Kaloh's Podcast

Casey Reas is a pioneer computational artist with a career that spans multiple decades. He created generative collections such as CENTURY and 923 Empty Rooms. Casey co-founded Processing, a software used by tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, and hobbyists, and Feral File, a leading global art gallery hosting transformative exhibitions by some of the world’s most revered digital artists, such as Tyler Hobbs, Refik Anadol, Dmitri Cherniak and many more. He is also a Design Media Arts professor at UCLA.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[1:30] The concept, story, and showcasing of Casey’s recent collection —923 Empty Rooms with Bright Moments and Art Blocks. An early version of the collection was exhibited at bitforms gallery in New York and commissioned by LACMA. Another show will be exhibited in bitforms again in November.

[9:45] Creating computer art before and after the blockchain. How Casey creates a system to see the outputs from an algorithm and showcase them to others. In contrast, with the blockchain, you need to be comfortable that every piece of the system works as intended, so it is very intensive.

[13:95] The role of a curator is similar to that of an educator. Casey didn’t expect to become a curator but needed to do it when he created Feral File. He really enjoyed curating the show Social Codes.

[15:45] About Feral File and putting curators at the centerpiece of the shows. References: Tina Rivers from the Buffalo Art Museum, Christiane Paul from the Whitney Museum. Artists have been curating exhibitions, too; for example, Rick Silva, Aaron Penne.

[17:20] Feral File 2.0 and its evolution over the years. Trying to establish a community between artists, collectors, and curators. Inclusion of sets.

[21:15] Upcoming Blind Gallery and Feral File collaboration — Vistas — based on the landscape theme. Casey shares his view on landscape creations from 20 to 15 years ago and how that has changed in conjunction with technology.

[25:30] How does Casey’s teaching practice at UCLA School of Arts and Architecture influence his art practice?

[29:00] The early days of Processing (it has been 22 years since its creation). It was born at the MIT Media Lab by Casey and Ben Fry when they were learning from John Maeda.

[35:00] Advice on creating art while co-founding many initiatives and successful projects: collaborate and work effectively with others.

[38:50] Thoughts on the future of the computational art space, looking 20 years from now: In the past (1960/1970), most people worked in the dark, looking for opportunities or funds. It was tough. I want a future with more options for artists working in this medium. Coded Show LACMA is a great example.

[45:00] Multiple upcoming shows: Opening in Berlin and London, which wraps up his recent work with Machine Learning and synthetic photography, and a new series of work will also be showcased.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Sasha Stiles has been writing with AI since 2018 and is widely recognized as a thought leader in generative literature and blockchain poetics. A lifelong poet and language artist, her work has been honored by the Future.Art.Awards, Lumen Prize, Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and featured by Christie’s, Art Basel, Cool Hunting, Art Forum, the Washington Post, and more.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[1:30] Upcoming Sasha’s trip and project with Nathaniel Stern - taking the language from the body and translating it into sculptures and installations.

[5:25] Sasha Stile talks about her style and medium: AI poetry with a visual component. She was also a writer before discovering technology, science, and math.

[8:00] Studying language and literature at Harvard and Oxford and the essential things Sasha learned there. Interested and inspired by works from Thomas Pynchon, Don Quixote, Cervantes, James Joyce (Ulysses), and T. S. Eliot.

[11:00] Henri Cole, Jenny Holzer

[14:00] Creating digital poetry by submitting to traditional journals and eventually finding the blockchain and NFTs through curators like Elena Zavelev and Sofia Garcia.

[21:00] Digital immortality and postmodernism - listen for a fantastic deep dive into what these terms and currents mean—mentioned BINA48 and Sophia.

[28:00] Sasha Stiles technical setup, neural networks, and custom natural language processing models. References: Nick Bostrom, Ray Kurzweil, and Ellen Ullman, Virtually Human by Martine Rothblatt, Ross Goodwin, Gwern Branwen.

[35:30] How was Technelegy — Sasha Stiles’s book — created?

[41:00] Travelling as an artist and the value of meeting other artists and collectors, seeing shows, and visiting museums. References: Proof of People.

[47:30] TheVERSEverse, co-founded by Sasha, Ana Maria Caballero, and Kalen Iwamoto, and upcoming exhibitions, including poet Allen Ginsberg. References: Tezos Foundation, Feral File.

[1:02:00] Sasha advises poets, writers, and AI researchers entering the space.

Ciphrd, aka Baptiste Crespy, is a generative artist and the founder of fxhash, an open generative art platform on the Tezos blockchain. fxhash recently raised $5M to push the platform to the next level by integrating with the Ethereum blockchain, among more upgrades.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[2:55] What’s generative art? Recommended read: Generative Art Timeline by Le Random.

[4:50] What’s fxhash? Why did ciphrd decide to create fxhash and the early days.

[10:10] ciphrd didn’t make any active efforts to find a team. “The team found him”

[13:00] About decentralization, why it is important and some of the drawbacks.

[16:30] Fast-paced development and how to prioritize features like fx(text), fx(params), redeemable.

[21:50] Redeemables allow connecting NFTs on the platform to physical counterparts and more possible scenarios…

[24:00] On the future of physical events, live minting experiences, using sensors and hardware to interact with the artwork creation.

[28:00] Future plans after raising $5M.

[32:30] Opening physical locations to celebrate and introduce generative art to a broader public.

[34:30] The reasoning behind fxhash expanding to Ethereum and becoming a multichain platform.

[40:00] New art from ciphrd (previous collections RGB Elementary Cellular Automaton, , Ethereal Microcosm) and the genesis fxhash project for Ethereum.

[42:00] Closing remarks.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Mitchell F Chan is a conceptual artist who has been creating art on different mediums since 2006. He is behind digital artworks like Digital Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility, LeWitt Generator Generator on Art Blocks, and Winslow Homer’s Croquet Challenge on Feral File. His latest creation is a game, artwork, and experience called The Boys of Summer.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[1:20] Growing up in Ontario and the decision to become an artist in 2006.

[4:30] Moving to Toronto after making it to his first exhibition. His painting sold for $600, just enough to pay the month’s rent.

[6:30] Early on, Mitchell J Chan's art was related to architecture, and wanting to eliminate anything that wasn’t strictly necessary. From there, he studied sensors, electronics, digital media, and more to enrich his knowledge and art. He eventually got a scholarship Art Institute of Chicago to explore the intersection between art and technology.

[11:45] The Boys of Summer combines a pfp collection, decision-making, and stat-based game and market performance. In other words, a “transmedia art project” originated from Mitchell’s observations of the world.

[22:00] The future of digital art.

[26:30] Since Mitchell decided that creating games would be his art form, he started to develop tools and pieces that he could recreate. He consciously chose not to hire assistants as he wanted to touch, make and design every part of it.

[28:00] Creating Digital Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility in 2017 and its backstory. He is proud of waiting for the recognition and finding his people organically over time.

[31:30] Releasing LeWitt Generator Generator on Art Blocks during summer 2021, which was exhibited at Angell Gallery and Humber Galleries a few years before.

[40:15] On the difference and challenges of creating physical vs artwork for public spaces. “When creating installations, drunk college kids are your enemies, while on the digital medium, they are your friends.” When you make public art, you need to speak to everyone.

[46:30] What’s next for Mitchell F Chan?

[48:00] Digital art space inspirations: Wild curatorial board, Rhea Myers, Steven McCoy. One Token by Sam Hart.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Maria Paula has been in the crypto and NFT space for half a decade. She founded the decentralized NFT gallery JPG and the ETH Berlin hackathon. She also worked at Polkadot and Golem.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[2:10] How Maria Paula got started in crypto and got introduced to Ethereum by Gavin Wood —Ethereum co-founder.

[5:30] Working at Ethereum Golem and founding ETH Berlin.

[9:00] What has changed in terms of information and education from 2018 to 2023?

[16:00] Founding JPG, core infrastructure for web3's cultural objects.

[23:00] Current state of the NFT market.

[27:30] Physical exhibition with Berliner Volksbank next October in Berlin, including Mitchell F. Chan,

[36:00] Friends with Benefits DAO and upcoming conference where María Paula will be talking about “Rethinking cultural organizations”.

[39:15] How can we make Web 3 cultural institutions more sustainable?

Until next time,

- Kaloh

Seth Goldstein is a serial entrepreneur and digital art collector. In 2021, he founded Bright Moments, a digital art gallery that started in Venice Beach and has established crypto art communities worldwide (LA, New York, Berlin, London, Mexico City, and Tokyo). They pioneered the creation of live IRL minting experiences while working with generative and AI artists to help them produce iconic real-world experiences of their art.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

[0:50] Crypto Patagonians and Bright Moments Buenos Aires location.

[2:30] Bright Moments was born as a community project in Venice Beach during the pandemic — March/April 2021.

[5:25] First artist to be showcased was Art Block’s Co-founder, Jeff Davis. 10 Portals were generated in advance and sold on OpenSea. That sparked the idea of Crypto Citizens, a collection that was distributed physically in the gallery.

[8:10] “Something we all agree, doesn’t matter if you collect on Art Blocks, fxhash, OpenSea, Blue.io, objkt.com, verse, or whatever… Looking at the artwork on your phone sucks; if it is on a laptop, it is less sucky, but if it is on an 85-inch beautiful Samsung screen… That is how it should be seen”.

[9:50] Live minting experiences and sharing that experience with others is something we pioneered, starting with Aaron Penne and Boretta’s Rituals. Tyler Hobbs came to this event, and we ended up minting Incomplete Control in NYC.

[12:45] The secret to attracting top generative artists in the early days was having fun and not taking ourselves too seriously.

[16:30] Seth on overcoming challenges along the way.

[19:20] What are the pros and cons of running a DAO?

[25:00] Going to Argentina and building a local community. We really want to portray that community in and around AI art and generative art.

[27:10] How to be part of Bright Moments as an artist.

[30:00] On the future of Bright Moments, there are three areas essential to us:

* Running fantastic events… Every quarter might not be archivable, but maybe once a year.

* Subdaos, nurture them, make them sustainable, educational seminars and workshops.

* Tools and technology, there is a lot of intellectual property owned by the DAO — partnerships with PACE gallery and Artmattr.

[35:00] On AI art: our first drop was from Ivona Tau. Ira Greenberg minted out last week, Yamabushi’s Horizons from Richard Nadler on verse — I had to collect one. Beautiful works, but generative-coded art still feels more mature (clarity around the toolkit). Snowfro has talked about this in the past; there is clear scarcity, while in AI, art is all about abundance.

[41:50] Where are we going? How do you see the future of AI and generative art?

[45:20] Upcoming Art Blocks collaboration with an OG artist and Bright Moments Buenos Aires lineup.

Until next time,

- Kaloh

ClownVamp is a multifaceted AI artist, collector, and curator. He is widely known for his storytelling skills, creating AI art series that tell fictional and nonfictional tales. Last month, his Chester Charles collection was curated by Super Rare and presented in a solo show in NYC.

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In today’s episode, we discuss:

[2:17] The meaning behind “ClownVamp” and selling a crypto punk to buy art.

[7:00] Curating the Deep Fake Show with Super Chief Gallery and Foundation and telling stories.

[12:00] The secret to finding a style when creating AI art and examples from Detective Jack and Panic series.

[18:00] Burning mechanisms, letting your collectors make decisions, and participatory art like QQL, fx(params), and Patrick Amadon’s Doppelgänger.

[25:30] Chester Charles collection, curated by Super Rare and Transient Labs, and the challenges and differences when creating online and physical shows (as a curator or artist).

[38:20] MAIF AI art group, its beginnings as a Twitter chat group, and how to join.

[41:20] Advice for emerging and aspiring AI artists.

[45:00] AI artists to watch: Pale Kirill, Julien Pacaud, Daniel Jerome Obispo, Anna Condo, and more…

[46:00] Platforms, marketplaces, and galleries to watch: Skalda (by Taj and 0009), Super Chief Gallery, Bright Moments, Kate Vass, EmProps.

[50:00] The future of AI art and what is next for ClownVamp.

Francisco, aka 0xFAR, is an engineer, generative artist, and entrepreneur. He is the artist behind the Taproot Wizards and multiple generative artworks like War Games. His work focuses on 3D and virtual worlds, combining code and AI techniques.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

* [00:02:00] Formal education as a civil engineer and after as an architect (Southern California Institute for Architecture). He always wanted to be an artist, but it wasn’t a common career path in his family.

* [00:06:00] Experimental architecture project winning the best thesis award gave FAR confidence to pursue an artistic career.

* [00:10:00] Designing Major League Baseball stadiums (Atlanta Braves) and being involved in experiences like the Super Bowl as a computer set designer.

* [00:15:00] Working with Stephen Prina in his degree at Harvard.

* [00:19:00] Curation in the Web 3 space, gatekeeping, and his collaboration with Anika Maier and Expanded.art.

* [00:23:40] Discovering NFTs and starting to share his art.

* [00:29:10] Why are Bitcoin Ordinals exciting?

* [00:33:50] Being the artist behind Taproot Wizards and the story behind the project.

* [00:40:05] War Games and participatory art.

* [00:43:05] FINE and getting funded by a16z — only 30 companies were accepted out of 9,000.

* [00:47:05] Bitcoin Ordinals are way simpler than Ethereum NFTs. Learn more about Bitcoin Ordinals here.

Jordan Lyall is a Web 3 entrepreneur and exceptional digital art collector. He is the founder of Prohibition, VenturePunk, and Skylab.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

* Introduction to Kaloh’s Podcast and Twitter Space.

* Deep dive into Prohibition, a new generative art platform powered by Art Blocks Engine on Arbitrum.

* Jordan’s generative art collection.

* How to go through crypto cycles and endure the bear market.

* Skylab and how a community of builders and creators has been fundamental for Jordan’s journey.

Until next time,

- Kaloh