Ab.jpeg
A post-abstract drop curated by Fakewhale Cross
The invention of photography in the 19th century had a profound impact on the course of art history and the development of painting. Before its arrival, painting was one of the few means of capturing and preserving visual imagery, and for this reason, it relied heavily on the idea of representation. However, with the emergence of the photographic medium, which allowed for a higher level of realism even when practiced by non-trained and non-skilled hands, artists were forced to rethink the purpose of painting, its why, which led to the exciting journey of revolutionary and thought-provoking 20th-century avant-garde art movements.
Frustrated Realism led to Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dadaism, Surrealism… Until the total emancipation of painting from any figurative aspiration arrived in the mid-40s with Abstract Expressionism. In her essay “Against Interpretation” (1964), Susan Sontag argued that the emphasis on meaning in art had become a hindrance to its true potential. She saw abstraction as a way to move beyond the constraints of representation and interpretation and to explore the emotional, sensory, and formal dimensions of art. Painting for the sake of the act of painting.
In addition to the dissolution of the subject-matter and any figurative anchor, Abstract Expressionism was characterized by a focus on spontaneity, chance, gesture, material accidents, stains, drips, splatters, random marking, intuitive doodling, composition games… A reaction against the rigid formalism and representationalism of the European modernist tradition, to let painting reach its own autonomy, and explore its own endemic features, beyond its preconceived functional and formal boundaries.
Furthermore, Abstract Expressionism was historically relevant for several reasons. First, it represented a major shift in the center of the art world from Paris to New York, from Europe to the United States. Most of the leading figures of the movement, such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, Clyfford Still, Cy Twombly, and Robert Rauschenberg were based in New York City at various points during their careers, and their work helped establish the city as the major cultural hub it is today.
Second, Abstract Expressionism marked a break with traditional art-making techniques and conventions. The emphasis on spontaneity and improvisation encouraged artists to experiment with new materials and approaches, leading to different innovations in visual arts.
Finally, Abstract Expressionism was seen as a reflection of the broader social and cultural changes taking place in post-World War II America. The movement was associated with ideas of freedom, individualism, and the rejection of established norms and values. As such, it had a profound impact on the development of American culture and the arts in the decades that followed.
While the Abstract Expressionist movement has been subject to a number of criticisms over the years, such as its lack of diversity, its sometimes shallow formalism, its political apathy, its elitism, or even its political instrumentalization as a part of the Cultural Cold War; it has also been widely celebrated for being a major turning point in the history of Western art.
Interestingly, 80 years later, visual arts are facing a new major challenge with a similar scope to that of the emergence of photography in the 19th century, which led to a rethinking of the purpose of painting: post-modernity. The truth is that the complex and multifaceted cultural shift called post-modernity has brought many positive changes and innovations to the world of art and culture, such as the rejection of pedantic narratives, a skepticism toward authority, authenticity, and tradition, the blurring of boundaries between high and low culture, the embrace of diversity and difference, the rise of digital media and the proliferation of information, as well as the rejection of the modernist ideals of purity, autonomy, and progress, with a new emphasis on hybridity, intertextuality, and irony.
However, post-modernity has also created new problems as a consequence of the hyper-fragmentation of cultural forms, the rise of consumer culture, and overall, an overwhelming image overstimuli. First, the issue of desensitization: The constant stream of images in post-modern culture can lead to a sense of numbness, in which individuals become less responsive to the emotional and aesthetic impact of images. Second, the issue of shallow engagement: The fast pace of image consumption can also lead to a superficial engagement with art and culture, in which individuals are more focused on scrolling and browsing than on deep reflection or critical engagement. Third, the issue of attention fatigue: The constant noise and overstimulation of post-modern culture can also lead to a sense of exhaustion or fatigue, in which individuals become overwhelmed by the sheer volume and intensity of visual and sensory input.
Today we are witnessing an impressively powerful renaissance of the abstract genre in Web3 that recursively rejects and revels in the problems of post-modernity in the digital age. This new stage of abstraction is not only a reactivation of the age-old conversation among creators, but also a massive rise of interest in digital abstraction among collectors, curators, marketplaces, auction houses, and institutions.
One way to understand this is to consider that digital art has opened up new avenues for exploration in abstract art, allowing artists to experiment with color, texture, movement, interactivity, and especially the nature of abstraction via the screen, in very innovative ways. Moreover, the decentralized and interconnected nature of Web3 has created new opportunities for artists to collaborate, share, and distribute their work, and has challenged traditional models of ownership and authorship. In this sense, the rise of digital abstraction in Web3 can be seen as a continuation of the avant-garde spirit of the 20th century, in which artists are continually pushing the boundaries of what painting can be, and exploring new ways of engaging with and transforming the world around them. So in 2023, the abstract framework is as relevant as it once was, willing to redefine its own boundaries one more time.
The hype is real.
Digital abstraction, crypto abstraction, neo abstraction, blockchain abstraction, non-generative abstraction, Post-abstraction… All these different terms aim to coin the same phenomenon that Fakewhale Cross is tackling with the current Ab.jpeg curated drop, which includes 12 of the most exciting digital abstractors in the ecosystem. They are currently exploring, investigating, and playing with the digital native abstract image. This investigation is not exclusive to the act of creation, but also in regard to how these works should and can be displayed, showed and consumed on the screen of an electronic device connected to the internet. This results in an ongoing critical examination of the nature of abstraction, a paradigm shift that has definitely rejuvenated the genre both formally and conceptually.
Ab.jpeg is an essential drop because there’s a need to curate and journal Post-abstraction as the historically relevant movement it has become. First, it is included in the most recent major shift in the center of the art world, this time from the US to the Metaverse. Web3 has become, de facto, a blossoming cultural hub where the selected artists for this drop discuss, interact, collaborate, collect, create, get inspired, and make a living on a daily basis.
Second, Post-abstraction is marking a break with traditional AbEx techniques and conventions. The digital medium comes hand in hand with new endemic tools and image features that have altered the aesthetic and visual quality of the abstract image per se. The previous emphasis on gesture, material accidents, stains, drips, splatters, random marking, and intuitive doodling has been replaced with a new framework whose focus is now on glitch, data-moshing, data-bending, plotting, AI outputs, image-editing and digital-painting software, 3D modeling, creative coding, motion-design, optical distortions, screen manipulation, etc.
And finally, Post-abstraction has become a reflection of the broader social and cultural changes taking place in the world through Web3. This new abstraction is now permeated with ideas of decentralization, interoperability, privacy and security, openness and transparency, inclusivity, artist autonomy, and the rejection of obsolete norms and values.
Post-abstraction is definitely making history, and the Fakewhale Cross Ab.jpeg curated drop is here to chronicle it on the blockchain.
