first work published by ThankYouX on Foundation. 

The byproduct of collaboration is inherently evolutionary, and in the case of EVOLVE, self-defining in its process. It illustrates both artists’ disparate origins merging into parallel paths: a traditional artist pushing the virtual, a digital artist manipulating the physical. It is an embodiment of their common goal, a shattering of expectations and genres.

EVOLVE

Metropolis #213

Metropolis #744

Metropolis by mpkoz

Mecha 32

Mecha is a study of synthesized texture - procedurally, thematically, and physically. Each of these elements is approached with maximalism in mind. From the algorithm used to create Mecha, pushed to its breaking point, to the cutting-edge printmaking technology used to turn its pixels into atoms, Mecha seeks to expand boundaries in the physical realization of digital art.

Mecha was made in partnership with Avant Arte and was written in GLSL and JavasScript. All primary sales are accompanied by a three-dimensional UV resin print on aluminum plate. Every edition is straight from the algorithm and does not rely on any post-processing. 


Mecha 36

mpkoz x Avant Arte (Mecha)

Mid-2020. Around this time I became obsessed with repurposing 2D video in a three-dimensional way, which I believe is emulative of the current state of traditional art, digital art, and visual effects (for the first time in history, it is hard to determine if something is man-made or fully synthetic). I also started putting some of my work in the setting of a white-box gallery, with a simulated handheld camera recording it. This technique was used to highlight the same theme of transition. I found it wonderful that so many people messaged me asking what gallery my artwork was in, where they could go see it, despite it being completely fake. Specifically, these videos were made by taking iPhone video of dancers and editing them with code in Unity, a 3D graphics engine usually used for making video games. Most of my work at this time was made in Unity. 


Motion History (Jake)

Late 2020. When I was an undergrad at USC, Refik Anadol was becoming well known in the creative coding community in LA and elsewhere. I was very inspired by his work and attended many of his talks and projection shows. We developed a small friendship and he was very impactful on my pursuit of creative coding as a career. As I became a more capable software developer, throughout 2019-2020, I started to learn fluid simulations and more advanced particle system behaviors similar to the ones he uses masterfully. Fluid simulations offer an awesome crash course in simulated physics, high end rendering, and GPU programming. The better part of 2020 I spent learning by doing. This is one of the last fluid simulations I made. It is a simple fluid simulation, with currents/physics created by the motion vectors of a 3D noise field. 

Fluid with Noise Field

mpkoz_Retrospective

August, 2024

Empath is a series of three unique sculptures, each with a digital blueprint. 

Empath is a physical expression of cycles, routines, and repetition. 

mpkoz

mpkoz

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