SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅]
Quote from CohentheWriter on 18. October 2022, 23:55Museum Link: https://app.museumofcryptoart.com/collection/the-permanent-collection?collection=0x2A46f2fFD99e19a89476E2f62270e0a35bBf0756&token=12546&page=5
Source Link: https://makersplace.com/wizardx/sparklebosstm-2020-5-of-5-15666/
Date Minted: December 29, 2019
Artist Description: Don't be afraid. The SparkleBoss is here to help. Pop culture, absurd, haunting; at times political- sometimes recursive, WizardX™ offers original digital art built for the crypto generation. Digitial imagery that is highly experimental in both artistic expression and exploration of the combinatorial space of metadata relationships. Most artwork is digital in origin and employs upwards of several dozen computational manipulation algorithms; ranging from complex machine learning to simple online meme factory tools. Get some son.
CohentheWriter’s Commentary:
“Don't be afraid. The SparkleBoss is here to help.” And with these words begin the Artist Description for WizardX’s bizarre and slightly terrifying artwork, SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅]. Of course, as is the norm for WizardX’s artwork, there’s not one dominant tone on display here, instead a blending of high and low cultural symbols, economic information and surrealist compositions; hell, even the title is a stylistic blend of adolescent terminology with reasonably complicated pictographic constructions. “Pop culture, absurd, haunting; at times political- sometimes recursive, WizardX™ offers original digital art built for the crypto generation,” is how the artist describes themselves later on in SparkleBoss’ Artist Description. It’s a prescient and impressive encapsulation of their own style. And style is really the keyword when we’re talking about WizardX; their slapdash, tone-melding sensibility is not only inimitable, it’s entirely incompressible. It seems to explode off of every image, whether in the strange blended manner of SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅] or in pieces like Ether Soup™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ 2021.1 )̲̅$̲̅], where a general air of lunacy is tempered by the sinister size of the subjects. Almost always, we see this blend of tones. Almost always, we see reused symbols. In the case of Ether Soup™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ 2021.1 )̲̅$̲̅], it’s the Campbell’s Soup-inspired labels on the cans and WizardX’s pink ghost logo (which is hidden, though present, in Sparkleboss), and in SparkleBoss itself, it’s the ghostly and looming Uncle Sam facsimile. Out of 22 artworks on Makersplace, at least three feature this distorted Uncle Sam, eight contain the WizardX ghost, a few contain a photo of Dorian Nakamoto, and then there’s the repeated usage of the Campbell’s cans, of the Bitcoin and Ethereum symbols, etc. WizardX’s artwork almost seems like a twisted play on branding exercises, accosting us with the same symbols again and again, changing the exact nature of their surroundings —color, tone, accoutrement— so as to keep them fresh while still hammering them into our cognizances.
But let’s return back to SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅], because while so much of WizardX’s artwork is weird and self-referential, this piece, within its goopy folds, contains an enviable encapsulation of the artist’s style. We can’t even begin talking about the piece without mentioning one of these repeated symbols, the aforementioned Weird Uncle Sam in the very center of the piece. He’s still recognizable by the standards of his most famous cultural source, those Vietnam-era “I Want You” posters. Americans were needed to fight in Vietnam, and so all over the country were plastered these large and intimidating posters of America’s symbolic “Uncle Sam,” his long, Abe-Lincoln-like face in a perpetual half-scowl, his head covered in a red-white-and-blue hat —shaped like the one here in SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅]— with one fat finger pointed at the fourth wall, towards you. Under WizardX’s influence, however, Uncle Sam seems sallow and gaunt. Though that’s probably an effect of WizardX’s eyeless ghost symbol being overlaid on top of Uncle Sam’s face. His suit, however, is sparkling and translucent. His outstretched arm almost fading out of existence; he cuts not so powerful a picture as perhaps he did in the 1960’s. He’s also not cloaked in his normal patriotic hues; the whole piece is awash in rainbow colors that travel in thick diagonal swatches across the frame’s hypotenuse. A filter over everything causes it to look somewhat staticky, in places mimicking the texture of a fingerprint. Just to the right of Weird Uncle Sam’s head is a melted clump of other recognizable symbols, their edges welded together as if by digital fire. The Ethereum symbol and Bitcoin symbol and WizardX symbol, all three contained in individual spheres like lotto balls. Behind all of this iconography are a few less clear objects: a melted coupe glass, or chainlink-like lines that move across the screen mimicking the movement of the stock market, up and down and up and down. Or perhaps they’re city skylines. Certainly in points, their peaks mimic the scalps of tall buildings. Or perhaps that’s just an effect of the image’s overall distorting effect. Perhaps they’re not anything recognizable at all.
Usually, in a collage-inspired piece like this which throws together so many unlike symbols, there’s a sense that the interplay between them creates new pathways to understanding all. Or understanding their confluence. But in SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅], the symbols themselves seem to be sapped of their meanings, becoming arcane by their associations. Each one is also warped substantially by the filters over the larger frame, and thus none are left intact in the way that we would initially find recognizable. The coupe glass is liquified, losing its most crucial characteristic: rigidity. Weird Uncle Sam loses his authority, the cryptocurrency symbols lose their conceptual highmindedness (when aesthetically linked to the lottery), and even WizardX’s own icon loses its recognizability when stripped of its usual pink color. We’re left with the literal archaic composition of all these symbols; they’re reduced to lines and shapes and actual representations instead of intimations. It’s a kind of grand destruction WizardX is showing us.
Now look again at Weird Uncle Sam’s outstretched hand. Unmarried from the real world’s understanding of that symbol, is he still extending himself to intimidate and ensnare? Or is he reaching out for help? In a hat like that, with a jacket like his, I wouldn’t be so surprised. Ultimately, he has been reduced to the level of abstraction. Now, we get to fill in his motives ourselves.
Source Link: https://makersplace.com/wizardx/sparklebosstm-2020-5-of-5-15666/
Date Minted: December 29, 2019
Artist Description: Don't be afraid. The SparkleBoss is here to help. Pop culture, absurd, haunting; at times political- sometimes recursive, WizardX™ offers original digital art built for the crypto generation. Digitial imagery that is highly experimental in both artistic expression and exploration of the combinatorial space of metadata relationships. Most artwork is digital in origin and employs upwards of several dozen computational manipulation algorithms; ranging from complex machine learning to simple online meme factory tools. Get some son.
CohentheWriter’s Commentary:
“Don't be afraid. The SparkleBoss is here to help.” And with these words begin the Artist Description for WizardX’s bizarre and slightly terrifying artwork, SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅]. Of course, as is the norm for WizardX’s artwork, there’s not one dominant tone on display here, instead a blending of high and low cultural symbols, economic information and surrealist compositions; hell, even the title is a stylistic blend of adolescent terminology with reasonably complicated pictographic constructions. “Pop culture, absurd, haunting; at times political- sometimes recursive, WizardX™ offers original digital art built for the crypto generation,” is how the artist describes themselves later on in SparkleBoss’ Artist Description. It’s a prescient and impressive encapsulation of their own style. And style is really the keyword when we’re talking about WizardX; their slapdash, tone-melding sensibility is not only inimitable, it’s entirely incompressible. It seems to explode off of every image, whether in the strange blended manner of SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅] or in pieces like Ether Soup™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ 2021.1 )̲̅$̲̅], where a general air of lunacy is tempered by the sinister size of the subjects. Almost always, we see this blend of tones. Almost always, we see reused symbols. In the case of Ether Soup™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ 2021.1 )̲̅$̲̅], it’s the Campbell’s Soup-inspired labels on the cans and WizardX’s pink ghost logo (which is hidden, though present, in Sparkleboss), and in SparkleBoss itself, it’s the ghostly and looming Uncle Sam facsimile. Out of 22 artworks on Makersplace, at least three feature this distorted Uncle Sam, eight contain the WizardX ghost, a few contain a photo of Dorian Nakamoto, and then there’s the repeated usage of the Campbell’s cans, of the Bitcoin and Ethereum symbols, etc. WizardX’s artwork almost seems like a twisted play on branding exercises, accosting us with the same symbols again and again, changing the exact nature of their surroundings —color, tone, accoutrement— so as to keep them fresh while still hammering them into our cognizances.
But let’s return back to SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅], because while so much of WizardX’s artwork is weird and self-referential, this piece, within its goopy folds, contains an enviable encapsulation of the artist’s style. We can’t even begin talking about the piece without mentioning one of these repeated symbols, the aforementioned Weird Uncle Sam in the very center of the piece. He’s still recognizable by the standards of his most famous cultural source, those Vietnam-era “I Want You” posters. Americans were needed to fight in Vietnam, and so all over the country were plastered these large and intimidating posters of America’s symbolic “Uncle Sam,” his long, Abe-Lincoln-like face in a perpetual half-scowl, his head covered in a red-white-and-blue hat —shaped like the one here in SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅]— with one fat finger pointed at the fourth wall, towards you. Under WizardX’s influence, however, Uncle Sam seems sallow and gaunt. Though that’s probably an effect of WizardX’s eyeless ghost symbol being overlaid on top of Uncle Sam’s face. His suit, however, is sparkling and translucent. His outstretched arm almost fading out of existence; he cuts not so powerful a picture as perhaps he did in the 1960’s. He’s also not cloaked in his normal patriotic hues; the whole piece is awash in rainbow colors that travel in thick diagonal swatches across the frame’s hypotenuse. A filter over everything causes it to look somewhat staticky, in places mimicking the texture of a fingerprint. Just to the right of Weird Uncle Sam’s head is a melted clump of other recognizable symbols, their edges welded together as if by digital fire. The Ethereum symbol and Bitcoin symbol and WizardX symbol, all three contained in individual spheres like lotto balls. Behind all of this iconography are a few less clear objects: a melted coupe glass, or chainlink-like lines that move across the screen mimicking the movement of the stock market, up and down and up and down. Or perhaps they’re city skylines. Certainly in points, their peaks mimic the scalps of tall buildings. Or perhaps that’s just an effect of the image’s overall distorting effect. Perhaps they’re not anything recognizable at all.
Usually, in a collage-inspired piece like this which throws together so many unlike symbols, there’s a sense that the interplay between them creates new pathways to understanding all. Or understanding their confluence. But in SparkleBoss™ [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅2020)̲̅$̲̅], the symbols themselves seem to be sapped of their meanings, becoming arcane by their associations. Each one is also warped substantially by the filters over the larger frame, and thus none are left intact in the way that we would initially find recognizable. The coupe glass is liquified, losing its most crucial characteristic: rigidity. Weird Uncle Sam loses his authority, the cryptocurrency symbols lose their conceptual highmindedness (when aesthetically linked to the lottery), and even WizardX’s own icon loses its recognizability when stripped of its usual pink color. We’re left with the literal archaic composition of all these symbols; they’re reduced to lines and shapes and actual representations instead of intimations. It’s a kind of grand destruction WizardX is showing us.
Now look again at Weird Uncle Sam’s outstretched hand. Unmarried from the real world’s understanding of that symbol, is he still extending himself to intimidate and ensnare? Or is he reaching out for help? In a hat like that, with a jacket like his, I wouldn’t be so surprised. Ultimately, he has been reduced to the level of abstraction. Now, we get to fill in his motives ourselves.