Kjetil Golid • Artist Spotlight

I’ve been interested in various blockchain technologies for a long time, but it wasn’t until someone reached out to me, suggesting that some of my generative pieces could do well on the “crypto art scene”, that I really discovered crypto collectibles and everything people did with NFTs.

I was fascinated by the great engagement around platforms like CryptoKitties and Decentraland, and figured it would be fun to be a part of the innovation.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Inspiration can come from vastly different places, but I really enjoy discovering intricate patterns and structures, trying to define and isolate their interesting characteristics. I make an attempt to generalize and/or parameterize these characteristics, so that they can be defined in code and ultimately used to generate unique visuals with (hopefully) the intricate characteristics from the original kept intact.

What do you think of traditional artwork?

I find traditional art to be a huge source of awe and inspiration, with the said patterns and structures often coming from classical paintings and drawings.

What got you in to Crypto art?

I’ve been interested in various blockchain technologies for a long time, but it wasn’t until someone reached out to me, suggesting that some of my generative pieces could do well on the “crypto art scene”, that I really discovered crypto collectibles and everything people did with NFTs. I was fascinated by the great engagement around platforms like CryptoKitties and Decentraland, and figured it would be fun to be a part of the innovation.

Do you think your art is fulfilling a purpose?

I think my pieces are fulfilling a purpose by engaging people that wouldn’t normally be engaged by code and algorithms. For what it is worth, I remember computational / generative art as being the thing that got me into computer programming in the first place. In general though, I think most people don’t think of programming as a platform for creative expression, which is unfortunate, because it is a canvas that is around us all the time. I think that if we where to change this impression of computer programming amongst people, we would contribute greatly to the recruitment of a more diverse crowd of programmers. With such a goal in mind, I usually make all the code behind my generative pieces available for everyone, encouraging curious people to take a look.

Final question, what’s next for you as an artist?

My latest generative pieces have not been independent pieces as much as they have been interactive tools for creating pieces, taking user input either through customizable numerical parameters, or through loading entire images as input. This has resulted in some great work with people having shown a lot of creativity, and I have absolutely loved seeing what they’ve come up with. It is always hard predicting future directions, but I hope to further develop some of these interactive tools all the while making attractive and engaging images.