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I first heard about Robert Hodgin (aka Flight404) when Sableraph shared his Growth v01 collection. He also told me Robert was a veteran in the generative art world and significantly influenced his work. His first two drops on Fxhash were successful, but it wasn’t until his latest drop, titled Growth v02, that Robert caught the eye of many generative NFT enthusiasts.
His collections immediately went into the spotlight and have been at the top of the FxHash volume ranks for several weeks.
Growth v02 by Robert Hodgin AKA Flight404 (animated)
I wanted to learn more about Robert, and he was keen to share more about his story transitioning into the NFT art world.
I heard about NFTs from my artist friends who were starting to explore that world. I had a rough start with NFTs, having applied to some of the early art NFT sites like SuperRare and NiftyGateway and never hearing back. I had a less-than-stellar experience on Foundation and then just stopped thinking about NFTs for nearly a year. I muted the term on Twitter and just assumed it wasn't for me. A good while later, I saw that some of my friends were talking about FxHash so I gave it a peek and saw that it was something that I hadn't seen before -- generative code editions via NFTs. I guess ArtBlocks (and probably several others) had been doing something similar already. I asked James "Presstube" Paterson about his experience with FxHash and he said it was great and that I should definitely get involved. He wasn't wrong.
Initially, my creative process was akin to dusting off old paintings and hanging them on the wall again. I hadn't coded JavaScript and my experience with Processing ended over a decade ago, having switched to Cinder/C++ and now Houdini/Vex. I knew I wanted to try and port something from Vex back into p5js so I chose a recent project that I was still familiar with and ported it line by line as I was simultaneously learning the ins and outs of JavaScript. I have not made work that needed to run in a browser since my days using Flash. It was initially frustrating, but I learned to love the limitations.
With each new project, my comfort level with p5js grows and now my creative process involves thinking about what algorithmic processes I'd like to explore in real-time that previously I was only able to see as overnight renders. Going back to the world of interactive framerates has been a nice breath of fresh air. Made me realize how much I missed it.
I'm in love with the work of Rich Lord. Though I knew his Houdini work before seeing any of the NFTs he created. He has an amazing eye and his work can often straddle the line between cute and ominous and I think that is a great place to explore. Sage Jenson (mxsage) recently released a series on FeralFile and it is superb. Their slime mold GPU pieces are incredibly satisfying to watch and interact with. Emily Xie just teased some new artworks on Twitter that look fantastic. Great use of color and texture.
It feels like Robert is just getting started in the NFT space. Although Growth v02 is already one of my favorite generative art collections, I can’t wait to see what he comes up with in the future. It feels like once he masters more tools, there will be even more exciting creations coming from him.
Besides NFTs, Robert has designed many impressive projects and installations. Akari Lanterns is a system for creating paper lanterns in the style of Noguchi.
If you liked Robert’s creations, don’t forget to follow him on Twitter and check out his professional portfolio.
Until next time,
- Kaloh
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Kaloh
