BlockTrain: An Intro to funnysandwich
written by c2x3_NFTpress
BlockTrain is a series of gen-art NFTs on Tezos blockchain, co-launched by Taiwanese gen-artist ileiv oivm (AluanWang) and emerging NFT artist funnysandwich. The former served as director and the latter as the artist. The series presents “moving train” as the theme, divided into 6 different phases of NFTs. It will redefine audio-visual artwork and lead collectors to search for lost memories.
6 phases of BlockTrain will be launched on fxhash. BlockTrain PASS, phase 0 of the series, had been launched on fxhash on September 1, 2022. PASS is similar to white list, and the rest of phases are elements for the train NFT, including window, building, object, atmosphere, and pixel-board. People can merge these on the official website, and get a brand new NFT. PASS cannot be merged, but owning a PASS means owning reserved slots of the next 5 phases. Price and editions of BlockTrain PASS are 0.1 tez and 512 editions (400 for public sale), which was sold out in 10 minutes and the highest secondary sale attained 199 tez.
BlockTrain PASS #36
The Origin of BlockTrain Series
AluanWang, the art director of akaSwap, always thinks that funnysandwich is a young man with great prospects for the future, whose works have a sense of humor. Earlier this year, Aluan was curious about what funnysandwich was doing, and the latter replied that he was wondering launching new series on fxhash. Aluan stopped him immediately. As soon as he saw funnysandwich’s creation, he wanted to develop the series into a big project and let the world see that here’s such a warm gen-art in Asia.
Aluan was inspired by the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” in which Jim Carrey watched the scenery outside the window alone in a train. The vision created by funnysandwich matched perfectly with the music produced by Chad, a member from the band The Tic Tac.
Turner Light #44
About funnysandwich & His Journey to NFTs
funnysandwich got bachelor’s degree in graphic design. Afterwards, he had pursued master’s degree in new media art in Taiwan, using programming to create video animations and interactions. With an educational background of graphic design, he provides the vision with delights different from geometric figures, making those seeming-illustration objects become interactive works with Processing and P5.js.
“funnysandwich” is his nickname for art creation. He hopes that his works are funny and interesting, while “sandwich” refers to new combinations expected in his works.
When it comes to his journey to NFT world, his senior male schoolmate led him to the world because he thought funnysandwich’s works were suitable for being NFTs. He therefore made his debut on hic et nunc and akaSwap last September, and a solo exhibition Where is my House featuring his LittleHouse series was held on akaSwap last December.
Where is my House originated from two or three years ago, when funnysandwich and his senior schoolmates were having night snacks and talking about the price of houses in Taipei and Shenzhen. The more they talked about it, the more pressure and predicament they felt for the young generation. Where is my House would like to express this kind of predicament, with houses illustrated humorously.
One can see the internal structure (parameters from programming) of each house by pressing “i” on keyboard, which is a feature of funnysandwich’s creations. Works in illustration style are created by programming and coordinates are computed by vectors to form lines and surfaces. The skeleton can make the audience see the original programming.
He gets inspiration from the daily life. His creations focus on the audience’s personal experiences linked to his work. Many people say that they feel warm while seeing funnysandwich’s art. However, he doesn’t contain “warmness” in his creation on purpose; the warmness comes from the audience’s interpretation, as he said in CaoYin’s streaming program.
Though funnysandwich’s creation had been suspended during the Covid, as he mentioned in CaoYin’s streaming program, he had confirmed his ideas and style for creating and dedicated to keeping his personal style.
funnysandwich’s Viewpoint of Web3 Art
When asked about his viewpoint of web3 art in CaoYin’s program, funnysandwich doesn’t regard web3 as a belief and symbol of a new era. Rather, he thinks it’s just another human’s activity, a new medium for creation. He cares more about possibilities of this new medium for creating.
“Communication” is a characteristic of web3. Artists have to communicate with diverse communities on the internet, and speeds of feedback (i.g. the number of collectors, the price, etc.) are extremely fast, which can influence his thoughts on next creation. According to funnysandwich, it could be a challenge for him and he has been trying to get accustomed to this ecosystem.
Official Links of BlockTrain