Block Queens: Over 20 Years of Creating Generative Royalty
What happens when you merge traditional artistic tools with generative algorithms? The answer lies with legendary Jeremy Cowart, who has turned decades of his work into an NFT collection.
Block Queens is a collection of 999 generative NFTs created from female portraits. Jeremy Cowart, known for his unconventional and ambitious projects, spent over two decades capturing heroines from around the world. The collection includes portraits of celebrities, captivating strangers, as well as Cowart's own wife and daughters.
The Block Queens NFT Collection Source: opensea.io/collection/block-queens-by-jeremy-cowart
It feels like 30 years of art-making has led to this moment. I started drawing abstract portraits as a teen and my portrait obsession never stopped, whether it was with a camera, paint brush, Apple Pencil or computer. Block Queens is the culmination of decades of exploration. Then to have Transient Labs involved? It makes the collection a huge step forward in this new era of Web3. I’ve never been more proud of a body of workCowart says.
At the time of writing this article, the price of generative Block Queens on the OpenSea marketplace starts at 0.329 ETH, and the collection's market capitalization is 526 ETH.
Queens and Metadata Magic
The Generative Block Queen. Source: blockqueens.io
The process of creating each Block Queen started with a digital photograph and a polaroid film. The artist then used additional tools such as canvas, acrylic paint, charcoal, graphite and oil sticks, spatulas, antique frames, handwritten letters, and markers. This painstaking preparation was required to create 11 layers of each queen using a generative algorithm.
The process of creating queens Source: blockqueens.io
Jeremy Cowart used photo portraits and drawings to create a staggering 777 unique layers, which he combined using JavaScript code to produce 999 distinct combinations - the Generative Block Queens. But Cowart's efforts did not stop there.
Each Block Queen combines 11 layers Source: blockqueens.io
Rather than producing a flat, multilayered image, Cowart sought to create something more interactive. To achieve this, he teamed up with the innovative Web3 platform Transient Labs to add magic to the metadata and create an interface with a parallax effect. Essentially, each user can zoom in, move, or rotate each of the 11 layers of the image and create new variations of the composition.
The Block Queens collection launched in February 2022 Source: blockqueens.io
