Artist Spotlight: Divergence and the Art of On-Chain Artwork NFTs

Kevin is joined by Harri and Arran, aka Divergence, the team that brought you Brotchain -- generative NFT art with bitmaps generated from the Mandelbrot and related Mandelbar, Multibrot, and Burning Ship fractals and rendered entirely by a blockchain contract purely with Solidity code on Ethereum. Here, they discuss the mathematical seeds from which Brotchain pieces sprout, SVGs on the blockchain, the collective consciousness of the Buddhabrot, Divergence's love/hate relationship with Solidity, building fairness into the world of NFTs, and much more.

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Who are Aaran and Harri, the masterminds who comprise the entity Divergence and create Brotchain and PROOF OF {ART}WORK? [02:34]
They've been creating computational and generative art before the current NFT boom -- and, in fact, before they knew each other. How do they make their symbiosis work? [05:16]
On their first collaboration: PROOF OF {ART}WORK. [07:08]
What is the origin story behind Brotchain? [08:58]
A brief history of the mathematical seeds from which these projects have grown. [10:14]
How do Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGs) fit in to the Brotchain equation, and what is actually happening on the smart contract level when this art is generated? [13:16]
How much data/Ethereum does it take to store one of these images? How much stress did this create from a "What if this doesn't sell" standpoint? [15:05]
What technical hiccups could have upset the Brotchain process, and what consequences were risked? [16:31]
How did Brotchain launch day go? [17:41]
With 512 pieces available, what was the starting price of Brotchain art? [21:00]
How did they code the project to allow for buyer customization (aka "blockchain paint by numbers") to Brotchain? Can changes be made after a save? Was this a first-in-kind innovation? [21:31]
Different types of Brots, and the collectors who love them. [24:31]
How hard is it for someone to collect a full set of Brots at the time of this podcast? Which ones have been the most popular, and what gets math-loving collectors excited about them? [25:50]
Why did Divergence give away 100 Ethereum (60 percent of their Brotchain primary sales) to charity, and who benefited from this generosity? What stumbling blocks currently exist for donating crypto to a non-profit? [28:38]
The story of the Buddhabrot and the interesting developments that have been happening with the PROOF OF {ART}WORK project's grand finale piece. [31:04]
Any plans to print these pieces for display? [38:15]
What's next for Divergence? [39:08]
Thoughts on the intersection of AI and blockchain art, and Divergence's love/hate relationship with Solidity. [42:09]
Divergence's attitude on extending NFTs to be more interactive in disparate future contexts. [45:07]
Other artists Divergence is rooting for. [48:45]
How can people be on the lookout for further projects from Divergence? [51:43]
How can more fairness and accessibility be built into the world of NFTs? [53:21]
Parting thoughts. [54:42]

Artist Spotlight: Divergence and the Art of On-Chain Artwork NFTs

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