Olá de Lisboa,
At some point, someone may inquire of you about maps and non-fungible
tokens, or NFTs. I've searched the archives of the list and the only use of
"NFT" is from a 2002 listing of maps for sale where NFT is an abbreviation
for "Not For Tourists" (!). "fungible" is not (yet) in the archives at all.
So my email will be on a more contemporary topic than most.
(I have been on MAPS-L for decades, mostly as a lurker, but I appreciate
the occasional inquiries about "what's new?" and I hope you'll indulge my
writing today about something that's new even if puzzling.)
I'm in the middle of a two month (March & April) international artist
residency at Hangar: Centro de Investigação Artística. I'm working on three
projects, all related to digital cartography, and I've started issuing the
first one as a sequence of animated, monochromatic maps, "minting" &
"swapping" them on the Tezos blockchain. Tezos is a "proof-of-stake" rather
than "proof-of-work" blockchain, the energy costs of the former not being
as inconceivable & inappropriate as the latter, and the resilient Hic Et
Nunc marketplace that's evolved around that cryptocurrency is allegedly one
of the most artist-friendly. This is all new to me and I likely share many
of your suspicions & cynicisms. I will recommend Brian Frye's entertaining
and thought-provoking presentation to you, especially for his observations
on how NFTs relate to provenance: https://youtu.be/c7N1nX7VmEY
There are a few art historical influences that nourished my sequences –
16mm experimental flicker films, of which Paul Sharits is the most
closely-aligned practitioner; op art (e.g., Bridget Riley); light and space
art (e.g., James Turrell, Carlos Cruz-Diez); concrete poetry and the
constrained wordplay of the Oulipo. I've also lifted ideas and inspiration
from painters Patrick Caulfield, Michael Craig-Martin, and Ed Ruscha. You
may recall that Daniel P. Huffman, a cartographer with strong ties to
NACIS, issued a call for monochrome maps in 2018. These sequences can be
thought of as a "long tail" response to that call.
Each sequence is a numbered "If Map", e.g, "If Map 9.5 (Monochrome:
Honeydew)", and the whole cycle, which will be compiled and released in a
slightly different format for gallery installation/theatrical projection,
will be "If Map #9" with a longer title yet TBD. The plan is to release a
new sequence every two days for the remainder of April, populating the
gallery at https://www.hicetnunc.xyz/erictheise
I advise that these involve strobing so if flashing light causes you
headaches or worse please be forewarned.
I'll add that the experimental filmmaker, even when working digitally but
especially when working with analog small gauge film (8mm, Super8, 16mm),
faces a great many expenses in production (filmstock, equipment, lab work,
time) and distribution (e.g., festival entry fees), and often receives no
rental income even when their film is accepted for exhibition at a festival
or microcinema. In light of these dismal & long-standing circumstances the
possibilities of the NFT art marketplace are appealing, even irresistible:
a new audience, geographically dispersed, allegedly with a budget for
acquiring art (or simply provenance), plus enforced resale royalties.
If you've read this far, thank you. This is the most I've written and
revealed about the project in one place. My posts to social media have been
terser, more mysterious & stingy with information, or perhaps going into
greater detail about one facet. I still haven't told you everything you
might want to know and I welcome your feedback or questions, although I may
not answer them until more of the sequences in the cycle have been released.
Obrigado, Eric
P.S. I invite you to follow day-to-day progress on my Instagram or other
social media feeds, I'm not hard to find. Wordier but far-less frequent
updates go out over my Mailchimp list, https://erictheise.com/mailing-list/
<http://erictheise.com/mailing-list/>
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