What is art?

I want to tell you a story of how a transaction on the blockchain was actually one of the most powerful forms of artistic expression. How the transaction itself, which sprouted from within the Genuine Undead (GU) NFT project, told a story of love and war. A truly historic moment, not only for NFTs, but digital art and traditional art mediums as well.

Allow me to give you some context, because context is always critical. Context provides us with an understanding if something was intentional or not, whether an action or a thing has any particular meaning or the lack thereof. Not every brushstroke is art, but in the right context, even a single drop of paint can convey an artist’s vision to the beholder. I suppose, the context of anything is the deciding factor on how it is received, understood and appreciated.

Many well-known artists’ work can be identified by the brushstroke techniques they used. The movement of the paint across the canvas can tell a detailed story, from a technical perspective, but more importantly, by conveying the artist’s impressions and feelings. Memories are evoked and similitudes are drawn through visual stimulation. The consequence of this is art that touches the viewer emotionally, on a personal level.

I would argue that blockchain transactions, in the right context, can also elicit thoughts, feelings, discussions and beauty. They too are able to tell a story, leaving their own ‘brush strokes’ immortally on the blockchain.

Would that not be art too?

Love and War

Within the Genuine Undead collection there are eight legendary 1/1 PFPs, entirely unique and powerfully symbolic. They are Faith, Love, Nature, Power, Strength, Chaos, Life and War.

The ‘Story of Burning War’ chronicles how two Genuine Undead (GU) community members, inspired by this collection, caused what can only be described as one of the most beautiful blockchain transactions in the history of NFTs and Crypto. Individuals, behaving intentionally, in ways that defeat rational explanation, did things that are pure expressional art, when the context is understood. Much like the respected & famous artists of the past and present who have defined artistic expression for many.

The story involves two of our GU community members, Skel_eth (Skel) and Veryseriousinvestor (Veryserious), both fiercely passionate about the GU art and project as a whole. In the nascent days of our project, Skel acquired four of the 1/1 legendaries, namely, Chaos, Faith, Love and Strength. Veryserious owned the 1/1 War.

On September 3, 2022, Skel (through Metawin_xyz) purchased War from Veryseriousinvestor for 8 ETH.

Later that same day, Veryseriousinvestor bought Love from Skel for 8 ETH.

Fast forward to the next day, in the early hours of the 4th of September, 2022, whilst Genuine Undead was holding a Twitter Spaces. Somebody commented that Skel had sold War on OpenSea for a minuscule $.02. The transaction was from Metawin_xyz (Skel_eth’s business wallet) to Skel_eth, his personal wallet. How strange. People in the Twitter Spaces commented that this was ‘very weird’, because the transfer could have been made without selling the NFT on the open market. It was thought that the low price had degraded the artwork, since it had just been bought for 8 ETH a day earlier. I now realise, this was a warning shot. A flare of sorts, in order to grab the attention of the community, the ‘wallet watchers’ and to set the stage for the final act.

Moments later, the unthinkable happened. The legendary 1/1 War NFT was burned. Sent to a wallet address from which it can never be retrieved. Delivered to an abyss from where nothing can ever return. Removed from the collection, indefinitely.

I felt a shock and chaos in my mind. The Twitter Spaces died instantly and silence settled in as we all wondered what had just happened. One of our core community members, tMaison, said “this adds to the lore”. But I didn’t believe it at the time. We ended the Spaces. I needed to find out what had just happened, and why.

I spoke to Skel. He told me he had a disagreement with some others in our Discord server, and although this wasn’t the reason for his actions, it was a catalyst for what had just happened. He explained to me that it was no ones ‘fault’, that he is a collector of art who thinks about his art on a deeper level, and that he had the idea to burn War all along.

He went on to say that at some point, he was speaking with Veryserious, who at that time, owned War, but who didn’t like having it in his wallet, because he felt it had “bad energy”. This set the stage for Skel to trade Love for War!

It turns out that Skel’s family has familial ties to Ukraine. This gave him a direct connection to the war there and reminded him of the war and atrocities committed globally. Skel felt that “no one should own war”. He explained to me that he could have traded any of the legendary 1/1s for War, but he specifically chose Love. He wanted to give love and burn war, so that only love remains.

This was his artistic expression. That these are not just JPEGs; they are symbols. Symbols immortalised on the Blockchain, along with their transactional dance from wallet to wallet.

I did not sleep at all that night. Instead, I considered what had just happened and fell into it. It all started to become clear to me. This was magical. At that moment it felt like I had just witnessed the first instance of Banksy’s self shredding artwork of Girl with Balloon. The chaos and confusion that reigned immediately after the burning of War was gradually replaced with an awe inspiring sensation of greatness and beauty. I was elated when I realised I had just witnessed the first act of Transactional Artistic Expression on the Blockchain™.

The emotions I was feeling and the lack of sleep combined into a dizzying swirl. Despite this, I wanted to record this momentous occasion, claiming it for the history books and not to allow it to go unnoticed or to slip away into the darkness. I ran over to Discord and in a flurry I began typing away to explain to the Undead what had just happened, lest I forget it. All I could manage to do, at that moment, in order to let the world know that something special had just happened was to tweet out from the Official Genuine Undead Twitter account, my own interpretation (link, here):

“Love was traded for War today! The collector burnt war. War has negative energy. No one can own war! These aren’t jpegs. These are symbols! Don’t you get it! The WAR is OVER. LOVE remains! So love your fellow man! Love your fellow Undead. For this day! WAR has been Abolished!!”

In the days and weeks that have passed since the burning of War, I have told the story to many that I have encountered. It has become even more profound and thought-provoking with the passage of time. It has inspired a new generation of Web3 enthusiasts that see this as a powerful and deep expression of art. It brings into sharp focus some of the oppressive and barbaric traits of men and women all around the world. But it also shows that love can reign supreme, creating genuine hope in the heart.

A Rare Event

Every so often, something profound occurs. It changes the rules and the ways in which we, as human beings, express ourselves. Mediums of art and modes of expression have metamorphosed over the course of human development. Art is not limited to a single dimension. It is composed of layers, one above the other, utilising several mediums at a time to elicit a reaction in the beholder.

A feature of Blockchain technology is that every transaction is recorded forever. The freedom to transact on the blockchain as a sovereign individual has inspired a variety of performances involving burn addresses. But none have been as profound and meaningful as The Burning of War for Love.

The Renaissance period was a profound moment in our history. It changed the way people thought, as they rediscovered classical philosophy, literature, and art. It showed that art is not confined to the canvas. Art can be expressed through the careful planning of actions, intentions and placement of words, musical notes or droplets of paint.

And now, we can add Transactional Artistic Expression on the Blockchain™ to the list of “what is art”.

Stay Genuine.

Boom 💥

Special thanks to Literature Council @GenuineUndead

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#BurningWar #GenuineUndead #UndeadNeverDie #UndeadArmy #CommunityisUtility #NFT #Pixelart #FineArt #Decentralisation #Genuine

Website. Twitter. Opensea.

We were dead; now we are undead

Written by Doctorboom 💥

Genuine /ˈdʒɛnjʊɪn/

AdjectiveAuthentic; truly what something is said to be

Genuine Undead (GU) is a digital art project that was released on the 13th of August 2022 as a silent free mint. A 10K masterpiece pixel art collection by an anonymous artist (the founder) who described it as a “24*24 pixel art collection you have never seen before.”

Very rarely, within the Web3 space, does a genuinely unique collection appear. The bulk of Web3 projects are in some way, shape or form, derivatives of one another, copying the art style, traits, theme and sometimes even the business model of the original. Genuine Undead is a unique collection from every perspective. It has a unique beginning, unique branding, unique art style, unique community with a unique ethos and a unique model that has never been achieved in Web3.

The art speaks for itself. While browsing the collection, one contemplates how the founder used every pixel to absolute perfection, to achieve the pinnacle of what can be created within the confines of a 24 by 24 grid. Despite the format’s constraints, the artist was able to create unsurpassed detail, depth and fidelity compared to previous attempts within the same format. I would go so far to say that, from a technical standpoint, it is the best pixel art collection to ever exist.

The traits in the Genuine Undead collection evoke a sense of mesmerisation, imagination, and spontaneous storytelling for fans and collectors alike. During a recent AMA with Stephen Fung (an international award-winning film director) he agreed that the very nomenclature for “the GU collections traits invite storytelling and imagination”. Stories of Lous and Roys (trait types within the GU collection) have circulated from the very beginning, as well as a host of other lore. The GU collection invites such imagination and has thus spawned a flood of memes, lore, fan art, and ‘banter’ amongst the community. This enriches the community and the project as a whole.

Although differing in art styles, both Cryptopunks (the first pixel art NFT project) and GU use a 24 x 24 format of pixel art. However, the difference overall between the impact and the artistic expression is like night and day. GU achieves images that look abstract upon close inspection and profoundly detailed when shrunk down and used as a personal profile picture (PFP).

Many collections such as Cryptopunks, Doodles and BAYC have seen numerous derivatives spawn in their wake. During the bear market of 2022, Web3 has become a breeding ground for unimaginative derivative projects, promising whitelists, mutants, serums, staking rewards and other ‘utilities’, in a last ditch effort to continue to create engagement from its community. However, most have failed to provide anything other than hype. A large portion of these communities and investors were ignored, rugged (used as exit liquidity), left unheard and eventually designated to hold their NFTs as their respective value dwindled and as their gated Discord servers suffered a similar slow decline.

This formula must change in order to breathe new life into the Web3 digital art space. Genuine Undead is changing this formula.

Rise and Shine

The Genuine Undead collection released without prior marketing, no project roadmaps and no community preparation or hype. When I checked the official Twitter page on day one of the release, there were only around 200 Twitter followers. This was unusual to me at first. I was accustomed to seeing thousands of followers for even the most basic of projects, comparatively, this was certainly one of the best art collections I had seen in some time. The founder was quietly reserved during the initial release and there were no persistent updates, also something we had normally become conditioned to expect. Nevertheless, if you were to see my twitter feed in those ‘early’ days, even still today, it had / has become completely consumed by GU, with people from all over the world marvelling at the intricacies and beauty of this pixel art collection.

When the founder awoke the next day, to this frenzy and saw over 300 ETH in trading volume on Opensea, his reaction was literally “I am going to die.” He was genuine and unfiltered. It became clear that the founder had not expected this sudden, almost viral uptake, at all, and he announced to the public at the time he would not be organising a Discord, there would be no roadmap and that you can use the PFP’s as you like. Later on he confessed to me that “I am an artist; not a leader.” Despite this temporary lack of guidance it did not deter the community that was forming rapidly, rallying around this stunning art which they viewed as a diamond in the rough.

As the only person with direct contact to the founder, it fell upon my shoulders to provide some foundation for the community to build upon. I set up a Discord, of my own accord, as an unofficial community server, bringing everyone together and started harnessing the energy of the community. I did this alongside my career as a senior emergency medicine doctor, in the UK. The launch coincided whilst I was on five straight nights, on 12 hour shifts, however, despite this I felt the happiest I had ever been. It felt to me as though I was involved in something far more important than my own significance. I was rewarded by the same energy reflecting back from all other community members, many ready and willing to put their time and effort into this labour of love. Certainly, from a metaphorical standpoint we were dead; now we had arisen as the undead and this was our time to shine.

Shortly after that, the founder recognised the community Discord as the official Discord, provided us with access to the Twitter account, and vowed to support us indefinitely through ideas and artistic input. He placed his trust in complete strangers scattered across the globe, to propagate the forgotten message of Satoshi and he believed in all of us. This gift, of project autonomy, was in and of itself, an expression of art in its truest form, and it inspired the GU community to uphold and honour the genuine values we hope to rekindle Web3 with, in the hopes that it will lead to good.

The founder communicated with the community by delivering three ‘Green Papers’, setting out his thoughts, vision and ethos for the project. Genuine Undead embodies decentralisation, community, genuineness, innovation and freedom. GU strives to become a symbol of resistance, or rebirth, of constantly challenging the impossible.

One of the messages sent to me by the founder reads:

“Tell the people I’m not going anywhere. I never thought GU would turn me into a millionaire. That’s why I’m willing to lower my royalties to 2.5%, that’s why I’m willing to let people i’ve never met help us run the whole community, because I believe everyone has the right to decide, and isn’t that what decentralisation is all about? In fact when I discovered that GU could be used as a way to unite people in their beliefs, all my ideas were reinforced.Using GU as a carrier to deliver our values is more important of a task than anything else. Any change will lead to doubt and suspicion, I understand that. There is definitely a road full of thorns in front of us and I am not afraid”

The Community is the Utility

It was these inspirational words from the founder that delivered his universal Web3 message, in combination with this extraordinary art collection which inspired individuals from all over the world to rise up, band together and dedicate themselves to uplift this project. Those efforts kickstarted the formation of a strong and diverse community, a vibrant and respectful Discord, daily Twitter Spaces and a multitude of chat groups. Councils have been formed to steer the project on a true course, in accordance with the principles and ethos of the founder. Councils which help to create focussed discussion, delegate responsibilities and provide a launchpad for creators and thinkers to collaborate with each other, to realise their Web3 dreams.

In the short time we have been able to self-organise we have already amassed a voluntary, passionate team of creators, developers, artists, musicians and thinkers of 100 individuals. All of whom, under the banner of GU will be working to change Web3 into what it was meant to be. The success of GU to date is undeniable. The Twitter engagement statistics, not to mention the stable floor price, prove that this model is working. All from a free mint project with no influencer promotion, no hype and no budget for marketing. All this, in a deep bear market. This is a testament to the spectacular art and the palpable genuineness of the community.

After the art, the most significant thing that GU offers is its community. Our motto is “The community is the Utility,” and we show it every day. This community will support the project through all obstacles, through the highs and the lows. Resultantly, by having a captivated, heard and involved community who has been given purpose, the project cannot die. We cannot die because we are undead. Genuine Undead.

Stay Genuine.

Boom💥

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#BurningWar #GenuineUndead #UndeadNeverDie #UndeadArmy #CommunityisUtility #NFT #Pixelart #FineArt #Decentralisation #Genuine

Website. Twitter. Opensea.