Maya Man is an artist whose work considers the computer screen a space for intimacy and performance, focusing on the phenomenon of translating our offline selves into on-screen content. Working primarily with custom software, she comments on internet culture by algorithmically remixing and collaging it into her own websites, generative systems, and installations. I had the pleasure of speaking with Maya in advance of her upcoming Art Blocks project FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.

In Conversation with Maya Man

It's Miami Art Week and we can’t wait for you to join us!

Art Blocks × Miami Art Week 2022

Art Blocks Curation Board members are responsible for reviewing, critiquing, and selecting Art Blocks projects to be included in Art Blocks’ Curated Collection. The Curated Collection comprises a group of projects that have been recognized for significant accomplishment in aesthetics, conceptual rigor, technical quality, and innovation.

Meet the Art Blocks Curation Board

*Your Story* is a book like no other.

It's the story you always wanted to read,
the story you always wanted to create.
Any story you want.
*Your Story* is your imagination projected within the pages, 
to tell a story today, 
and another tomorrow.

---

### The idea:

I was playing with a dot on a canvas, when I recognized the first symbol.
In the end, writing is not different from drawing.
So I generated another. And another.
That's how I realized that I had discovered a new language. As a writer, I knew what I had to do:
let this language tell the stories it wants.

Characters in modern alphabets are symbols that, over thousands of years, we aligned on in order to comunicate in written form.
Most people can tell which character represents what in the alphabet they're most familiar with.
There is no room for imagination anymore in the characters themselves. It's all up to the combination of them.
So we form words, sentences, chapters, books.

But imagine now a language that no one understands.
Every interpretation of it is valid: there is no wrong answer. 
Anyone reading it is perceiving a different story, creating a different story.
It's *your* own choice.
You can decide to change the story at every reading. Or keep a piece of it consistent. Collaborate with others to create a new story.

*Your Story* is giving back full imagination to *you*.

---

### How it works:

I wanted *Your Story* to look like a book, and all pieces of the algorithm follow this aesthetic direction.
The aspect ratio is set to √2:1, as most of the paper sizes available worldwide (ISO 216, ISO 217 and ISO 269).
Two set tokens (first and last) are the cover and the blurb. 
The remaining tokens form the interior, using token ID to determine whether the page is left or right and the respective margins.
The hash is used to determine the aesthetics of the page: the character style, the type of page (chapter header, illustration, normal text), the presence of notes, and highlights.
All character styles have clear differences between them, and occasionally they are all mixed together.
*Your Story* is not meant to be a single alphabet, but rather an exploration of the imagination. Different character styles may evoke different thoughts.

Character style

Line height

Misprint

Chapter page

Illustration

Highlight

Annotations

Foot notes

This descending auction has a start time of {start_time} at the price of {start_price} Ξ and will exponentially decrease until the resting price of {base_price} Ξ is met.

Your Story

Since founding Art Blocks in 2020, artist Erick Calderon (a.k.a. Snowfro) has been intrigued by the idea of representing digital artwork in the physical world in the form of an ephemeral physical object with meaning, but with no inherent value. 

Donald Judd has long been an inspiration for Art Blocks. One aspect we admire most about Judd’s artistic practice is the elegance of design he effortlessly paired with the accessibility of materials that could be found at a hardware store. With Judd as inspiration, we hatched a plan to create a unique generative art friendship bracelet that includes instructions to make, in minutes, a simple bracelet using a few dollars’ worth of embroidery floss. Donald Judd believed that what surrounds us in our day-to-day life is already so beautiful, and that ultimately the experience of creating art is as important as owning it.

Erick was incredibly excited to collaborate with renowned artist Alexis André (a.k.a. MacTuitui) to bring generative art and ephemeral physical objects together in the form of friendship bracelets. Conceptualized by Erick and aesthetically and programmatically designed by Alexis, this project pairs creative coding with a beautiful spectrum of embroidery floss colors. The project was a true team effort, as each member of the Art Blocks team designed and named their own color palette!

The project is a token of our appreciation to the creators, makers, builders, and collectors who have all contributed to making the Art Blocks community what it is today. Participating in this project is a signal, both online and IRL, that you’re a participant in this evolution of art + community. You are pushing the best ideas forward. You are the reason all of these imaginative projects come to life. Our community is what makes all of this possible. So, to say it plainly, we appreciate you, and we hope that you’ll accept this bracelet as a token of our special friendship!

The owner of any wallet with an Art Blocks piece at the time of snapshot (October 26, 2022, at 3pm US Central time) is eligible to claim two mints from this special generative art project. We would love to see you keep one bracelet and share your love for generative art by gifting your second mint! These mints are free to claim (you pay only the gas) and exist on L1 Ethereum. Please note that we may in the future release additional modified iterations of the Friendship Bracelets project, ideally on an L2 scaling solution, that may substantially increase the total supply of tokens related to the project, with the intent of being a more accessible entry point to a larger audience. But this version is what we're here to celebrate today, and this gift is for you in gratitude for your support along the way. Please enjoy this token of our friendship and explore the wonderful artwork created by Alexis André. Then, let's all make bracelets together! 

Warmly,
Alexis + Erick + the Art Blocks team



The claim window expires on January 10, 2023, at noon US Central time.

Click into the Display Notes for information about making your bracelet.

Friendship Bracelets

*3 Minute Meditations* is a set of audio/visual generative-art NFTs designed to provide the listener with a short, meditative experience.  Each *3MM* starts with a **unique fundamental frequency** and composes harmonics on top of it. One of these harmonics is a **binaural beat** that ends in the **delta** or **theta** band (associated with **mediation**, **deep** and **REM sleep**).  The others take shape as a combination of **constant and arpeggiated tones** to form an entrancing soundscape that moves through **temporary dissonance** into **climactic harmony**.  The associated visuals are representative of the sound, and follow a journey that mirrors the **sonic meditation**.

** ***The focus of this piece is the audio, which must be enjoyed with headphones in order to properly realize its effects***. **

Listeners can watch the visuals as well, or close their eyes and **sink fully into the auditory experience**.

3 Minute Meditations

Cryptocountries is a limited-edition series of digital prints using the medium of generative art. Each map is created by first procedurally generating a terrain height map and then rendering a map in a range of different styles and colours. Each print derives its randomness from a corresponding hash constraining the infinite possibilities for each print in the edition to a single unique image.

The series invites the observer to lose themselves in a selection of maps and annotated photographs from the unorganized archives that loosely chronicle the travels of a stranger in a mythical land.


## Prints 

All original token holders that mint a piece over 1.5 Ξ will be eligible for a single edition (1/1) handmade signed print of their edition using a printmaking technique suitable for the style of image (intaglio etching, screenprint, cyanotype, etc.).  The token holder will be consulted in the creation of their print. Size, paper choice, type of ink and even colours can be customized and chosen to suit the token holder's preferences.   

In addition, free signed digital prints on archival paper will be available to the following collectors
- All original holders that mint over 0.6 Ξ will receive a large signed digital print
- All original holders that mint over 0.3 Ξ will receive a medium signed digital print

All token holders will be able to purchase a signed print of any mint they currently own.

More information on prints can be found [here](https://www.michaelgdevereux.com/cryptocountries-prints).

CryptoCountries: The Unpublished Archives of a Mythical World Traveler

This piece began as a formal study in composition using simple layered shapes, but when I started experimenting with animation it took on a life of its own. The final work visualises in form, colour, and motion the tension between social conformity and self-expression. At times all of us are required to keep ourselves under control, so that we can live and work together without having to negotiate a thousand tiny idiosyncrasies. Other times we are free to act as wild as we like, but even within this freedom we often find ourselves expressing different kinds of alignment and harmonisation. Negotiating our lives involves finding a balance between these forces: conformity and harmony on one hand, and expression and freedom on the other. As long as we share space with others, we must always think about how our actions fit in with those of the people around us.

LIA has been making [generative software art since 1995](https://www.liaworks.com), and her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. This piece extends her signature process of overlapping simple shapes in complex ways, applying a new quality of motion to paint and re-paint the composition, forming hypnotic, shifting patterns of movement and stillness.

*Instructions*
Animation runs automatically - click/tap to pause and unpause

WARNING:
This art work may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

Your Story

encapsuled

12/5/2022, 6:00 PM UTC

Edition of 102

Art Blocks is dedicated to bringing compelling works of contemporary generative art to life. We unite artists, collectors, and blockchain technology in service of groundbreaking artwork and remarkable experiences.

In Conversation with Maya Man

Art Blocks × Miami Art Week 2022

It's Miami Art Week and we can’t wait for you to join us!

Open Projects

Friendship Bracelets

Alexis André

Free

Open algorithmic edition

3 Minute Meditations

thetechnocratic

0.1 Ξ

233 / 333 remaining

CryptoCountries: The Unpublished Archives of a Mythical World Traveler

Michael G Devereux

0.15 Ξ

231 / 267 remaining

Being Yourself While Fitting In

LIA

0.2 Ξ

181 / 222 remaining

Meet the Art Blocks Curation Board

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Want more? Read Spectrum, the journal of Art Blocks

Want more? Read Spectrum, the journal of Art Blocks

Want more? Read Spectrum, the journal of Art Blocks

Want more? Read Spectrum, the journal of Art Blocks

Want more? Read Spectrum, the journal of Art Blocks

Want more? Read Spectrum, the journal of Art Blocks

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