8888 code-generated artworks created using unique styles of Dan Pearce, Maxim and Opake One
The Prodigy frontman and artist Maxim, acclaimed mixed-media artist Dan Pearce and graffiti star Opake have collaborated on the first algorithmic art NFT collection, combining man-made pieces with computer-code generated art to make 8,888 randomly created, unique artworks, which will be sold in their Feel Good Collection NFT project this October.
The artists spent three months crafting hundreds of digital-format, visual elements in their unique and instantly recognisable styles – from Maxim’s signature hand grenades and skulls to Dan’s urban Queen portraits and punk collages and Opake’s graffiti-styled cartoons – before using a computer algorithm to merge them together into 8,888 original editions.
Creative coding serves an expressive, rather than functional purpose and by relinquishing control of each final piece to a computer, the three artists see their work transformed into exciting, new artworks, free from preconceptions or bias. NFT (Non-Fungible Token) art is a marriage between art and tech – digital assets representing real-world artworks – so the Feel Good Collection pushes the boundaries of this concept by uniting human and computer generated art to create 8,888 unique, digital artworks, that then become NFTs, which are themselves unique, digital assets.
Dan Pearce says: “The NFT world is very innovative and experimental, so I was inspired to collaborate on something that has not been done before, by bringing together three artists with styles which are very different, yet complement each other well. “And this exciting algorithmic code technology lends itself perfectly to NFT, exploring the new roles tech is playing in the art world and moving the conversation on from the rest of the digital art which is flooding the NFT space.
“I had worked with Maxim on our recent Hope campaign and have collaborated with Opake in the past. This time, rather than coming together and letting our work dictate each other’s input or having discussions about how the pieces should look, we’re each contributing layers in our own distinct styles, before allowing an outside source – in this case, a computer – to put them together.”
The algorithm selects layers designed by the artists and randomly attributes them to frames, backgrounds, subjects and foregrounds of an artwork, creating one-off pieces and editions. Dan’s mixed media work is collected by everybody from Idris Elba and Sharon Osbourne to Boy George, and employs spray paint, handpainted acrylics, lenticular, neon lights, 3D objects, screen-printing, textured resin, gold leaf and collage, as well as his own photography and street art.
The Prodigy frontman Maxim is well known for his dark surrealist pieces that explore the complex nature of humanity, featuring grenades carried on the breeze by a raft of red balloons; clown-faced butterflies brandishing Samurai swords, and gun-toting cats, using everything from spray paint, resin, acrylic, ceramics and bronze to objects like bullets, blades and pills. Opake experiments with all elements of subculture, from tagging, large scale murals and graffiti to the use of pop icons and well-known cartoon characters, which he puts through his unique graffiti filter. He has been a practicing street artist since the age of 13. The finished pieces will be sold as NFTs through the History Makr platform and will be exhibited in a Metaverse gallery.
©2021 Dan Pearce, Maxim, Opake One
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