Dendrorithms — An Art Installation on the Blockchain

Left to right: [lilac — 4 cores], [phosphor — 1 core] and [verdigris — 11 cores]

Most NFTs are no more than a certificate of ownership, linking to a file somewhere on the internet. But there’s so much more we can do with blockchain technology. With DendroRithms, we’re investigating what it means to use the blockchain as a medium for art.

Inspired by Nature

At the beginning of 2020, we made a series of hand-drawn artworks with Japanese ink. All the pieces in the collection drew inspiration from nature. Primarily organic growth and how external factors influence it.

Every artwork started with an initial environment — for example, several circles on the canvas in different sizes. Then we gave ourselves a basic set of rules to follow to complete the artwork.

In the case of Memory Taffeta, the piece we used as a starting point for DendroRithms, those instructions were to draw rings around the circles on the canvas. Some circles would get one ring at a time, others two or more, resulting in uneven growth. Then we repeated the process until there was no more space left on the canvas.

Memory Taffeta II — The basis for DendroRithms

dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) — noun

the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed

~Wikipedia

Generative Art

We didn’t know it at the time, but the process described above is considered generative art. While most generative art is produced by a computer these days, that’s not always the case. Wikipedia describes it very well:

Generative art refers to art that in whole or in part has been created with the use of an autonomous system.

Probably the most well-known generative artist is Sol LeWitt. He created sets of guidelines and diagrams for two-dimensional works. Other people would then execute those instructions to create the actual artworks, often in the artist’s absence.

Left: [copper — 10 cores] — Right: [frost — 11 cores]

Blockchain as a Medium for Art

Most NFTs available on marketplaces today are nothing more than certificates of ownership. They consist of some text and a link to a file somewhere else on the internet. If the file creator deletes it for some reason, then all that’s left is the certificate.

DendroRithms takes a different approach. Owners of a Dendro receive the actual artwork without external dependencies. The whole project lives on the blockchain and will stay there for eternity.

Evolution of a colour chain, starting with one core on the left.

Grown by the Participants

What sets DendroRithms apart from many other NFT projects is that it takes on the shape of a blockchain. Every newly minted Dendro uses the previous Dendro as a starting point. Together they form an unbreakable chain.

Buyers become participants in the project because they can change the chain with every mint. They collectively decide the rarity and evolution of the artwork. We, as artists, set the rules, and it’s exciting to see the community shaping the project.

See the evolution or read more about the project on dendrorithms.com.