fxGems #6 ⏀ A Prolific Beginning - Part I
written by Haiver
fxGems is curated by Haiver. Follow on Twitter and Mastodon for recommendations, and sign up for email notifications on Substack for when a new issue drops. To support the work, collect a copy of this issue or past issues, or consider minting one of my generative pieces here on fx(hash).
When I was a kid, I used to think prolific was a synonym for genius. It wasn't until college that I learned prolific simply means someone who makes a lot of work. Picasso was a genius; he was also prolific. And they're not the same thing. All you have to do is google the centaur stick figures he drew in Antibes to see that even well into his career — thanks to his prolific output — not everything he made was good.
That said, the more work you make, the more opportunities you have to grow, and the more chances you have to get it right. Prolific art-making is the perfect cure to break a perfectionist streak. And it's only with a lot of work under your belt that you start to find your voice and thus create work that stands out. So it's funny to realize that my childhood self was onto something when it saw a connection between the two.
When fx(hash) first launched, one of the most inspiring things was seeing so many prolific generative artists appear to spring out of nowhere — each of them dropping 5, 10, even 15 projects apiece in the first three weeks of open minting (Nov 10 - Nov 30, 2021). It was a cascade of rapid-fire releases one right after another.
Of course, many of them had been making generative work for years with a back catalogue of projects just waiting for a home. But it was also invigorating to see younger artists figuring it out in real time. And all of them were hungry. There was a pent-up need for an open generative site like fx(hash).
So here is the first round of truly prolific artists in fx(hash) history. Some of the work is genius; some of it has room to grow. All of it was here first, lighting a path, helping establish fx(hash)'s place in art history — and for that we should always be grateful.
This is Part I of a two part series, so don't forget to check out Part II now that it's dropped.
nTRPC - 19 Projects
akizuki - 14 Projects
UKIGUMO #35
Lionel Lemarie - 13 Projects
LL21 Anatomy #58
AlexandreRangel - 13 Projects
hash egg #6
Chris Randall - 13 Projects
operation 04 #1
mandybrigwell - 12 Projects
ColourPulse #3
Pointiago - 12 Projects
meodai - 12 Projects
BbFf - 12 Projects
Kerem Altaylar - 10 Projects
Photosynthesis #2
punevyr - 10 Projects
Daniel_Hercules - 10 Projects
THE_PIXEL_EYE #21
Mate Steinforth - 10 Projects
🌈 Rainbow Clouds ☁️ #47
StrangerintheQ - 10 Projects
Arachna #66
andre - 9 Projects
GEM #98
Johan Holwerda - 9 Projects
dots #45
Xeronimo - 9 Projects
Cutout #2
lomz - 9 Projects
flockaroo - 8 Projects
Tired Voxels #16
Marcelo - 8 Projects
Daniel Oropeza - 8 Projects
Cellular Automata #31
Gin(proto) - 8 Projects
Dark Digital Marble #20
Reinder Nijhoff - 8 Projects
Fractal Marbles #7
radarboy3000 - 8 Projects
Binary Blobs #23
0xm4_0 - 7 Projects
Favèla 2048 #12
esnho - 7 Projects
Fragmented Lines #18
Camille Roux - 7 Projects
RIVER #67
quentinhocde - 7 Projects
Siesta #213
lilcode - 7 Projects
cuerpo iluminado #96
Tù.úk'z - 7 Projects
Tetris's Different #43
Spectrolize - 7 Projects
Wind map #51
P1x3lboy - 7 Projects
Runemaker Antithesis #42
fxGems is not affiliated with fx(hash) or fx(text) (hence the lack of parentheses), and none of the recommendations herein should be construed as financial advice. We’re here to celebrate the art!
Each month I go one by one through all of the projects that dropped on fx(hash) to find the strongest, most compelling work — generative art that has a unique voice, a wide variety across its many mints, and an intriguing approach to algorithms and technique.