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The Ethereum blockchain, introduced in 2015, revolutionized digital art by enabling asset tokenization. This allowed for unique 'ownership' of digital items, transforming easily copied artworks into scarce, provable assets. This development had a significant impact on AI-generated art, as it could now be uniquely owned and verified. In 2018, around 400 early AI artworks were minted and claimed on the blockchain, signaling the start of this now 'ownable' art form. By 2019, the number rose to just under 4000, showing increasing interest. Post-2020, the volume of minted AI artworks became so vast that it's impossible to accurately determine.
The mission of the 'UnderTheGAN' collection is to research, acquire, and present the earliest AI artworks in existence, whose authenticity and provenance are indisputable and verifiable due to their tokenized nature. This collection presents the works of a select group of pioneers who played a significant role in fueling the AI art revolution we are experiencing today. Jediwolf
