Exclusive: Roger Dickerman Presents “24 Hours of Art” With Transient Labs
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Roger Dickerman, an art curator and advisor best known for “24 Hours of Art,” his daily art summaries on the digital art market, is taking his project to the blockchain. Since the inception of his reports in August 2023, they have served as a significant information source in the space, covering market trends, major sales, upcoming projects, and much more.
Now, through his new project, Dickerman will expand the process of documentation through collaborative on-chain reports. A total of 366 tokens (and their holders) will serve as storytellers for the events of 2024, with each token aligning with a specific date in the upcoming year.
Dickerman, along with technical partner Transient Labs, will be unlocking features such as the ERC-7160 token and Story Inscriptions through the project. Token holders will have the unique privilege of adding contextual blockchain contributions from artists, collectors, galleries, platforms, and diverse perspectives through Story Inscriptions on each 2024 report. They will also gain exclusive access to a dedicated Telegram channel with a strong focus on art throughout 2024.
In addition to the public mint of 366 tokens, Dickerman has also released 24 honorary tokens for auction. The “first” 24 tokens represent the final 24 days of 2023. The token for the first day is auctioned, the last day’s token is vaulted, and the remaining tokens are gifted to the inspirations and supporters without whom “24 Hours of Art” would not exist. Below is the list of community builders honored, including Alpha Centauri Kid, Ayla El-Moussa, Ben Strauss, and more.
While the auction has concluded, the public mint is now available. We sat down with Dickerman to gain insights into the project’s goals, artistic processes, and the reasons behind its timing.
Q&A with RD
nft now: Can you explain the auction vs. the public mint?
RD: The first ever day – December 8th, 2023 – is the auction. It is the only publicly available token within “The First 24”. It concluded Thursday, Dec. 28, 1:00 p.m. ET. The first token was won by Chikai for 2.31208 ETH.
The public mint is all about 2024. 366 tokens, one per unique date, randomized at the mint. Each is 0.24 ETH and goes live Dec. 28, 2:00 p.m. ET.
nft now: For the First 24, why did you decide to honor the group you chose?
RD: While the heart of the release is about the 2024 tokens, I felt it was important to acknowledge those who directly impact 24 Hours of Art. These are people who, in most cases, spent real time, effort, and energy with me. They are artists, builders, and collectors, and in most cases, hybrids.
Why did you decide to mint in 2023 at the end of the year instead of 2024?
I minted the first 24 tokens in 2023 because I felt it honored the group’s “Why?” They are in it because they shaped the prologue to 2024, full of potential.
Why did you choose Transient Labs and what kind of interesting things/tech will you be working together on for this collection?
I have full conviction in so many members of the Transient Labs team. I’ll highlight the brilliance of Ben and Marco, as well as the deep report experience of David, who saw a path forward from day one.
There are two key technical innovations:
- ERC-7160 Tokens: This token standard allows a token to evolve in Stages (while the collector retains each Stage of the process). It allows one of the 2024 tokens to start as a blank canvas associated with a unique date, then update after the date to become a 1/1/366, then update again after the year concludes. The data will become art, in its purest sense.
- Story Inscriptions: This is the collaborative unlock. I’ve been craving deeper community collaboration. This allows a token holder – artist, collector, gallery, platform, etc – to inscribe context on a day’s report. In turn, I can then amplify that context.
After minting, what are the three stages of the token?
Each token has 3 stages:
– Blank canvas token with a 2024 date
– 1/1/366 ART collection, the hybridization of art and data, delivered after the date happens
– 1/1/366 artwork collection, based on the days and year we experienced together, delivered after the year concludes.
What does “Releases 365 for a year-long everyday endeavor” you will mint your recaps every day?
Fun Fact: it’ll be 366 because next year is a leap year! Yes, each token corresponds to a day. There will be reports each day, which are then minted, which then become art in stages.
Can you share more about the art and tools used to create the tokens?
The 1/1/366 ART collection is created by Artifex_project, spearheaded by the wizardry of Justin Wetch.
Months of effort and iteration have gone into the design itself. A day’s data is analyzed and applied to parameters, generating the day’s token in Houdini. The texture is applied by sampling, pixel sorting, and parametrically diffusing the day’s artwork highlights.
Traits are created semi-procedurally/semi-generatively in Houdini. From a source mesh of about 10 million polygons, the token is rendered in Vray in 4k resolution.
Details of the 1/1/366 artwork collection to climatically conclude the year are undisclosed but will be disclosed upon release. We reserve the right to exercise optionality and add additive chapters to the art story!
What do I wish to accomplish through the mint and in 2024?
A passionate group, an inspired forum of artists, collectors, builders, platforms, galleries, and the like who see an opportunity to make magic together, immutably on blockchain, and watch the history we live evolve into art.
Anything else?
Part of the magic of this is the token group itself. We’ll gather via an art-centric, gated Telegram, foster upgraded reports, weekly wrap-up shows, monthly recaps, and strong dialogue. It’s this group that will also have the ability to inscribe. 2024 will be a year-long story about art, written together!