“Life will be lived all the better if it has no meaning” - Albert Camus 

Optimistic nihilism embraces the idea that life's inherent meaninglessness is, in fact, positive. The conflict between intrinsic meaninglessness and our search for meaning is both absurd and liberating. We are free to create our own meaning yet ultimately, there is none. By acknowledging both the futility and the opportunity, we can find joy.

These images have no specific meaning yet often they seem purposed. Each output evokes an emotional tone, such as calm, erratic, troubled, bold, mysterious or cheerful. We are frequently reminded of something or can identify shapes like birds, houses or spaceships. Our innate tendency to find patterns and meaning is evident.

The algorithm uses geometry and rules but has been given as much freedom as possible to create varied compositions which contain both chaos and order. The compositions are constructed using node layouts, which are connected to form shapes. Connection is a recurrent theme in our pursuit of meaning - manifested in pattern formation, our relationships and the interconnectedness of the universe. The shapes are duplicated and modified through rotation, mirroring, and scaling to build up structure and chaotic form. If an output appears too sparse, an extra stage of manipulation is applied. Keypresses reveal the components, allowing viewers to observe the underlying mathematical structure of the composition. How does this insight influence our perception of meaning?

The meaning communicated by each piece is subjective, shaped by the viewer's own experiences interacting with the work. The artist aspires to connect with her audience by discovering the meanings they derive from the outputs we have yet to encounter.

Toggle components - 
1 - Nodes
2 - Shapes
3 - Extras
4 - Strokes or Outlines (if present)
5 - Border
r - Return to full piece

s - Save 2000px wide image
p - Save 5000px wide image

Meaningless

~ *'For you are dust, and to dust, you shall return'* ~ Genesis 3:19

This specific passage of the Genesis, speaks about how the certainty of death should serve us as a reminder to remain humble in life. Within my agnostic interpretation, it is more of a call for a sustainable, ethical and mindful way of life.

3:19 is a chronological conjecture, a reflective proposition about the future, and a speculative evaluation of our present. Rocks symbolize the unavoidable progress of time, like dust clusters containers to millennia of evolution. Despite we think of them as immutable objects, rocks are time-based generative organisms. Depicting eras of existence through colorful layers assembled in complex and captivating patterns serves as a 'live' reminder that, no matter how much we avoid thinking of the future, it will, eventually, catch up with us.

Despite being capable of generating thousands of combinations via color and shape, only 19 iterations will ever see the day of light, remaining the rest voided in the obliviousness of time. Since after all, let's not forget, we are all dust, and to dust, we will return.

&rarr; Explore by 'dragging' the rock around.
&rarr; Navigate time using the keyboard's 'left' and 'right' arrows.

3:19

These are the military alien insects. They are symmetrical and asymmetrical simultaneously for existence in several dimensions. Being in a team, they unite into a collective mind increasing each other's abilities.

**Controls:**

Click to change mode (standard, skeleton, avatar). Press 1 to 9 to set pixel density according to the numbers.

 Sometimes before a new Shvembldr release, there is an opportunity to win TBOA tokens in Alien Insects Battle: https://www.tboa.club/insect_battle.

Alien Insects

For many of us, our calendars can be a source of dread and stress. Calendart is inspired by the chaos of events that populate our everyday virtual lives and reimagines them as art.

Calendart

A yearning. For places we haven't been or seen.
Seasons come, seasons go, and at times how the sun slants through those leaves on an autumn afternoon stays with us - we try to recollect that fleeting memory or imagination - an escape from the mundane. To places far away. 

Fernweh is a window to that space , spaces we yearn to see. And as in nature, lines are never too straight, colours are as bright as they come.  
Generative art that anyone can relate to - there's something for everyone in Fernweh.
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Why Fernweh?

Fernweh is an attempt to strike a balance between the Figurative Art genre, the Generative Art medium and NFTs. Generative Art usually has very measured lines, intricate designs and a very well executed, "clean" and “sterile” feel to it. Figurative Art on the other hand is oft full of “Happy Little Accidents” as the legendary Bob Ross would have said - a smudge here, a blob there - relatable and human.

Talking of humans, the most sold and easily relatable works of art, be it paintings or photographs, are figurative in nature and are of landscapes. With generative art, this is usually not common - there’s a tendency to lean towards the abstract - and yes, abstractness is beautiful, personally as an artist, I love it. That said, a lot many of us relate easily to figurative art than to the abstract. My personal theory is that humans are always looking for quick answers and the comfort of recognizable surroundings and figurative art gives it to us on a platter. 

Fernweh tries to create that perfectly imperfect mix. Figurative art through procedural generation. Palettes with enough contrast and colour to be the living room’s focal point, art that anyone can relate to - an NFT that, hopefully, will not need a lot of explanations but complex and beautiful enough to attribute value to. Oh, and with one additional render each to satiate that abstract lover in us.

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Features & Generation

Each season's palette is drawn from random combinations of nearly 100K handpicked outcomes for Petal, Leaf, Veins, Connectors,  Leaf boundaries, Bark perforations and the background.

The rendered output transitions through 3 phases - Abstract, Original and Etched images. This means that each mint has three different renders that change based on the Transition attribute. Some will change everyday, some in a couple, some in a week's time and so on!  

See below how to Interact with Fernweh in Live View mode (full-screen): 
- In full-screen mode, watch your trees render and grow into a grove.
- Click the mouse in live-view to toggle through the three renders (Abstract, Original and Etched). It may take a few seconds to toggle through the three rendered views.
- Undisturbed, the transition of the renders reverts to Phase Attribute values.
- Press the key - "S" - to download the render you want to save. 

Please note that the render is a bit resource intensive and may take from 1 min to 2.5 mins to render and load.

Digital Art Display Giveaway: 10 minting addresses will be randomly chosen to receive a Smart Digital Art Display and frame! Winners will be picked once the minting is complete (shipping costs will be borne by the artist).

Enjoy your three renders! 

Art Blocks Presents

Meaningless #0

Amy Goodchild

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3:19

Santiago.

Alien Insects

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Calendart

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Fernweh

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