The Network
Artist 1980k is focused on creating and shaping meaningful and memorable experiences for humans.
This blog post will be a retrospective on things I’ve learned and potential pathways forward in my creative journey. The Network has been my most rapid and innovative learning artistic venture to date. One that will influence my focus in art, products, and installations moving forward.
In the blog post below, I will touch on these emerging topics...
Generative art enables infinite directions.
Physical art as a form of learning and inspiration.
Human connection through experiential design.
Inspiration
The three pillars that helped shape my direction with this collection.
A.I. Narratives
My goal was to communicate TRUTH with this collection. The truth is that we, humans, will be affected unless we take the current state of technology seriously. Unlimited information at our fingertips. A.I. Slowly taking our jobs. These are important messages to communicate. Not only will our everyday lives change but so will our love and passion.
Art + Technology
I love all creative mediums. But to date, I have yet to explore them all fully in a single output. The physical finish embodies a cyberpunk interpretation of contemporary art, employing a street artist's weathered, imperfect wheatpaste technique. At the same time, the resulting artwork stands as a modern representation at the cutting edge of innovative artistry. A perfection to the imperfect.
Light and Space Movement
It wasn’t until recently that I was introduced to the 60’s Light and Space movement. This was the first time I felt a connection with who I am as an artist. It is characterized by a focus on perceptual phenomena, such as light, volume and scale, and the use of materials such as glass, neon, fluorescent lights, resin and cast acrylic, often forming installations conditioned by the work's surroundings.
The Network is the Internet filled with endless information. The Network is the a.i. Informing our every move. The Network may or may not care for our human existence. Those narratives and the expansive output potential are fascinating journeys into a path of unexplored art.
Generative art enables infinite directions
The beauty of code as art is its expansiveness with no limitations on output potential. With every piece in The Network collection, you will see a recognizable pattern that I generate in p5js. It wasn’t until I began working with the physical pieces that I realized the full control I had for oversize scaling, customization, and output power to mediums. My creative path will continue to push on a simple process from which I will develop a future business...
Everything originates from art. Output via digital & physical are for collectors who love Scarcity. Output via personalized products for the rest of the world.
Physical art as a form of learning and inspiration
While packaging The Terminal artwork to be shipped, I included extra content in the box that led me into something unexpected.
What if the physical artwork could become an opportunity to expand an interaction with the customer of the artwork?
Knowing the collector's interests, I decided to set up a GitHub page here. The idea was to encourage the collector to hack my artwork. Inside the page you will see a “Update LED” file where I provide the basics of how to update the animations of the artwork. By creating an opportunity for the collector to hack my art, there is less buy and that’s all and more customer experience. Inspiration leads to learning. As I develop work into the future I will continue to push here to see where this takes me.
Human connection through experiential design
I want to make anyone purchasing artwork feel they have acquired something special. Every detail matters. In the images below, I’ve highlighted ways I am enabling the best customer experience in everything I create. In time 1980k will expand into an experiential brand, with art as the foundation, and personalized product experiences that are globally accessible. This collection has been R&D around what people like and love.
In review, the details matter; moving fast is essential, and never be limited to digital vs. physical if there is an opportunity for learning. In my past life, I was a director of design and design systems, leading innovation and rapid prototyping. These techniques are similar to the R&D processes that helped rapidly uncover innovative concepts for Fortune 100 companies.
Shop Digital + Physical
Check out these custom products from the collection, which are only available for a limited time.
If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you reading and hope you’ve enjoyed my creative content. Over time, this site has evolved into my sandbox for creativity, which has been super inspiring to keep up to date as time permits.
More love, more wins, and more fun for all in 2024
