In this conversation, the Le Random team reflects on a whirlwind 2024 in digital art and looks ahead to 2025. Host Peter Bauman (Editor-in-Chief at Le Random) is joined by thefunnyguys (CEO) and Conrad House (Collection Lead).

Chapters 📖

Chapter 1: Introduction

[00:00:05.170] - Host Peter Bauman introduces the podcast, the guests, and the agenda: reflecting on 2024 and discussing the outlook for 2025.

Chapter 2: Themes of 2024

[00:01:26.380] - Discussion on the major themes of 2024, focusing on digital art platforms like fxhash, Foundation, Art Blocks, and their pivots or expansions.

Chapter 3: The Artist Token Economy

[00:02:43.430] - Exploration of the fxhash artist token economy and its implications for artists and collectors.

Chapter 4: Platform Developments

[00:03:30.730] - Conrad House talks about Rodeo's onboarding process and how platforms are adapting to market conditions.

Chapter 5: Market Conditions vs. Institutional Acceptance

[00:06:29.010] - Peter Bauman discusses the dual themes of market struggles and institutional acceptance of digital art in 2024.

Chapter 6: Institutional Recognition of Digital Art

[00:09:45.510] - Thefunnyguys and Conrad House reflect on the institutional acclaim for digital art and its impact on the market.

Chapter 7: Maturing Market and Collectors

[00:11:06.810] - Discussion on the maturing digital art market and the growing sophistication of collectors.

Chapter 8: Exhibitions of the Year

[00:14:52.400] - Panelists share their favorite exhibitions of 2024, including Electric Dreams and Electric Op.

Chapter 9: Favorite Projects of the Year

[00:22:22.850] - Panelists discuss their favorite projects from 2024, such as The Call by Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst.

Chapter 10: Acquisitions and Commissions

[00:35:55.130] - Discussion on favorite acquisitions and commissions of 2024, highlighting Deep ASCII, Florada, and others.

Chapter 11: Artist of the Year

[00:45:45.830] - Panelists nominate their artists of the year, including Holly Herndon, Mat Dryhurst, and Rafaël Rozendaal.

Chapter 12: Events of 2024

[00:54:04.810] - Reflection on the major events of 2024, such as the Generative Art Summit in Berlin and Bright Moments Venice.

Chapter 13: Accomplishments of 2024

[00:59:11.880] - Panelists highlight personal and team accomplishments from 2024, focusing on commissions and content production.

Chapter 14: Looking Ahead to 2025

[01:04:29.020] - Panelists discuss events and projects they are looking forward to in 2025, including NFT Paris and new exhibitions.

Chapter 15: Market and Regulatory Outlook for 2025

[01:10:24.620] - Discussion on the potential impact of political and regulatory changes on the crypto and digital art markets in 2025.

Chapter 16: Goals and Aspirations for 2025

[01:20:59.120] - Panelists share their goals for 2025, including exploring new technologies, activations, and preservation efforts.

Chapter 17: Closing Thoughts

[01:28:28.590] - Final reflections on 2024 and excitement for the opportunities and challenges that 2025 may bring.

In this special Le Random artist conversation—hosted by Peter Bauman (aka Monk Antony), Editor-in-Chief of Le Random—we turn our attention to one of the most exciting shows of the year, Tate Modern's Electric Dreams. Peter is joined by three extraordinary exhibiting artists that exemplify the aims of the show: Rebecca Allen, Analívia Cordeiro & Eduardo Kac. Conrad House, Le Random's Collection Lead, co-hosts the talk.

"One of Tate Modern’s most ambitious exhibitions to date," Electric Dreams is a major historical exhibition on the roots of new media expression celebrating "the early innovators of optical, kinetic, programmed and digital art."

The artists reflect on their pioneering contributions to the major show, while sharing firsthand their experiences with the historical challenges and overdue recognition of digital art.

Read from the show's curator, Val Ravaglia, with Peter.

In this conversation, Peter Bauman (Editor-in-Chief at Le Random) interviews Regina Harsanyi and Jon Ippolito, two digital curators and experts in digital art's preservation.

Harsanyi is the Associate Curator of Media Arts at the Museum of the Moving Image and an independent advisor on preventive conservation for variable media arts.

Ippolito is a new media artist, writer and former curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. He is also a professor of new media at the University of Maine, where he founded the Graduate Digital Curation Program.

The conversation covers the complexities of digital art preservation, especially concerning blockchain and AI-based works.

Links:

https://transfergallery.com/data-trust/

https://dweb.grayarea.org

https://DigitalCuration.UMaine.edu

Chapters

[00:00:04] Introduction to Digital Preservation

In this conversation, Peter Bauman (Editor-in-Chief at Le Random) interviews Douglas Dodds, a longtime Senior Digital Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and a pivotal figure in the institutional collecting of new media art.

In this special Le Random artist discussion—hosted by Peter Bauman (aka Monk Antony), Editor-in-Chief of Le Random—we cover the upcoming Electric Op exhibition at Buffalo AKG. Our guests include four of the most influential voices in digital expression over the past two-three decades: Cory Arcangel, Joan Heemskerk, Tali Hinkis, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Joining Peter is co-host Conrad House (aka Nemocake), Le Random’s Collection Lead.

In this Le Random discussion we are so pleased to speak to a scholar of art history in Dr. Nancy Perloff from the Getty Research Institute. She joins Le Random's editor-in-chief Peter Bauman. Perloff recently curated Sensing the Future: Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), showing at the Getty Center as part of PST Art.

The pair explores E.A.T.’s influential role in merging art, technology and engineering, a movement founded in 1966 by Bell Labs engineer Billy Klüver and artists like Robert Rauschenberg and John Cage.

Dr. Perloff shares insights on E.A.T.’s success, including as an early digital art network, as well as its collaborations between artists and engineers (mostly from Bell Labs). This included performances like Nine Evenings: Theatre and Engineering and immersive experiences at the 1970 Osaka World Expo’s Pepsi Pavilion. They touch on curatorial challenges, EAT’s experimental nature, its role in building interdisciplinary networks, and its lasting, yet underappreciated, impact on art and technology.

In this Le Random Generative Art Timeline Artist Discussion, hosts Peter Bauman (Monk Antony), Conrad House (Nemocake) and thefunnyguys welcome four of this decade's most prominent voices and builders: Lauren Lee McCarthy, Erick Calderon, Itzel Yard and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

This is Le Random's discussion following the release of Chapter 9 of our Generative Art Timeline, which covered the decade of the 2010s. Le Random's Peter Bauman (Monk Antony), editor in chief at Le Random is joined by co-founder thefunnyguys and Content Lead Conrad House.

Algorithmic and digital art founder Frieder Nake joined Peter Bauman (Monk Antony) to continue their chat after the release of "Frieder Nake on 'Machinic' Miracles" at Le Random Editorials.

Chapters:

[00:00:29]: Introduction to Frieder Nake and his contributions to digital art

[00:02:32]: Computers and the concept of quality vs quantity

[00:03:26]: Quantity turning into quality

[00:05:31]: Pattern recognition and discovery of new quality

[00:07:07]: Connection to Max Bense's Generative Aesthetics

[00:09:13]: Intuition versus machine randomness

[00:12:15]: Creativity, emotion and the role of intuition

[00:24:53]: AI and human choices in art

[00:38:23]: Alienation and creativity in artistic expression

In our chat, "Art & Code in the 2000s," from May 14, 2024, a panel of the decade's leading figures joins ⁠Peter Bauman⁠, ⁠Conrad House⁠ and thefunnyguys from Le Random. They share their diverse perspectives on the 2000s in coded and generative art, reflecting on what made the decade unique as well as what we may have lost and are searching for today.

Speakers include: ⁠Christiane Paul, Casey Reas, Christa Sommerer & Golan Levin