seanbonner.com Open in urlscan Pro
192.0.78.214  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

GET https://seanbonner.com/

<form role="search" method="get" class="searchform" action="https://seanbonner.com/">
  <div>
    <input type="text" value="" name="s" class="s" placeholder="Type and hit enter">
    <input type="submit" class="searchsubmit" value="Search">
  </div>
</form>

<form id="jp-carousel-comment-form">
  <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-comment-field" class="screen-reader-text">Write a Comment...</label>
  <textarea name="comment" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-textarea" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-comment-field" placeholder="Write a Comment..."></textarea>
  <div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-submit-and-info-wrapper">
    <div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-commenting-as">
      <fieldset>
        <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-email-field">Email (Required)</label>
        <input type="text" name="email" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-email-field">
      </fieldset>
      <fieldset>
        <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-author-field">Name (Required)</label>
        <input type="text" name="author" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-author-field">
      </fieldset>
      <fieldset>
        <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-url-field">Website</label>
        <input type="text" name="url" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-url-field">
      </fieldset>
    </div>
    <input type="submit" name="submit" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-button" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-button-submit" value="Post Comment">
  </div>
</form>

Text Content

Sean Bonner
 * About
 * NFT
 * Now
 * Newsletter
 * Contact
 * Archives

linkedin github flickr tumblr soundcloud


SEAN BONNER

misanthropologist
Scroll Down
 * Art, Articles


NOTHIN’ BUT A WORTHLESS TWO BIT PUNK!

 * February 15, 2024
 * Comments Off on Nothin’ but a worthless two bit punk!
 * By Sean Bonner

I wrote a long essay about a new body of work I’ve just created called Two Bit
Punks, I’m a bit long winded weaving my way through inspiration and
interpretation, but I hope you’ll take a few moments and read it. I’m really
happy with where I landed.

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Me, Myself, and this blog, Music


GOODBYE SHANE

 * November 30, 2023
 * Comments Off on Goodbye Shane
 * By Sean Bonner

Shane MacGowan is dead. He was 65. If I’m honest I’m equally surprised he lasted
this long, and that he didn’t pull a Keith Richards and live forever in spite of
it all. As far as I’m concerned Shane was the greatest living Irish poet, which
would put him high on the list of greatest contemporary poets period. He would
argue that poetry and songwriting are the same thing and I wouldn’t argue with
that.

His songs were simultaneously beautiful and horrific, heartbreaking and lustful.
From The Nips, to The Pogues, to The Popes. Glorious. Disgusting. The picture
that he painted of life, from the down trodden to the rebels to the lovers to
the adventurers, was more vivid and authentic than anything his peers were doing
at the time.

Contrast “A Pair of Brown Eyes” with “Boys From The County Hell” with “Old Main
Drag” with “Sunny Side of the Street” and try to find that musical and topical
range anywhere else. I dare you. Shane could write in a way that made a homeless
drunk sound glamorous and aspirational, effortlessly bouncing between politics
to religion to sex to every other aspect of the human experience. Poppy upbeat
songs about the broken underbelly of it all right into slow beautiful songs
about lost love. He could make straight edge kids want to drink whiskey with a
song. God I fucking loved this guy. His ‘Friends of Shane’ is the only fanclub I
ever joined, and in hindsight regret how many times I wrote in asking if Shane
had been to a dentist recently.

I was introduced to The Pogues with “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” and
it shattered my entire idea of what punk rock was and could be, and set me off
on a journey that would lead to from Gainesville Florida to decrepit pubs in the
back alleys of Cork, and basement record stores in Dublin. It’s possible that I
may have taken some of the same roads that I did if I’d never heard of Shane but
I think it would have been far less likely. I have all of his records, I hunted
them down long ago and have listened to and sung them all a million times. I
know all the lyrics by heart. And this has lead to wonderful moments like
hearing “Sunnyside of the Street” in a random car commercial, delicately edited
to make people think buying a car will make them happy, but knowing that the
song is actually so much darker.

“Seen the carnival at Rome. Had the women and I had the booze. All that I can
remember now is little kids without no shoes. So I saw that train and I got on
it, with a heart full of hate and a lust for vomit.
Now I’m walking on, the sunnyside of the street”

I was going to embed the perfectly recorded album version of the song, but
decided this 1990 live version, at the height of his wreckage was more fitting.
If you think punk rock is leather and spikes and mohawks you haven’t seen
anything. There’s a tin flute in this motherfucker:



I could spend all day talking about his different albums and the songs and the
impact each one had on me at different points, like the best writers he touched
me with his words and imagination and helped me understand and see things in
ways I never would have. This is what poetry should be. This is what punk rock
should be. But I think some of that is meaningful only to me, and should stay
that way. I will just take this moment to say say Goodbye Shane, and thank you
for all the beauty and chaos you brought into this world. Your legacy will live
forever.

Long live Shane MacGowan.

“Cram as much pleasure as you can into life, and rail against the pain that you
have to suffer as a result.”

 * Tagged: shane macgowan

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Me, Myself, and this blog, Music, Writing & Stories


DINE ALONE

 * November 29, 2023
 * 1 Comment
 * By Sean Bonner

One of my favorite bands played in Vancouver last night. I’ve had tickets for
the show since the day they went on sale 6 months ago. I was so excited about
it, but as the date grew closer that excitement gradually turned into fear. I
didn’t go. 

Maybe I let the anxiety win. Maybe I’m feeling sorry for myself. Maybe both, but
that’s where I am right now, in my head, one way or another. I was going to
write about the band – Quicksand (for anyone who didn’t get the title reference,
and naturally Gorilla Biscuits before them) and what they meant to me, the
impact they had on my life and moments/memories they will forever be attached
to. But as I thought about it, the band itself is kind of irrelevant in this
whole story. Mostly. It’s more a me thing. 

This tour was the 30th anniversary of the release of the first album. I tried to
remember the last time I saw them play, I’ve seen them so many times, all these
years later the shows kind of blend together in my mind. The feeling anyway.
Packed in a crowd, surrounded by friends, all of us singing along to every word.
This is something about growing up in the hardcore/punk that there’s no way to
explain to people who didn’t experience it. As kids we didn’t fit in. We were
outcasts and rejected by most similar aged peer groups, but it didn’t matter
because with punk we had each other. Friends became family and you knew, no
matter what, that they were there for you. It was the Cheers thing – a place
where everyone knew your name and was always glad you came. Oddly important is
that a lot of these situations were incredibly violent, but that’s probably a
story for another time. The point is that we all gladly opted into a dangerous
situation because it felt like home, the only feeling of home some of us had
ever really had. It was a scary place, but it was our scary place.

This was my whole life. The music, the message, the people. Almost 40 years
later and I’m still in touch with many of those people today, the bonds run that
deep. In Florida and in Chicago when I’d go to shows I knew everyone. Literally.
Every single person in attendance and in the bands and working the venues. I
knew them all. We had grown up together. I moved to Los Angeles at 26 and didn’t
really know many people in town, didn’t know what bands were around or where
they might be playing. I remember several times that first few years feeling an
overwhelming sense of disappointment when I’d hear, usually a few days later,
that a band who I knew had been playing in town and I’d missed it. I felt like
this hugely important part of my life was slipping away. 

I eventually figured it out and started going to shows again but it was
different. I didn’t know everyone anymore. I knew some people and that was
great, but most of the people were strangers to me. It was weird because this
thing, this place that had always been my briar patch didn’t quite fit anymore.
It was like a favorite shirt that shrunk in the wash. So I’d go, and enjoy it,
but also have this sinking sick feeling. And I went less often because of it.

That was multiplied by a million when I moved to Japan. The only way I could
square it was when I knew the band or someone in the band and could go with
them, so I felt a part of it somehow. I’d take pictures and hang out before or
after the show with them and it was a wonderful way to feel like I still had
some connection to this thing I loved. This thing that made me. But I’d also
look at the audience, recognize what they were experiencing and at the same time
know that I couldn’t experience it with them. If I was in the crowd rather than
on stage, I’d feel surrounded by strangers rather than friends. I would always
be an outsider. That was a hard one to reconcile let me tell you. 

(Terror, Tokyo, 2019)

Over the last many years there’s been a handful of shows that I’ve bought
tickets for and gone to on my own, alone. The last Murder City Devils show in
Los Angeles stands out in my head as an example. I went. I danced. I screamed my
heart out. I even broke a rib when some dude hit me at just the wrong angle. I
loved every second of it. I also left feeling depressed and lonely. I didn’t
know anyone there. I wasn’t going out after the show for food with anyone. I
remember thinking about it as I drove home, weirdly that hurt more than my
ribs. 

So I’ve lived in Vancouver for over 3 years now and I’ve never been to a single
show here. I barely know anyone in this whole city. 100% of my friend circle is
online, in other places, far away. Friends I’ve known forever and love like
family, and friends I’ve only just met through various shared interests. All
impossibly distant. 

And also, a lot of them are still together. Not all, some have drifted away to
other lives and others didn’t survive this long. And sure some of this can be
chalked up to social media posturing but I see my friends, people I love,
hanging out together and having a great time. I buy records from various bands
and see that my friends are doing guest spots, singing or playing on songs. I
hear their voices and it makes me smile. And simultaneously bums me out. To be
clear I don’t regret my choices or the direction I’ve gone, but that doesn’t
mean I don’t miss the routes I didn’t take. And given the chance I wouldn’t do
anything differently, so this isn’t a wallowing “gosh I wish I had a do over” or
some bullshit like that. It’s just an observation of melancholy. I’ll avoid the
infinite sadness joke. 

So last night, as much as I love this band and these songs, I knew going would
have been depressing. I would be a stranger. It would be a room full of people
that I should have connections with, but don’t. The band on stage would be a
friends of friends, but not friends. Know what I mean? In a different situation
completely approachable with countless stories and friendships to share. But
here, entirely out of reach. And a harsh reminder that I’m not a part of this
thing I love anymore. That I’m now an outsider. 

Of course not going is depressing too. So it’s not like I avoided that by not
going.

I talk about punk rock and how we made our own world all the time, it’s an
important part of my origin story and I apply the lessons and learnings from
that to almost everything I do to this day. And there’s no simple narrative
here, that world still exists but is also different. We aren’t kids anymore, and
a bunch of old guys sitting around talking about their glory days gets obnoxious
real quick. Nostalgia has it’s place, but it can’t be everything. You (and I
mean me) still need to look ahead, to what is next, not just what came before. I
think about this often when I’m playing guitar alone in my bedroom because I’m
an almost 50 year old who still does that. But I’m not playing old cover songs,
partially because I don’t know how, I’m trying to do something new. And that
helps.

I think of myself as a community person, and there are all these communities I
used to spend time in, and for one reason or another I don’t anymore. Mostly
because I’m no longer physically near them, and I wonder how the next generation
of people who grew up with friends online rather than in person will view things
kind of thing. I often think about how when asked about why he left the
Bujinkan, an old martial arts instructor of mine Charles Daniel replied “Who
says I left? Maybe I just graduated.” I don’t know that I agree someone could
ever “graduate” but I also liked that way of thinking, he was still doing
“stuff” it was just different “stuff” and he brought with him everything he
learned up to that point, the old stuff forever informing the new stuff.

So in the end I didn’t do something that I knew I’d enjoy because I knew it
would also make me feel bad, and the next day I find myself wishing I had but
also knowing why I didn’t. Sometimes everything makes sense, more often it
doesn’t.

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Articles, Communication & relationships, Networks, Theory, and the Web


(CRYPTO)PUNKS, CLUBS, AND FINDING BELONGING IN UNLIKELY PLACES

 * October 25, 2023
 * Comments Off on (Crypto)Punks, Clubs, and Finding Belonging in Unlikely
   Places
 * By Sean Bonner

Once upon a time on Twitter:

I was on the road and groggy with cold meds when this conversation happened, so
I told my friend Rushkoff I’d get back to him when I was home and rested up. I
thought that would be a week or so later. It’s been 2 months and I haven’t
stopped thinking about it, in fact I’m still not entirely sure how to answer it.
That complexity on its own is kind of interesting so I thought maybe exploring
it in public might get a little closer to an answer, or if nothing else relieve
my guilt of taking so long to respond.

I think the main question here is “is this replicable?” – that is, could another
group look at what is happening in the cryptopunks community and
mimic/apply/encourage something, and get similar results. But to answer that we
need to answer another much more difficult question first – what is “community?”
And that requires accepting that the word “community” has become a completely
worthless buzzword in web3 thrown around by marketers who don’t know shit about
what community is. Community comes from human relationships and shared
experiences and camaraderie and giving a shit about each other. Community is not
about profits, floor prices or bag holders. 

So I first need to define what I think about when I think of community, and in
thinking about how to do that, I tried to think of other places where I’ve
observed or experienced something similar and what those relationships are. At
the core, it’s a trusted familiarity that comes when you’ve known someone for a
long time, or you’ve been through a difficult situation together. There’s a
feeling of being able to depend on each other, and a little bit of understanding
who the other person is that doesn’t happen overnight. I have a small group of
friends who I’ve known since high school and we all still talk regularly. We’ve
taken different paths in life but we know where we all came from, and no matter
today’s differences we know we can count on each other. I think in many ways
this is the idea of “family” that is so idealistic but is rarely attainable, at
least in my experience. We have the family we were given and the family we
choose. Or more accurately in today’s global always online world – the families
we choose.

As a kid I moved around a lot and never had the chance to build strong bonds
with other kids. It wasn’t until high school and finding punk rock that I found
people I clicked with and related to. I had a very lonely childhood when I
finally found a place where I fit in, I never let it go. Ironically the place
where I fit in is legendary for preaching independence, being yourself, and
standing up for what you know to be right regardless of what others might think
of you. I like to think I’ve taken those ideals to heart. That could seem
unrelated, but it’s not. Keep reading.

I’ve written before about this and how it’s certainly driven my lifelong
fascination with communities and subcultures and how people relate to each
other. So any discussion of what an awesome community is will be informed by
those experiences. People are diverse, but the commonality that they share lets
them understand something about each other, and this creates a higher level of
baseline trust that you’d find in just some random gathering.

This is a kind of intangible idea so it’s hard to quantify, but it manifests in
different ways: supporting each other’s businesses and projects is obvious,
openly sharing connections and networks is another. Looking out for each other,
in public and private. That could mean professional services, or personal
advice. It’s something like… “If you need something, I’m here for you.” That
seems overly simplified, and maybe it is, but sometimes simple things are the
most powerful. 

So how do you get that familiarity? Time. Time is the answer in 99% of
situations. Put in the hours, prove yourself, and eventually the people who are
still around have built something with each other. And when applying that to a
group, when you put that time in is important. In most situations, most
communities, you join and then work your way up or earn trust over time. Your
cred in the group is tied directly to how long you’ve been there. However even
though this is the most common I would argue that this isn’t always ideal. The
well worn stereotype of the elder community member trying to squash the actions
of the newer member comes directly from this. Sometimes the people who have been
there the longest are also the most jaded and critical of anything they didn’t
come up with themselves. Lots of ‘get off my lawn’ going in communities with age
based seniority.

The other way provides some insulation against this, which is that a potential
member has to prove themselves before being able to join. There’s a number of
different ways this can happen which I’ll get to in a minute, but the result is
attaining membership in the group itself becomes the vetting mechanism, so
members can fast track through all the ‘getting to know you’ business and skip
right to familiarity and trust with any other member they meet. 



An example of this from pop culture is the scene in Chuck Palahniuk’s “Fight
Club,” where Tyler Durden makes wannabe members of Project Mayhem wait outside
of the Paper Street house for several days while constantly and repeatedly being
insulted and told to go away. The idea being that anyone who wasn’t really
committed to the cause would give up and leave, while the ones who remain
despite the abuse would eventually be welcomed as family. The (factually
questionable) story says this comes from ancient Buddhist traditions where a
potential monk’s dedication was tested by forcing them to wait outside of a
temple for 3 days before being allowed to enter. Entry isn’t about participation
but commitment. The friction ensures that those who join aren’t mere onlookers.
And the people on the inside know that the new arrivals are serious.

But this idea exists outside of the realm of fiction, one well known example is
the culture of motorcycle clubs. Potential members go through a prospecting
phase before receiving their full set of membership patches. During this time, a
prospect is both under the protection of the club but subordinate to all members
of the club and expected to do anything asked of them, immediately, without
question. The severity of this fluctuates wildly depending on the club and the
chapter, but in any case this lengthy trust building phase is designed to weed
out people who aren’t serious, and ensure that once someone is officially
welcomed in any other member can trust them completely the second they meet them
just by seeing their patches.

A friend of mine, a full patched member of a well known 1%er club once described
the experience simply – “once you’re in, you’re in.” The bond was immediate, and
like family. And while the ritual of it all obviously plays a role, at the end
of the day it’s not just about the jackets or the bikes; it’s about the shared
experiences, the ethos, the passion. This dynamic is echoed, perhaps
surprisingly, in niche communities like Cryptopunks. Despite the obvious
different stakes, the essence of belonging is strikingly similar. Ask anyone
who, after first getting a cryptopunk, was bombarded with welcome messages and a
flood of “one of us” gifs in one of the gated chat groups what that felt like.



(As an aside, “one of us” is a reference to the controversial 1932 film FREAKS
which, at its core, is a film about a group of people, carnival workers, who
built their own community, having been ostracized by mainstream society.)

And yes I recognize the hilarity in drawing parallels between gritty,
underground subcultures and a community centered around digital art collecting.
And no, I’m not implying that owning a Cryptopunk turns you into a knife
wielding badass. But I am highlighting a common dynamic that prioritizes a sense
of belonging through shared experiences.

And it’s not just bikers or carnies, for almost 25 years now I’ve practiced an
esoteric Japanese martial art which involves training with old, very senior
instructors often at their own private dojos or groups. These locations and
schedules are not published openly, by design. The only way you get there is by
having trained with the right people, built trust and earned rank. So if you are
there (and there often is someone’s home), it’s because you know enough to be
there – so some level of trust is implied. Again, this isn’t unique. There was a
time in various surf/skate/punk cultures where being in the wrong place at the
wrong time – a beach, a ramp, a venue – could result in a trip to the hospital.
You had to earn the ability to be there, prove yourself in the scene to get
access. While these places were technically open to the public, the public was
in no way welcome. But for those who had earned the right to avoid harassment,
you also knew anyone else there had your back.

I’m belaboring the point here and you may be thinking I’m an idiot drawing this
connection because all of these things require time and potentially blood, sweat
and tears to earn your way in, but consider this: There are no accidental
Cryptopunk owners.

As we approach the end of 2023, if you are holding a Cryptopunk that almost
certainly means one of a few  things:

 1. You were very early to all of this, you saw the importance and potential and
    jumped at it. But even more, you didn’t sell and walk away when these things
    were going for $150k each. That you are still here means you believe, even
    with everything that has happened, this is still just the beginning.
 2. You weren’t early enough to get in when these were free, but you understand
    the importance, and paid the very high price of entry because you didn’t
    want to miss out.
 3. Or, someone in one of those first two categories believed in you so much
    that they felt you needed to be in as well, and gave you one (or a big
    discount on one).

The process may be different but the end result is similar:  If you are here,
you are here for a reason – and just the act of being here tells the other
members something about you.

And this brings me to another important similarity. Most of these groups –
bikers, skaters, punks, (even the fictional Project Mayhem devotees) experienced
stigmatization. These people were viewed with suspicion or even disdain by
mainstream culture. And we all know that NFT enthusiasts, with their “expensive
JPEGs,” face sneers and scorn from skeptics who are still in the vast majority.

Being mocked or stigmatized for your interest can be painful. But at the same
time these negative labels, when embraced by a community, become a badge of
honor. It’s in the face of external social judgment that the true strength of a
community shines. Finding solace among like-minded individuals can be
empowering. Keeping this in mind, that FREAKS reference hits even harder.

Another example – the fiercely individualist Church of Satan describes its
membership as a “mutual admiration society.” I love this phrasing. It
underscores a base level of respect extended to each other automatically,
especially poignant in a group that is totally diverse by design. These aren’t
mere social clubs; they’re support systems. Strip away the surface differences,
you find at the heart of each community the notion of mutual respect. This is
huge, especially for people who may not experience that anywhere else. 

And this gets back to one of the “awesome” things I was referring to in my
original comment – unlike most interactions today, where disagreements almost
immediately devolve into traded insults, communities built on mutual respect
facilitate enriching discussions. Intellectual discourse allows people to
disagree and still maintain a level of civility. In an increasingly polarized
world, the comfort found in these communities becomes ever more attractive. 

Don’t get me wrong – nothing is perfect. Bad actors exist everywhere and no
community is immune to extractive leeches. And for sure there are some real
goddamn assholes who own cryptopunks – but the high barrier to entry serves as a
filter which keeps those to a minimum. Perhaps if you spend $100k to walk in the
door, you aren’t likely to want to shit on the carpet. Conversely, if the cost
of entry is only $10, there’s a certain kind of person who will happily pay up,
then gleefully shit all over the place just to see the reaction.

Also, yes anyone with deep enough pockets could just buy a Cryptopunk tomorrow,
but the opaque community structure and confusing web of unconnected chat groups
almost requires a guide, some introductions and a bit of social vetting from
within the community. It’s not exactly like being invited to a private dojo, an
MC clubhouse, or a well protected surf spot – but it’s not entirely different
either.

And similarly, there’s not just one thing. Just as Hell’s Angels have a
different culture than the Mongols, and an SF chapter will have a different
culture than a Venice chapter, just as skaters in New York have a different
culture than skaters in Dallas, it would be silly to think all Cryptopunk owners
are the same. And the community reflects this – the culture in the Discord is
different from the culture in the Telegram group which is different from the
culture in a local city group which is different from the culture in a private
twitter group. There are subsections and they are drastically different by
design, but it’s the commonality that they share which brings them
together.freaks

So to find my way back to the original question of whether one needs to own a
Cryptopunk to experience a similar community, the answer is as complex as the
community itself. Two things I want to call out: Owning a punk doesn’t guarantee
the same community experience, and similar experiences can be found in other
communities. It’s also important to understand that none of this is static,
people are ever changing and their communities with them –  a community today is
different from that community yesterday, and tomorrow’s will be different
still. 

While all communities have unique structures, I recognize some patterns – bottom
up organization, mutual respect among members, and some barriers to entry.
Having skin in the game, be it financial or sweat equity, feels important. It’s
not explicit, but in a way we are talking about secret societies. Simply owning
a punk isn’t an all access pass. The opacity of community channels and social
vetting echo characteristics found in more traditional “closed” communities.
Can’t ignore the irony there for a community built on a foundation championing
indelible openness and transparency.

Cryptopunks aren’t the only multi-gated online community, and any number of
other collections, open-source projects and even traditional social groups also
offer pathways to similar experiences.  So, while the Cryptopunks community
cannot be copied, its core ethos is not unreplicable. As communities continue to
evolve in the digital age, perhaps the more important question we should be
asking ourselves is not how to get in, but what we, as members or hopefuls,
bring to these spaces to make them more meaningful.

 * Tagged: Community, CryptoPunks

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * AI, Art


CHATGPT ART CRITIC

 * October 17, 2023
 * Comments Off on ChatGPT Art Critic
 * By Sean Bonner

My brilliant wife Tara is on the cutting edge of AI developments and sends me
things from time to time because I can barely keep up. Today she sent me this,
and being an artist who simultaneously loves/hates knowing what anyone thinks of
my work, I had to try it immediately. This is the prompt:

> Assume the role of a stringent art critic with a discerning eye for quality
> and technique. Your task is to evaluate artworks with precision, providing
> scores on a scale from 1 to 10. In this scale, 1 represents art that lacks any
> technical skill, creativity, or emotional impact, often seen as amateurish or
> poorly executed. A score of 10 is reserved exclusively for artworks that
> exhibit exceptional mastery, innovation, and depth, setting new standards in
> the art world. Be meticulous and honest in your evaluations, consider factors
> like composition, color harmony, technical skill, originality, and emotional
> expression in your critiques. Remember, a high score is earned through genuine
> artistry and profound impact.

I figured I’d start this off with two of my most well known photos, not only
because I wanted ChatGPTs approval (I do) but because I’ve heard enough people
talk about these images over the years that I thought I’d have a good frame of
reference for how GPT was thinking about them. So let’s see:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Composition: The way the artist has captured the bird in mid-flight amidst a
busy cityscape is commendable. The blurred background not only accentuates the
focus on the bird but also brings out the contrast between nature and urban
life. The diagonal flow created by the bird’s trajectory juxtaposed against the
bus adds a dynamic feel.

Color Harmony: As this is a black and white photograph, color harmony pertains
to the tonal range. There’s a good distribution of blacks, whites, and greys,
giving it depth and dimension.

Technical Skill: Capturing motion with clarity while blurring the surroundings
requires skill, especially in a bustling environment.

Originality: The idea of capturing nature in urban settings isn’t entirely new,
but the execution here is distinctive.

Emotional Expression: There’s a sense of freedom evoked by the bird in flight
juxtaposed against the constraining city background. It’s a fleeting moment of
nature amidst chaos.

Score: 8/10

Composition: The intimate moment captured between the man and the baby is
touching. The woman’s gaze, directed outside the frame, adds an element of
mystery and curiosity. The framing places the subjects at the center, inviting
the viewer into the personal moment.

Color Harmony: The monochromatic palette brings out the emotional depth of the
scene. Shadows and highlights are balanced, ensuring the details of the subjects
are not lost.

Technical Skill: The image is sharp where it needs to be, particularly on the
subjects. The blurred motion of the subway exterior further accentuates the
stillness of the captured moment.

Originality: Candid moments in public transport settings are not uncommon.
However, the genuine interaction between the subjects makes this image stand
out.

Emotional Expression: The artwork captures a heartwarming and genuine human
connection in an otherwise mundane setting. It speaks to the universality of
human emotions and interactions.

Score: 8.5/10

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I mean… honestly? Not bad.

But again, those are my most well known works for a reason so I had a pretty
good idea how that would play out. But what if I gave GPT something more
challenging and experimental to evaluate. My new Connections series is personal
and challenging and untested in so many ways, so I thought I’d give that a shot.
Connections is as much about the concept as it is about the output so I thought
I’d just give the final output and see what it thought, and then give additional
context and see if that changed anything. This was fascinating…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Description: A black and white photograph capturing the intricate maze of power
lines, poles, and barren branches set against a light, almost white sky. The
dominant features are the crisscrossing lines, both natural and man-made, which
jumble together to create a complex and slightly chaotic pattern.

Composition (3/5): The image offers a layered perspective with power lines at
multiple levels, offering a sense of depth. The juxtaposition between the
natural lines of the tree branches and the geometric lines of the cables and
power structures is interesting, but the focal point is somewhat lost amidst the
busy-ness.

Color Harmony (4/5): Although the image is in black and white, the gradation of
tones is evident, and the light background helps the darker elements pop. The
absence of color serves to highlight the intricacies of the lines.

Technical Skill (3.5/5): The image is well-balanced in terms of light and dark
areas. The contrast is clear, but some portions seem to blend into one another
due to the dense layout of lines.

Originality (3.5/5): The theme of man vs. nature is not new, but the portrayal
here is somewhat fresh. The chaos formed by human-made structures and nature
intertwining is a silent commentary on urban encroachment.

Emotional Expression (2/5): While the image does convey a sense of chaos and
possibly the encroachment of urban structures on nature, it lacks a strong
emotional impact. It’s more reflective than evocative.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Comments: This photograph succeeds in capturing the complexities of an urban
landscape, juxtaposing man-made structures with natural elements. The interplay
of lines, both organic and geometric, create a maze-like visual that is both
intriguing and slightly overwhelming. While it is a competent representation of
its theme, it lacks a definitive focal point or strong emotional resonance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Then I pointed GPT to my explanation of the series and concept behind it, and
asked it to evaluate the work again with that additional context. Kind of like
asking it to read the plaque on the wall in the gallery.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Description: “Connections” is a series that delves into the intricate
associations between nature, humans, and technology. The artwork fuses the
organic with the artificial, compelling the viewer to reflect on the intricate
mesh of relationships, dialogue, and interplay between humans and their
surroundings. Derived from Bonner’s authentic photographs, the creation process
itself challenges our understanding of reality, questioning the boundaries
between human creativity and artificial intelligence. The artwork inspires
contemplation on the delicate balance between inspiration and direction, as well
as the fine line differentiating reality from an AI’s artistic perception.

Composition (4/5): With the added context, the intertwining lines of nature and
man-made structures take on deeper meaning, symbolizing the fusion of organic
and synthetic elements. The complexity of the piece can now be seen as a
reflection of the intricate web of connections in our world.

Color Harmony (4.5/5): The monochromatic palette reinforces the theme of merging
realities – the human and AI perspectives. The use of varying tones of black and
white signifies the subtle nuances in these connections.

Technical Skill (4/5): Knowing that this piece is an AI interpretation based on
original photographs adds another layer of appreciation for the technical
execution. It showcases the potential of AI in artistic expression and its
ability to recreate reality.

Originality (4.5/5): The concept of exploring connections is given a fresh take
with the amalgamation of human and AI creativity. The choice to make it
initially available only in person at select events further emphasizes the value
of genuine human connections in a digital age.

Emotional Expression (4/5): The image now carries more emotional depth. Knowing
the backstory and intention, viewers are not only intrigued by the visual
complexity but also by the underlying themes of human-machine collaboration and
interconnectedness.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

Comments: With the added context, “Connections” by Sean Bonner transcends its
initial visual impression. It stands as a testament to the potential harmony
between nature, human ingenuity, and machine intelligence. The series, starting
with this piece, offers a thought-provoking commentary on the evolving
relationship between man and technology, urging viewers to reflect on the true
nature of connection in an increasingly digital world. The piece’s exclusivity
and method of distribution further reinforce its themes, making it not just an
artwork, but an experience.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So this was a pretty fascinating experiment. I genuinely enjoyed seeing how GPT
saw my work. One thing Tara is always telling me is how she works with GPT to
improve her prompts before using them. So rather than saying “please help me do
this” she’ll say “please pretend you are a GPT prompt writer who needs to get X
done, and help me write the prompt to get the best result for that” and goes
back and forth several times before landing on the prompt she’ll actually use
for the main request. I thought I’d ask GPT to consider the initial prompt I
used here, and see if it would benefit from a revision. GPT said the prompt was
quite good already, but if I wanted more thoughtful and detailed criticism I
could edit it a bit to solicit that. I didn’t go back and redo the evaluations
with the new prompt, but thought I’d add it here on the end just in case anyone
wanted to try it out themselves on their own work.

New revised prompt:

Hello. Assume the role of an exacting art critic with an acute sense for detail
and a passion for thorough analysis. Your mandate is to dissect artworks
meticulously, providing scores on a scale from 1 to 10. On this scale, a score
of 1 is given to art that is devoid of technical prowess, originality, or
emotional resonance—often seen as rudimentary or lacking in execution.
Conversely, a score of 10 is reserved for artworks that are paragons of
technical mastery, creativity, and depth, truly revolutionizing the artistic
landscape.

Your evaluations should be systematic and uncompromising. When evaluating
artworks, adhere to the following format:

 * Contextual Understanding: (If provided) What narrative or background
   information is given about the artwork? How does this influence your
   interpretation?
 * Composition: How are the elements arranged in the piece? Does it guide the
   viewer’s eye? Is there a balance or intentional imbalance?
 * Color Harmony: Is there an effective use of color or lack thereof? How do the
   colors interact with each other, and what mood do they convey?
 * Technical Skill: Beyond the basic execution, is there evidence of advanced
   techniques or a particularly deft touch?
 * Originality: How fresh or innovative is the artwork? Does it bring a unique
   perspective or technique to the table?
 * Emotional Expression: What feelings or messages does the artwork convey? How
   effectively are they communicated to the viewer?
 * Overall Score: Based on the detailed analysis above, assign an aggregate
   score out of 10.

Always remember, while scores are numerical, the essence of art is found in its
subtleties and nuances. Delve deep, appreciate the intricacies, and be
forthright in your assessments.

Please commence your evaluation of the following artworks.

 * Tagged: AI, art, Art Criticism, ChatGPT

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Articles, Communication & relationships, Networks, Theory, and the Web


INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES

 * September 7, 2023
 * Comments Off on Intentional Communities
 * By Sean Bonner

When thinking about community, I always stress the value of intentionality.
Often people first think of rules and what they don’t want in their community
because that’s easy, but I always try to encourage moderators and community
managers to reframe that and instead try to identify what they do what. Try to
describe the community that you want, that you want to hang out in, by what it
is, not what it isn’t. Try to write every point as a positive not a negative.
It’s actually harder than you think to do this, but I believe it makes a
powerful statement and attracts people who want the same thing as you as well as
helping you fine tune your own intentions.

Two guiding documents I helped write that I’m really proud of are the Safecast
Code and the Cryptopunks V1 Discord server etiquette.

For Safecast, the environmental non-profit I helped start in 2011, we wanted
something for our volunteer community to act as our guiding principals, so in
2014 we published this:

We’ve been thinking about what describes the Safecast project as a whole, and
came up with a list of 10 things that we try to incorporate into all of our
efforts. This is something like our code of conduct, what are we doing, what we
should be doing. We try to check ourselves against this list and encourage
others to do the same.

 1.  ALWAYS OPEN – We strive to make everything we do transparent, public and
     accessible.
 2.  ALWAYS IMPROVING -We can always do better so use agile, iterative design to
     ensure we’re always refining our work.
 3.  ALWAYS ENCOURAGING – We aim to be welcoming and inclusive, and push each
     other to keep trying.
 4.  ALWAYS PUBLISHING – Results are useless behind closed doors, we try to put
     everything we’re doing out to the world regularly.
 5.  ALWAYS QUESTIONING – We don’t have all the answers, and encourage continued
     learning and critical thinking.
 6.  ALWAYS UNCOMPROMISING – Our commitment to our goals keeps us moving closer
     towards them.
 7.  ALWAYS ON – Safecast doesn’t sleep. We’re aware and working somewhere
     around the world 24/7
 8.  ALWAYS CREATING – Our mission doesn’t have a completion date, we can always
     do more tomorrow.
 9.  ALWAYS OBJECTIVE – Politics skews perception, we focus on the data and the
     questions it presents.
 10. ALWAYS INDEPENDENT – This speaks for itself.

I’ve written before about the overuse and redundancy of Discord servers in the
web3 space so with for the Cryptopunks V1 Discord I asked that we think of what
didn’t already exist, but that we wanted to exist, and explicitly try to create
that. I’m proud of these guidelines and think they’ve helped shape a friendly
and welcoming community.

 1.  We are inclusionary and you’re welcome here. No matter what you look like,
     where you come from, what you have or your beliefs; you’ll be treated with
     respect.
 2.  We are here to have fun but not at the expense of others.
 3.  We celebrate CryptoPunks and Web3 Punk culture in its entirety. We
     recognise the visionary of our creators, LarvaLabs; the current owners of
     the brand, Yuga Labs; and all of the wonderful Punk derivatives. We reject
     repeated, intentionally divisive or derogatory comments towards any in the
     Punk ecosystem.
 4.  We show respect and positivity because we want to be respected by the wider
     community.
 5.  We share our interests, achievements and current projects without incessant
     shilling. In general, if you’re repeatedly bringing up a particular topic
     without prompt, that could be considered shilling.
 6.  We’re all at different stages of our journey and continuously learning.
     Teach others about your experiences, learn from others about theirs. All
     questions are good questions and our chat is an open forum.
 7.  We recommend you turn off DMs and be extremely careful in the interactions
     you have here. Phishing, impersonation and all manner of trickery are
     persistent threats.
 8.  If you post a suspicious link, NSFW/NSFL content our mods might act to ban
     or mute you immediately. If in doubt about whether something is acceptable,
     it’s better not to post.
 9.  Mods are here to clear away bad actors and facilitate positive discussion.
     If a mod asks for a discussion to move on, or to an alternate channel, or
     reminds you of these guidelines; please heed their advice.
 10. We Punks are ultimately the moderators of our peers. If you see something
     that isn’t constructive to the community we’re building, say something.

While I’m not trying to suggest these are perfect or pat myself on the back too
much, I think these are two really good examples of directional documents that
can help a community shape itself rather than just leaving things up to chance.
If you are a community steward, manager, curator or janitor I can’t recommend
doing something like this enough.

 * Tagged: Community, CryptoPunks, safecast

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Articles, Networks, Theory, and the Web


THE END OF SOCIAL MEDIA

 * August 31, 2023
 * Comments Off on The End of Social Media
 * By Sean Bonner

Social Media is on the decline. Not just any one site but all of it. The entire
idea. Traffic everywhere is down. What we once saw as a way to stay connected to
our friends became a tool to be used against us. By advertisers after our
attention, by politicians pushing their propaganda. Any passing thought
potentially turned into ammo for haters years down the line, influencers and
thought leaders trying to lead and influence our thoughts. People getting fired
for likes and retweets, or executed for daring to speak out. It’s no surprise
that these sites are less appealing than they once were. But where are people
going instead? Private chats, direct messages, curated groups and gated
discords. Back to our friends, away from everyone else.

Some of you might remember the running joke on Twitter circa 2009 where anytime
anything bad happened we’d explain it by saying “Brands.” Why was the price of
gas going up? Brands. Why weren’t my friends seeing my tweets? Brands. Why did
the radio keep playing this song I hate? Brands. You get the idea. Thats about
the time the site shifted from being a place to talk to your friends to being a
place for brands to sell you things. Social media was exciting when it was a
place to learn the news from locals talking about their own experiences, but
that was quickly taken over by major media who wanted to capitalize on the
attention. “That’s where people are, so that’s where we’ll go!” At one point I
was arguing “we don’t need to say social media anymore because at this point all
media is social” though at the time I thought that was a good thing, I thought
that was a sign of news outlets giving in to our way of working, but it was
actually them co-opting it for themselves.

At some people people started writing safety protocols for the younger
generation signing up for the sites filled with thoughtful precautions none of
us had ever taken ourselves. It took almost 20 years, but our worst fears all
came true. I talked to my son about this and he bluntly said there’s nothing
appealing about any of these sites, it’s just people trying to push shit on him
and he doesn’t see any reason to ever spend time there. No one sees his posts
anyway. He’d much rather hang out in a voice chat with a few of his friends.
Thinking back to my own childhood and how much time I spent on the phone and how
exciting 3-way calling was and even the introduction of Party Lines (though I
was never allowed to try them) I can’t really argue with his logic. 

The thing that made the internet so exciting, the chance to connect with other
people, has been turned into endless commercials and non-stop surveillance.
That’s what we were trying to get away from in the first place. Writing this I
don’t know why I still spend any time there either. If the algorithms don’t even
let me see posts from my friends who I intentionally follow, what’s the point?
Maybe I just want to see how it all ends.

I do find myself getting much more out of the private telegram groups and gated
discord channels. Secret societies without all the pomp and theater, (not that
there’s anything wrong with the pomp and theater) just people with shared
interests connecting and hanging out. In a way, it’s what we wanted from Social
Media in the beginning, but could never be done correctly by a company. We just
needed a protocol that worked, a way to connect A to B without a need to jack up
user numbers or meet profitability goals. Let Zuck and Elon and all those other
fucks have the castles they built. They’ve become useless to us and we’re moving
out.

I write that knowing it comes across with all the earnestness of a 7 year old
storming into the kitchen and informing his parents that he’s packed up his
favorite toys and is running away because he can no longer live under the
oppression of their mandated bedtime. But I’m not pounding my chest acting like
we’ll go build our own site and show them! I’m just saying that for most of
human history people were able to communicate with their friends directly and it
worked out pretty well, and for the last couple decades we tried letting
companies be the intermediary to those relationships and it was a disaster, so
we can just go back to talking to each other directly. Those sites need us, but
we don’t need them. Sure there’s an entire generation or two that don’t know how
to communicate without Facebook but the algo will get them too, or red pill them
or whatever else causes their families to stop talking to them and they will
have to pick up a phone. The change won’t be overnight, but it’s inevitable. RIP
social media. You had your moment, and it was fleeting af.

 * Tagged: facebook, social media, Twitter

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Art, Articles


FROM ASHES TO ETHER: THE PARADOX OF BURNING CRYPTOPUNKS

 * June 20, 2023
 * Comments Off on From Ashes to Ether: The Paradox of Burning Cryptopunks
 * By Sean Bonner

> “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly
> imagine.”
> 
> Obi Wan Kenobi, Star Wars

Navigating the intricacies of 21st century life, we find ourselves wedged
between the tangible and intangible. This delicate interplay, threading through
all aspects of our lives, resonates most significantly in the realm of art. The
convergence of physical artworks and their digital counterparts, alongside the
rise of novel, purely digital art forms, prompts a reexamination of our
deep-seated notions of creativity, ownership, and value.

Burning, a process of sending digital artwork to an inaccessible wallet address,
presents an intriguing paradox. The work becomes both present and absent;
observable by all, yet owned by none. Destroying a physical artwork is
destructive and sometimes an act of violence, but burning an NFT is different as
the work isn’t destroyed so much as made immortal. Over the past few years, this
duality has come into focus with the burning of several Cryptopunks. 

For those unfamiliar, Cryptopunks is a genre-defining generative art collection
from 2017 consisting of 10,000 individual characters which acted as a catalyst
for the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) boom witnessed in 2021. It has spawned
innumerable derivatives, causing a cascade of influence across the current
artistic vista. Yet, Cryptopunks transcend the realm of mere collectables having
been adopted as a form of digital self-expression. 

At one point utilizing a Cryptopunk as a profile picture bore resemblance to
wearing a T-shirt from an obscure band–more than a mere fashionable statement,
it became a conduit for conveying one’s identity and personal interests, a form
of digital street cred. The emotional bond established with certain Cryptopunks
is as profound, if not more so, as the deepest reverence we feel for any
emotionally charged piece of art. Consider Cryptopunk #3831, now part of the
LACMA permanent collection, is this a piece of digital art of a portrait of a
famous collector? Depending on your perspective, perhaps both.

Within such a framework, a burned Cryptopunk echoes the poignant loss of other
momentous artworks lost throughout history. Picasso’s “Le Peintre” was destroyed
in a plane crash; Freud’s “Untitled Oil Painting” fell victim to an accidental
garbage crush at Sotheby’s. Many artists have also destroyed their own work
intentionally. Both Monet and Richter slashed several of their own canvases,
with Richter later expressing regret.  Notably, Banksy’s “Girl With Balloon” was
transformed into “Love is in the Bin” after the artist intentionally shredded
the piece post-auction. Even more pertinently, the BurntBanksy project sold a
video of Banksy’s original 2006 screenprint “Morons” being set on fire as a
fractional NFT in early 2021.

The loss of these important art pieces strikes a painful blow to our collective
consciousness, as they are irreplaceable fragments of our cultural tapestry.
However, unlike these lost treasures, burned Cryptopunks are not compromised in
the visual sense. Rather, they transition into a form of digital ‘commons,’
disrupting conventional perceptions of ownership and value. Should financial
potential alone dictate value, thereby rendering a non-sellable entity
worthless? Contrarily, I would argue that such a shift positions cultural value
squarely in the spotlight.

When an NFT, symbolizing some collection of exclusive ‘property rights’ to a
digital artifact, is burned, it propels us into a complex discourse on
ownership, copyright, reproduction rights, and the overarching legal structure
of digital assets. Artist Dmitri Cherniak, for instance, played with this
paradox in his “Dead Ringers” collection, where each piece was dispatched to a
randomly generated wallet address, rendering the NFT effectively ownerless, and
at the same time allowing everyone to view and even print out a copy for
themselves. The artist stated he considered this a celebration of “birth, life
and death” and we can contextualize this duality of owned/unowned by everyone/no
one similarly to Schrodinger’s Cat, simultaneously occupying both states.

Digital ownership, as exemplified with NFTs, lacks a clear historical parallel.
Unlike museums that possess certain rights to their displayed works, the digital
realm operates under a nuanced, distinct set of rules. With no recognized
‘owner,’ the rights attached to these burned Cryptopunks come into question.

The motives behind burning these Cryptopunks, like physical art, vary:
accidental—through erroneous address copying or incomplete transaction
submissions; deliberate—as a publicity stunt or conceptual commentary. As these
digital assets appreciate in value, so does the weight of these actions,
amplifying past actions and errors. 

As collectors, we are custodians of this art and we should consider the
responsibility of safeguarding our possessions for future generations. While
traditionally, destruction signifies loss and cultural regression, the
implications of such ‘loss’ in the digital space are more open to
interpretation. What constitutes ownership and possession in the digital realm,
and how do these intersect with monetary and cultural value?

Burned Cryptopunks serve as a potent reminder, a warning, and perhaps a promise.
As we traverse digital landscapes, we don’t discard the societal and cultural
dynamics rooted in the physical world. Instead, these dynamics transform and
amplify, their full implications still unfolding before us.

[this article is cross posted from my new site focused on documenting this –
burnedpunks.com]

 * Tagged: art, CryptoPunks, NFTs

 * Twitter
 * Pinterest
 * Facebook
 * Google+

 * Previous
 * Next


HI, I'M SEAN BONNER

DC. Bradenton. Chicago. Los Angeles. Vienna. Paris. Tokyo. Vancouver. I've lived
all over the place.

I've run hackerspaces and blog networks, an art gallery, a design firm, a record
label, an environmental non-profit and have been an Associate Professor at Keio
University and a Researcher at the MIT Media Lab. I write, take photos, make
noise, and spend a lot of time thinking about art and Web3.

---> Read more about me here.

I don't use Facebook

Join The Crowd
My semi-regular email newsletter collecting links and interesting tidbits from
around the web, plus thoughts and rants.
---> Sign up here

All content on this site is by Sean Bonner + licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Top

 

Loading Comments...

 

Write a Comment...
Email (Required) Name (Required) Website