Pulsing Vortex / Dynamic Structure  
Procedurally manipulated MiniDV camera footage  
2009

Pulsing Vortex / Dynamic Structure

Neophyte MMXXII is my ode to the computational beauty of nature. This sheet of paper served as my development notes from August 2021 to Feb 2022.

https://sterlingcrispin.com/neophyte_mmxxii.html

Neophyte MMXXII Dev Notes

Property

Spyder

Charon is an interactive installation and sculpture intended to physically embody the tension between humans, robotic autonomous agents, and the virtual models which these agents rely on to understand the world. http://www.sterlingcrispin.com/charon.html

Charon ( Digital Form 1 )

Neophyte, an ongoing ode to the computational beauty of nature.

Neophyte is a software based artwork and tool for generating plant life that I originally developed in 2011. Since then I've re-factored it across four programming languages and used it in nearly a dozen artworks. 

The latest of Neophyte is still under development, and this is an artifact from that development

Neophyte Prototype 001

Spectacle is a reinterpretation of Guy Debord’s 1967 book of critical theory “The Society of the Spectacle”, using OpenAI’s GPT3 neural network to simplify the first ten theses into plain english, and OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 to convert these aphorisms into images. The book is a critique of modern life which argues that we have been alienated from ourselves, each other, and reality itself by the cultural, economic and political conditions of society, which he calls the spectacle. 

Spectacle presents this philosophical theory through tweet-sized writing and generative imagery. The images both seem to illustrate the concepts described, yet also fail to grasp the more philosophical aspects of the text. This results in a chaotic cross section of imagery excavated from the latent space of the neural network and the society that it was trained on. As Debord might say, this semi-random and semi-autonomously produced series of artworks is not just a collection of images, but rather a way of seeing the world that has become a material reality. 

My reinterpretation is not a direct critique of OpenAI’s efforts to create semi-autonomous technology for cultural production, but a mirror held up to the kind of society we’ve created that has led to these technologies. GPT3 and DALL-E 2 are large neural networks trained on billions of examples of writing and artworks created by people. They can produce an essentially infinite variety of writing and images, that are mostly coherent and high quality. These systems are unique in their size and capability, but are only a few examples of our society’s continued development of advanced artificial intelligent systems. 

The situationists might describe using GPT3 and DALL-E 2 to critique itself and the society that’s created it as the hijacking of a capitalist system against itself. A cynical interpretation of this artwork might be that I’m taking a once radical idea and commodifying it back into the system it critiques. Debord’s own writing describes the tension between these distinctions, and the pervasive reabsorption of any critique back into the spectacle.      

Marxist theory describes workers being alienated from their labor in a system where they aren’t in control of their own actions, the result of those actions, and the means of production are owned by an upper class. This relationship has accelerated to the point that the means of production have become fully, or semi-autonomous, either by physical machines or increasingly capable artificial intelligence. In the case of GPT3 and DALL-E 2, they may displace the creative and artistic producers of culture, which were expected to be some of the last things replaced by machines. 

Does this devalue human life and cultural production, or free us from the demand for our labor? Does this help us turn away from the spectacle and see the world as it is, or pull us deeper into a ceaseless stream of representations separated from what they once were? 


0.10 Counting Hand

Wiiides get wider when they are sold or transferred between wallets. Wiiides is an experimental smart contract and conceptual artwork by Sterling Crispin, no affiliation with Yuga Labs or Larva Labs. See https://twitter.com/wiiides and http://www.wiiides.com for more info and terms of service. 

 Wiiides are a fully on chain artwork, meaning all data and artwork are stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Wiiides consume data directly from the on chain CryptoPunks, and programmatically edit the data to make each image grow wider and wider, based on the growth rate of each Wiiide and the number of transfers. 

 Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to charities focused on helping survivors of domestic violence. 

 The Wiiides collection is inspired in part by Alvin Lucier and his 1969 work titled I am Sitting in a Room. The artwork is a recording of his voice played back in a room, re-recorded, and played back repeatedly, until nothing remained but distortion. Through transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, Wiiides will stretch and become distorted until just a few horizontal lines of color remain. I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of economic activity or transactions on a blockchain, but more as a way to smooth out any traits these NFTs may have. Wiiides are a fully on chain artwork, meaning all data and artwork are stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Wiiides draws its data directly from the on chain CryptoPunks, and programmatically edits the data based on the growth rate of each Wiiide and the number of transfers. 

 Wiiides can be understood in a copypasta Post-Modern Waluigi-analysis, in which Wiiides are the ultimate example of a collection shaped by the signifier. Wiiides as a collection can only be seen in mirror images; lost in a hall of mirrors they are a reflection of a reflection of a reflection. You start with CryptoPunks, the wholesome iconic punks, you reflect them to create On-chain CryptoPunks, the same thing but the data is on chain. You invert CryptoPunks to create CryptoPhunks, punks turned septic and libertarian, then you reflect the inversion in the reflection: you create a collection who can only exist in reference to others. Wiiides is the true nowhere collection, without the other collections they reflect, invert and parody they have no reason to exist. Wiiides identity only comes from what and who they are not, without a wider frame of reference they are nothing. Wiiides is not a collection unto itself. In a world where our identities are shaped by our warped relationships to brands and commerce we are all wiiide. 

 https://twitter.com/wiiides 

 http://www.wiiides.com 



Wiiide #6955

Wiiides get wider when they are sold or transferred between wallets. Wiiides is an experimental smart contract and conceptual artwork by Sterling Crispin, no affiliation with Yuga Labs or Larva Labs. See https://twitter.com/wiiides and http://www.wiiides.com for more info and terms of service. 

Wiiides are a fully on chain artwork, meaning all data and artwork are stored on the Ethereum blockchain. Wiiides consume data directly from the on chain CryptoPunks, and programmatically edit the data to make each image grow wider and wider, based on the growth rate of each Wiiide and the number of transfers. 

Ten percent of the proceeds will be donated to charities focused on helping survivors of domestic violence.

Wiiide #7127

Wiiides

Spectacle is a reinterpretation of Guy Debord’s 1967 book of critical theory “The Society of the Spectacle”, using OpenAI’s GPT3 neural network to simplify the first ten theses into plain english, and OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 to convert these aphorisms into images. The book is a critique of modern life which argues that we have been alienated from ourselves, each other, and reality itself by the cultural, economic and political conditions of society, which he calls the spectacle. 

Spectacle presents this philosophical theory through tweet-sized writing and generative imagery. The images both seem to illustrate the concepts described, yet also fail to grasp the more philosophical aspects of the text. This results in a chaotic cross section of imagery excavated from the latent space of the neural network and the society that it was trained on. As Debord might say, this semi-random and semi-autonomously produced series of artworks is not just a collection of images, but rather a way of seeing the world that has become a material reality. 

My reinterpretation is not a direct critique of OpenAI’s efforts to create semi-autonomous technology for cultural production, but a mirror held up to the kind of society we’ve created that has led to these technologies. GPT3 and DALL-E 2 are large neural networks trained on billions of examples of writing and artworks created by people. They can produce an essentially infinite variety of writing and images, that are mostly coherent and high quality. These systems are unique in their size and capability, but are only a few examples of our society’s continued development of advanced artificial intelligent systems. 

The situationists might describe using GPT3 and DALL-E 2 to critique itself and the society that’s created it as the hijacking of a capitalist system against itself. A cynical interpretation of this artwork might be that I’m taking a once radical idea and commodifying it back into the system it critiques. Debord’s own writing describes the tension between these distinctions, and the pervasive reabsorption of any critique back into the spectacle.      

Marxist theory describes workers being alienated from their labor in a system where they aren’t in control of their own actions, the result of those actions, and the means of production are owned by an upper class. This relationship has accelerated to the point that the means of production have become fully, or semi-autonomous, either by physical machines or increasingly capable artificial intelligence. In the case of GPT3 and DALL-E 2, they may displace the creative and artistic producers of culture, which were expected to be some of the last things replaced by machines. 

Does this devalue human life and cultural production, or free us from the demand for our labor? Does this help us turn away from the spectacle and see the world as it is, or pull us deeper into a ceaseless stream of representations separated from what they once were? 

2.9 Aqua Water and Bridge with Stairs

Spectacle is a reinterpretation of Guy Debord’s 1967 book of critical theory “The Society of the Spectacle”, using OpenAI’s GPT3 neural network to simplify the first ten theses into plain english, and OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 to convert these aphorisms into images. The book is a critique of modern life which argues that we have been alienated from ourselves, each other, and reality itself by the cultural, economic and political conditions of society, which he calls the spectacle.

Spectacle presents this philosophical theory through tweet-sized writing and generative imagery. The images both seem to illustrate the concepts described, yet also fail to grasp the more philosophical aspects of the text. This results in a chaotic cross section of imagery excavated from the latent space of the neural network and the society that it was trained on. This semi-random and semi-autonomously produced series of artworks is not just a collection of images, but rather a way of seeing the world.

2.17 Orange Skull with Patterns and Motion Blur

Spectacle by Sterling Crispin

Neophyte MMXXII is my ode to the computational beauty of nature. Generative plants grow from nothingness, bloom, fade away, and regrow anew. Each NFT produces a unique species of simulated plant life, and new varieties within that species arise over time. 

The emergent qualities of the genetic code cause Neophyte to ebb and flow between stability and unpredictability. Long term observation is rewarded, as the longest cycles take several hours to complete. These qualities combined, result in artworks which may be cyclical and relatively stable, or may never repeat themselves. 

Neophyte MMXXII is the culmination of an artistic inquiry spanning ten years, five software development environments, and a dozen artworks. If you’d like to learn more about this history, please visit my website.


A note to collectors: 

Collectors of the first 25 editions to be minted may request a signed 19.5x12" (50x30cm) printed circuit board artwork commemorating the release of Neophyte MMXXII at no additional charge. See @sterlingcrispin on Twitter or sterlingcrispin.com for more details.

Neophyte MMXXII is released under the NFT license 2.0, so collectors are free to make prints of their token, and commercialize them within limits. See the NFT license for details.

Neophyte MMXXII #20

Neophyte MMXXII #61

Neophyte MMXXII by Sterling Crispin

Graph

Foundation

Morphogenesis 1 - 

1080 x 1920 pixels - 
29.97 FPS - 

3D Rendering and hand drawn animation manipulated with generative adversarial neural networks - 
www.sterlingcrispin.com


Morphogenesis 1

SuperRare

Flourish is the notebook of an algorithmic architect. 

This speculative fiction presents an alternative timeline for architectural ornamentation, drawing inspiration from the late 1800s and early 1900s. By referencing historical precedents, Flourish produces designs that exist between the past and present, striking a balance between tradition and innovation.

Flourish’s logic uses a linguistic structure that treats simple shapes like an alphabet and arranges geometry into phrases, establishing and dissolving symmetries. This logic is similar to a formal grammar system with rules that describe how words can be combined to form sentences. As a very simple example, a rule for the English language might be that a noun phrase can be followed by a verb phrase. So, a person dances, a cat sleeps, a bird sings. In the context of Flourish, pentagons can be subdivided into triangles, which can be enclosed by circles to create complex patterns. As geometry is combined and rearranged, the linguistic-like structure of the image changes, which also changes the next possible sets of geometric operations.

The palettes reflect various eras and mediums, invoking the feeling of aged archival drawings, woodblock prints, freshly inked illustrations, blueprints, and photocopies. The images resemble photographs of drawings rather than the drawings themselves, creating the impression of a carefully archived collection of artifacts that document a history just now coming into existence.

In my own history, I spent many years filling notebooks with abstract flowing drawings using very fine pens while studying painting and drawing. I would start by making one small curved mark, and then make thousands more while following the natural rhythm that my hand and wrist made. The density of marks and careful variations of spacing gave the drawings a meditative quality. Flourish's fine flowing lines draw from this meditative practice, imbuing each image with a sense of careful attention and intention.

The best architecture is a harmony of the natural and the constructed. And so the fine detailed marks are meant to feel natural, and to build up the constructed geometries with an emergent natural foundation.

Manipulating the arrangement of primary shapes to create complex patterns is a hallmark of both generative design and traditional architectural design. Flourish exists somewhere between this relationship. Rather than taking the historical path of contemporary parametric architecture, with its large sweeping forms and sci-fi aesthetics, Flourish creates an alternative history, a revivalist rebirth of the roaring twenties for the 2020s.

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Prints on archival paper will be made available at a later date.

A percentage of profits from the primary sale will be donated to the Hawaii Community Foundation's Maui Strong Fund to support Maui residents affected by the wildfires.

Flourish #128

Flourish #150

Flourish by Sterling Crispin

http://www.sterlingcrispin.com/data-masks.html

img_52.jpg

img_52a.jpg

Hic et Nunc

Like a Ship Without a Sail

STERLING CRISPIN

Del Complex is required to disclose certain records (or portions of those records) upon receiving a written request for them, except for records which are exempt from disclosure.

All records are publicly available below. In addition, you may request to receive a unique digital token that is recorded on the Ethereum blockchain for a small fee. This token is both a cryptographic proof of the authenticity of the record, and a copy of the record itself.

Del Complex Archival Media

Flourish is the notebook of an algorithmic architect.

This speculative fiction presents an alternative timeline for architectural ornamentation, drawing inspiration from the late 1800s and early 1900s. By referencing historical precedents, Flourish produces designs that exist between the past and present, striking a balance between tradition and innovation.

Flourish’s logic uses a linguistic structure that treats simple shapes like an alphabet and arranges geometry into phrases, establishing and dissolving symmetries. This logic is similar to a formal grammar system with rules that describe how words can be combined to form sentences. As a very simple example, a rule for the English language might be that a noun phrase can be followed by a verb phrase. So, a person dances, a cat sleeps, a bird sings. In the context of Flourish, pentagons can be subdivided into triangles, which can be enclosed by circles to create complex patterns. 

sterlingcrispin

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