This dynamic NFT utilizes the metadata standard ARC19 on the Algorand Blockchain to allow me to change the image indefinitely while storing all of the previous states in the NFT history. I decided to use this technique to create a ‘performance’ artwork, from start to finish, all minted to a single NFT. The goal was to reveal my artistic process and allow future viewers to peel back the paint to see how the final composite came together. The artwork started as a blank canvas, and that was the original state of the artwork when the ‘performance’ began, on September 22, 2022 – the first day of Fall. The goal was to finish an artwork before the end of Fall, the target end date was December 19, 2022. Below are all of the visual states, from the blank canvas, to the finished and signed artwork.
The final composite is an abstract self-portrait, inspired by dreams and emotional reactions to certain locations I frequent, and driven by a desire to create a final work with multiple layers and ample opportunities to discover something new even after several viewings. It is divided into two distinct worlds that are ever merging and feeding one another; the world of order and algorithms (the one we inhabit), and the world of imagination and creativity. Without one there can not be the other, much like my own creative process, the world is a balance between the real and what we can imagine into existence in that reality. In this composite, I am peering into the world of imagination and creativity searching for inspiration, and discovering it in droves everywhere I look.
In the end, I used 24 unique photographs, a handful of AI-Generated elements, digital illustrations, and even some text in the final artwork. By spreading the work across several months I could contemplate each move carefully and have time between the next updates to gather the content needed. As I mentioned, this was all part of an NFT project, and the associated NFT, found here, was purchased very early in the process – after only two ideation sketch updates. The final composite exists as a digital artwork as well as a 16×20-Inch Archival Pigment Print that is available for exhibition.
Fine Art by Todd Dobbs 
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