French Artist William Mapan Creates NFT Collection Inspired by Paul Klee’s Painting
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has launched its fifth installment of the “Remembrance of Things Future” program, featuring a collection by French digital artist William Mapan. Mapan’s collection, titled “Distance,” is a meditation on Paul Klee’s 1914 watercolor, “In the Kairouan Style, Transposed in a Moderate Way.” The collection consists of 250 generative artworks created using a custom algorithm designed by Mapan. These artworks will be minted as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.
Blending the Digital and the Physical
Mapan’s digital artworks have the appearance of paintings, but upon closer inspection, the intricate patterns are revealed to be meticulously arranged using code. To achieve this effect, Mapan manually created physical paint colors and then recreated them digitally using JavaScript. He built custom code to simulate the spread, splatter, and patterning of the paint on a virtual canvas.
Exploring the Power of Automation
Mapan believes that by translating the process of painting into the digital realm, he can capture the rawness and humanity of manual painting and amplify it using automation. Through his algorithm, he can create millions of unique shapes and explore the interplay between urban and rural landscapes.
The Impact of New Technologies
Using computer code allows Mapan to replicate, tweak, and reshape landscapes in countless iterations, a process that would have taken lifetimes without technology. When the NFTs are minted, Mapan will see the final form of his artworks for the first time. This new element of detachment between the artist and the artwork offers the potential to invigorate and reshape one’s point of view.
Hot Take: Blending Art and Technology for a New Perspective
William Mapan’s “Distance” collection showcases the fusion of art and technology, creating visually stunning digital artworks inspired by Paul Klee’s painting. By leveraging custom algorithms and code, Mapan explores the boundaries between the physical and the digital, capturing the essence of painting and amplifying it through automation. The result is a collection of generative artworks that offer a fresh perspective on landscapes, inviting viewers to question the nature of the artwork. This marriage of art and technology demonstrates the potential for new technologies to revolutionize artistic creation and push the boundaries of creativity. Through NFTs, Mapan’s artworks will be immortalized on the Ethereum blockchain, further solidifying the intersection of art and technology in the digital age.