Image Credits
On September 9, 2023, an avant-garde event held at Lume Studios, NYC, brought together the legacy of Allen Ginsberg, the prominent Beat poet, and the contemporary realm of AI and blockchain. The evening was organized by the collective theVERSEverse, in partnership with Subjective.art, permitted by the Allen Ginsberg Estate, and centered on the experimental project “A Picture of My Mind.”
This venture is described as a fusion of “words and image, text and technology,” celebrating the melding of Ginsberg’s influential world with cutting-edge innovation. The event also unveiled a collaborative effort involving Ginsberg’s photographs, the genius of Ross Goodwin, and the technological advancements of blockchain.
Leading up to this event, on August 10, there was a significant collaboration with the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. The collaboration was marked as the kickoff of Ginsberg’s foray into the Web3 domain. A curated selection of his iconic photographs was presented as a prelude to his introduction to the blockchain world. This partnership highlighted a sneak peek of the upcoming exhibition, which was geared towards ushering one of Western Literature’s most revered poets into the blockchain era.
The exhibition, which continues throughout September, is meticulously curated in collaboration with the non-fungible token (NFT) poetry gallery and digital community, TheVERSEverse. This innovative project received backing from the Tezos Foundation and prominently features the use of an AI-powered camera that transforms visual imagery into text.
The gallery’s description provided a compelling insight into the ethos behind this innovative venture:
“In celebration of Ginsberg’s avowedly experimental impulses, this collaboration utilizes an AI-powered camera to ‘read’ a selection of Ginsberg photographs displayed during the exhibition. This translates his iconic vision of American counterculture into poetic responses. These responses are influenced simultaneously by Ginsberg’s extensive canon, his undeniable presence deeply woven into the digital records of the internet, and interpretations by AI.”
The gallery further noted:
“Just as Ginsberg innovated with automated writing techniques and popular technologies, this collection of AI generated poems taps the contemporary linguistic avant-garde to engage ritualistically, intuitively, and meaningfully with Ginsberg’s visual and poetic vernaculars”.
According to tweets leading up to the event, SUBJECTIVE stated:
Reflecting the anticipation, theVERSEverse also tweeted about the debut, emphasizing their collaboration with @FaheyKlein and @subjective__art.
The engagement of the project with AI has generated much debate. Proponents are enthusiastic about Ginsberg being “introduced to Web3” and having “entered into the blockchain,” seeing it as the dawning of a new era. On the flip side, skeptics view this experiment as possibly exploitative, even going against the grain of Ginsberg’s ethos.
In a statement, the Allen Ginsberg Estate clarify the project’s intent: “There is no suggestion that these works were written by Allen.” The essence here is that Ginsberg’s photographs have inspired AI-generated poems, but they do not claim Ginsberg himself authored them.
The evening was a comprehensive dive into both the past and the future of poetry. The agenda for the night encompassed an open mic session hosted by Elisabeth Sweet, followed by a profound panel discussion titled “The Past, Present and Future of Poetry.” The discussion featured representatives from theVERSEverse, The Allen Ginsberg Estate, Fahey/Klein Gallery, legendary NYC poet Bob Holman, and Bob Rosenthal, who was Ginsberg’s long-time secretary. This was succeeded by a performance/presentation by theVERSEverse dedicated to Ginsberg, and the evening wrapped up with a vibrant poetry party.
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Pierre Gervois remarked:
Similarly, Sasha Stiles expressed:
Their sentiments were echoed by Fernando Samalot who found the evening “unbelievably inspiring” and lauded the team for their innovative exploration of Ginsberg’s legacy.
On reflection, the event seems to have been a harmonious juxtaposition of Ginsberg’s influential past and the innovative future of poetry in the digital realm. The venture, while eliciting mixed emotions, undeniably served as a melting pot of art, technology, and legacy, reiterating the adaptability and timelessness of poetic expression.
TheVERSEVerse
View More
An Evening with TheVERSEVerse and Allen Ginsberg: A Captivating Event at Lume Studios in New York
On September 9, 2023, an avant-garde event held at Lume Studios, NYC, brought together the legacy of Allen Ginsberg, the prominent Beat poet, and the contemporary realm of AI and blockchain. The evening was organized by the collective theVERSEverse, in partnership with Subjective.art, the Allen Ginsberg Estate, and centered on the experimental project “A Picture of My Mind.”
VerticalCrypto Art Presents: Proof Of People – An Immersive 3-day NFT Festival Showcasing Art, Fashion, And Music In London
Proof Of People will be an immersive 3-day NFT festival showcasing art, fashion, and music in London, created by VerticalCrypto Art and powered by the Tezos Foundation.
The event will run from July 6th to July 8th, and will take place at the iconic London Fabric venue.
Women-Led NFT Poetry Gallery TheVERSEverse Receives Grant To Build The Future Of Literature In The Metaverse On Tezos
Today, theVERSEverse, a women-founded NFT gallery dedicated to celebrating poems as works of art, is thrilled to announce its first major grant, awarded by the Tezos Foundation to support literary innovations in web3.
The award will help fund a series of planned initiatives to raise awareness of the potential for literature on the blockchain, and empower theVERSEverse to evolve its virtual home at theVERSEverse.com.
Exhibition
View More
MoMI x Tezos Foundation announce the finalists from Community Curation, an exhibition, shaped by the public
The Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) and the Tezos Foundation have just announced the finalists for the Community Curation exhibition, which was shaped entirely by public vote. The three finalists—Rodell Warner, Anna Malina, and Ceren Su—were chosen from a shortlist of ten artists nominated by blockchain art…
Museum of the Moving Image announces major yearlong partnership with the Tezos Foundation
The partnership offers a unique opportunity for artists working with digital tools to exhibit their work and visitors the ability to mint and take home a fragment of the artwork for free
Musee D’Orsay, Agoria, and Johan Lescure Release New NFTs After Historic Sold Out Exhibition
The Musée d’Orsay’s venture into Web3 art does not end with the Le Code d’Orsay exhibition. Following a sell-out sale that saw 26,400 tez traded on the Objkt.One platform, Agoria and Lescure are set to release two additional digital artworks. These pieces, inspired by the ongoing exhibition and available for auction, continue to explore the dialogue between digital innovation and artistic expression.
