The Bitcoin Muse

"This system of having artists get approval from the people who are higher up on the status ladder is an entirely fiat game."

— Jimmy Song

Jimmy Song, a formative voice in my bitcoin journey, joins me for a blistering critique of modern and contemporary art including NFTs. Using his latest book Fiat Ruins Everything, and specifically, Chapter 26: "Fiat Debases Art" as the frame for our conversation, Jimmy jumps right in with his strong opinions and passionate disdain for Picasso, Rothko and their ilk. Unpacking the broken incentives across a huge swath of the art world, we simultaneously lament and posit solutions for the downstream distortions created by fiat.

It's the kind of conversation that could have gone on for a long time but I'm committed to making these rips bite-sized points of departure for your own rumination. The Bitcoin Muse is intended to be an evergreen catalyst for conversation and thought. And I do my best to avoid current events so as to explore the recurring themes surrounding art under the emerging bitcoin standard. I think Jimmy's opinions perfectly fit into that mission but I'll leave you to judge that for yourself.

Be sure to follow @jimmysong as you listen to our chat and to share, rate and subscribe to The Bitcoin Muse.

Any support you can show me inspires me to keep going with this labor of love. I'm grateful for any and all reposting from my Twitter, Vero or NOSTR feeds. And if you listen on a podcasting 2.0 app like Fountain or Breez, you should know that 10% of all those streams and boosts split to help @OpenSats fund bitcoin and other free and open-source projects. Thank you.

Guest Links:

Website: https://vida.page/jimmysong

Latest Book on Amazon: Fiat Ruins Everything

Twitter Feed: @jimmysong

Podcast: Bitcoin Fixes This

Substack: Bitcoin Tech Talk

YouTube: Off Chain with Jimmy Song

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Mentioned in the Episode:

Fiat Ruins Everything

Cryptograffiti

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Ceiling

Michelangelo's Pietà

Bernini's Art

David Perell's Write of Passage

Music by Brandt Enos

V4V on Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/Auz9HAPsv8VRKBaiEXLw

Clay's Links:

Clay Enos Photography

The Bitcoin Muse

https://podcast.show/thebitcoinmuse/

Follow Clay Enos:

Vero

Twitter

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"In life we get nothing at all without some effort, and the best rewards of all are those we receive after hard work." — The Cultural Tutor

In this episode, I don’t have a guest. Instead, I decided to channel Guy Swann and Bitcoin Audible to read a work from a newsletter I get every week written by The Cultural Tutor. Specifically, it’s Areopagus Volume LII. In this particular missive he deviated from his normal format and touched on a perennial lament that I thought would resonate in bitcoin circles around the problems modern art. This a fairly erudite affair but I think it's worth our contemplation. The newsletter is linked in the show notes and might be worth clicking because several of the artworks mentioned are worth a gander.

Episode Links:

Website: https://culturaltutor.com/areopagus

Twitter Feed: @culturaltutor

Mentioned in the Episode:

Areopagus Volume LII

An educational romp across painting, artistic philosophies, AI and the broken financial system.

"So many of America's problems, addiction, depression, racism, xenophonbia...this is all rooted in the money." —Alex Schaefer

Alex Schaefer, best known for his paintings of burning banks bookends our longer conversation about creating art and technological advances with eloquent and passionate disdain for the Federal Reserve and its downstream malignancies. As the kids say, it's fire!

Alex brought a wonderful animated energy to our discussion that must have made him a favorite among his students at California's ArtCenter College of Design. And he has lots of share about his chosen profession of painting, how we might interpret his and other's work and possibly provide inspiration for other artists in their chosen media. All the while remaining clear-eyed about producing meaningful, painterly quality amidst the fiat-fueled dumpster fires ablaze around us.

As usual, we drop into our conversation with no introductions; but all his links, including to his online gallery, and many of the topics that came up, are in the show notes. Safe to say, @PaintwithAlex will take you to him. Enjoy this rip with Alex Schaefer as he brings the heat.

Guest Links

Website: https://paintwithalex.com/

Twitter Feed: @paintwuithalex

Instagram: @paintwithalex

YouTube: @paintwithalex

Saatchi Art Gallery: https://www.saatchiart.com/paintwithalex

Life-long jewelry designer and precious metalsmith making bitcoin-inspired gemstone art.

"Great art provokes an emotional reaction in the person that sees it.

With great art, your heart responds to it. We need people to have that

kind of attachment to the bitcoin philosophy." — Gareth Eckley

In this episode, I tumble in conversation with Gareth Eckley, a jewelry designer, gemstone carver, metalsmith, and an inspired bitcoin artist whose precious art objects can be found at artofsatoshi.com. Gareth and I mine a range of topics from eliciting emotional responses to art and the molecular structure of opals, to the stark dichotomies of modernity and potential new forms of charity. All of it set amidst his ongoing understanding of bitcoin and polished by his breadth of experience.

Be sure to follow @gareth_eckley as you listen to our chat and to share, rate and subscribe to The Bitcoin Muse. Any support you can show me brightens my day. Please share this podcast with your artist friends since that's who I'm trying to reach and corral. Any reposting of my Twitter or NOSTR feeds is key in additional to using a podcasting 2.0 app like Fountain or Breez. Even though not many of you are listening on those platforms, perhaps I can entice you knowing that 10% of all those streams and boosts split to help @OpenSats fund bitcoin and other free and open-source projects.

Guest Links

Website: https://artofsatoshi.com/

Twitter Feed: @gareth_eckley

Instagram: @portraitcameos

YouTube: @artofsatoshi

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Website: https://portraitcameos.com/

"With bitcoin culture we are going to have beauty again. We deserve it. Everyone deserves it." — Flo Montoya

I’m joined by painter, illustrator, engraver, and now screen printer, Flo Montoya whose self-described obsession with bitcoin has her expanding her skills and tapping art history's masters to explore deep and perennial concepts like justice, love and hope. She got on my radar because of her wonderful illustrations for the book, Rhyming Bitcoin, published in collaboration with Brekkie and Simon but as you'll hear, her ideas and talents are wide ranging and ever expanding. From fine art traditions to the aesthetics of activism, Flo is a fount of creativity.

Based in Santiago, Chile, that seemingly remote South American base has her connecting with and being inspired by other bitcoin artists online. In perusing her social feeds, linked in the show notes, it is obvious how the work of others is stoking the fire of her own creativity and allowing her unpretentious and generous spirit to join the growing chorus of bitcoin inspired endeavor around the world.

Be sure to follow @FloMontoya_ as you listen to our chat and share, rate and subscribe to The Bitcoin Muse. Any support you can show me puts wind in my sails. And any reposting of my Twitter or NOSTR feeds is the simplest of asks if you're not using a podcasting 2.0 app like Fountain or Breez. Remember, 10% of all those streams and boosts split to help @OpenSats fund bitcoin and other free and open-source projects. Thank you.

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.montoyasalvadores.art/

Twitter Feed: @flomontoya_

Instagram: @florenciamontoya.art

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Banknote designer and author of "Art & Money" explores history, symbolism and the aesthetics of trust.

"Bitcoin is one of the few things in this world that is truly avant-garde." —Tom Badley

I’m joined by banknote designer and author of "Art & Money," Tom Badley. His rare skill sets and unique perspectives on history, symbolism and meaning, and art's role in, around and on money are the currency for our conversation. He brings deeply thoughtful reasoning to his own work and weaves a path back to the Baroque for all of us to better understand and ground ourselves for the future. While we have our differing opinions on NFTs and other D.I.N.O. blockchains, we find common ground on creative freedom, trust, scarcity and Bitcoin as the true avant-garde.

Guest Links:

Website: https://tombadley.net/

Twitter Feed: @CurrencyDesign

Instagram: @tom.badley.life

YouTube: @TomBadley

Scarce.City: https://scarce.city/creators/tom-badley

A product designer taps her creativity and customer focus to honor bitcoiners.

Lena is a bitcoin artist hewn from the world of high-end product design. With her eponymous brand, she is now dedicated to painting custom sneakers, making clothing and designing jewelry with plans for more. Her emotional connection and meticulous focus on customer satisfaction balances with her artistic impulses. Prioritizing her clients' stories, she brings professional design savvy and delicate precision to her brand identity without shying away from painterly abstractions. Lena is a rare, gifted hybrid and a lovely conversationalist despite English being her third language.

Today we drop a match into the can of turpentine that is, MADEX, an artist of some renown in bitcoin circles. His layered paintings and original script share the artist's studio with his deep convictions, valuable insights, informed opinions, and his grand and passionate plans.

I’m honored to have had a chance to speak with and listen to MADEX in this tour de force of complex ideas, rarely expressed. He layers his thoughts like he does his paintings and the end result is a richer understanding of the man, the world and the possibilities for artistic endeavor open to all of us.

A deep dive into the complexities and satisfactions of making art on a bitcoin standard.

I’m joined by mixed-media artist, Rebel. His evolution as an artist is perfectly reflected in his work that wrestles with many of the big ideas and aesthetic challenges posed by bitcoin. I admire his commitment and unwavering dedication to the high standards he perceives bitcoin inspires in everyone, but especially, artists.

It’s great to hear difficult ideas eloquently articulated and it was fun to chat with someone who knows the world of podcasting first hand. His work with 21ism helped germinate The Bitcoin Muse and still provides me with a valuable resource.

As kindred spirits, Rebel and I quickly got immersed in conversation so I just hit record and off we went exploring the role of art in a world where bitcoin exists. We went fairly deep out of the gate and didn’t really come back up. I'm sorry that many of the formalities of podcasting,

introductions, URLs, Twitter handles and alike didn’t get spoken so be sure to pop into the show notes to find Rebel’s compelling work and social feeds.

I feel like we could have bounced ideas back and forth for hours but as you’ll hear in a second, we both think it wise to honor everyone’s time with brevity, even if it leaves one wanting for more. I hope you enjoy this contemplative rip with Rebel.

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.rebelmoney.art

Twitter Feed: @rebelmoneyart

Mentioned in the Episode:

Bitcoin Park

Timechain Calendar

Conversation with Dennis Koch and X Nardo

Bathhouse

This episode is a conversation-turned-parlor game with Steven, a.k.a., Slumberjack, creator of Bitcoin Cartoons. We discuss his process and inspirations but also engage in the some fun as he leads me in a game of "Name That 'Toon" using his delightful and funny political cartoons.