FOR THE LOVE OF THE ART COMMUNITY
“It is the love of this community. This art resonates deeply with the web3, blockchain and crypto community: they get that this system and idea of where code is creating art and that is art in itself.”
”Ph.D. in code wizardry and pixel-pushing sorcery.” That’s how MacTuitui describes himself. And it is apt. MacTuitui (known in IRL as Alexis André) is a wildly popular NFT artist living in Japan. “I wish I was able to draw better when I was younger,” shares Alexis. “But I’ve always been curious about computers and have used technology to help me.”
Instead of taking the time to learn to draw, MacTuitui pumped all his energy into learning computer programming: “I even got a PhD in computer graphics – so I kind of know my way around programming graphic systems and other software.” He’s too modest: he’s definitely a code wizard and a pixel-pushing sorcerer.
“I am expressing myself through the second best way I know of – and that is using code to generate visuals on the spot; that’s the beauty of it,” he explains. “The second aspect of my passion for generative art is in the immediacy of the process: I can spend hours creating a system that can generate a new piece instantly. There’s some magic in how that happens.”
MacTuitui’s systems are sophisticated yet beautiful. “I don’t know what’s going to be generated by the coding; it is coming from controlled randomness. The output is unknown – even though I’ve designed the system, its rules, and its inputs. I created the system and how the program should generate the piece, but I also expect the output to surprise me.”
This system has an interaction that’s innovative. MacTuitui’s leveraging that to create ever better art and to improve his system even further. His aim, he says, is to “design a system that will provide me with some stimuli that will help me get better at what I’m doing, a feedback loop of sorts.”
Even for a code wizard and pixel-pushing sorcerer, those many hours writing code can be tiring and tough. However, his reward far outweighs his efforts, he shares. “It is the love of this community. This art resonates deeply with the web3, blockchain, and crypto community: they get that this system and idea of where code is creating art, and that is art in itself. We have a place for our art, and we’re truly appreciative for this moment where our art is recognized and enjoyed.”
