Le Random, a digital generative art institution, has announced an $8 million seed fund to establish a permanent collection celebrating the heritage of the generative art movement,
Le Random collects, contextualizes, and elevates landmark works from iconic generative artists on Tezos and Ethereum. The institution, founded by thefunnyguys and Zack Taylor, seeks to build the world’s most comprehensive digital generative art collection.
The name “Le Random” pays homage to Hungarian media artist Vera Molnár, a pioneer of generative art, who cites randomness as a key force in generative art because it helps extend human creativity by showing results that may even surprise the artist themselves.
The institution’s core team is advised by mixed-media artist Anne Spalter, generative art historian Georg Bak, and Jason Bailey (Artnome), who has long been a proponent of the generative art space. According to Bailey, this group will “inspire a new and diverse generation of artists and thinkers to push the boundaries of what is possible, ask important questions about the role of technology in our lives, and create a more vibrant and innovative cultural landscape.”
This seed round was led by Metaversal, RockawayX, Collab+Currency, and Bright Moments founder Seth Goldstein.
Dan Schmerin, President of Metaversal, sees generative art as “one of the most important visual art forms in the 21st century,” and will likely play an ever-greater role in the art world, driving the imperative to build more education and institutional support for artists and collectors.
Additionally, the history of generative art extends beyond the modern era, due to its “surprise” factor, and nicely integrates into current NFT and blockchain explorations. According to Dusan Kovacic, CIO of RockawayX, “Generative art fits naturally on a blockchain, as each execution of the code produces a unique piece of art that is stored forever on the chain,” making it ideally suited for an institutional approach that respects its legacy and represents the diversity, scope and ambition of the space.
Le Random will also have a strong editorial branch featuring in-depth articles, interviews with industry innovators and special research projects that explore the breadth and depth of the entire movement. Writer and researcher Peter Bauman will head up the editorial output and analyst Conrad House will help identify potential acquisitions.
