NFT Collector: William Mapan explains generative art using a crayon and dice
Generative artist William Mapan’s latest collection, “Distance,” sold out in less than 24 hours despite launching in the middle of a very weak NFT market.
From his early long-form generative series “Dragons” on the Tezos blockchain to the highly sought-after “Anticyclone” ArtBlocks collection that currently commands a 5 ETH floor, Mapan has a unique way of capturing the hearts and minds of collectors.
But many people in the public still don’t understand what generative art even is. Mapan has a unique way of explaining the often misunderstood genre by boiling it down to a piece of paper, a crayon and a die.
“It can be really hard to explain but usually the way I explain is to put away the code, put away the blockchain, put away everything. Just take a piece of paper, a crayon and dice. Imagine drawing two by two boxes on that paper, so four boxes total. You then throw the dice — if the roll shows up as a three or below, you draw a square; if the dice shows four or above, you draw a circle into one of the boxes.
“You just made an algorithm; you just made a set of rules and introduced some randomness in there. That’s basically what generative art is, you build a set of rules, an algorithm and then introduce randomness. Then you try to control that part of the space.
“With the grid of two by two, the parameter of space is very reduced, but as soon as you expand to different parameters, you can get many different outputs. Imagine a 10 by 10 box and imagine you have multiple shapes like a circle, triangle, square, star or whatever. You just write down your rules and just follow them, and that’s it.”
Fine line technique
Mapan’s work straddles the line between appearing as if it’s physically or digitally made, a technique other artists such as Tyler Hobbs and Emily Xiu have a reputation for.
“I like to activate senses, feelings and memories. My hope is that when you see my work, it sparks curiosity. You might think my art reminds you of something in one way, but in another way, you’re thinking there are so many shapes that it’s impossible that someone made it by hand,” says Mapan.
“I hope that it connects with people in their memories, especially like the last series that I released last week, “Distance.” I want people to see themselves traveling, and they remember, ‘Oh, I was on this plane when I saw this kind of landscape down there.’ I like to trigger emotions and curiosity.”
Based in France, Mapan credits Matt Deslauriers, the artist behind Meridians and Subscapes, as his introduction to art on the blockchain. Mapan’s first NFT was minted on 4 March 2021 on Tezos, where he put a lot of his early digital work before launching Anticyclone via ArtBlocks on Ethereum on 23 April 2022.
“Matt helped me navigate early on. He kindly explained it all to me, and it started to make sense over time. I started in the Tezos ecosystem, which was a very community art-driven vibe,” Mapan says.
“It intrigued me that you could put an algorithm on the blockchain, and when people mint it, they buy an iteration that triggers your algorithm on demand. It was a new way to think about your work. Basically, the collector is a triggering point.”
Notable Sales
Rapid-fire Q&A
Are there any up-and-coming artists who you think people should be paying attention to?
“Anna Lucia:I definitely love her work. She’s very talented, and I can’t wait to see her progress. You need to look her up.”
What are the influences on your art career to date?
“Abstract expressionism movement and people pushing boundaries in modern-day art.”
Who is a notable collector of yours that makes you smile knowing they own one of your pieces?
“AC the collector — He is one of the most engaging ones. He comes to exhibitions and talks to me. He always tries to reach out to me and to understand the practice behind the work. AC is definitely a great collector.”
What’s your favorite NFT in your wallet that’s not your own NFT?
“‘Horizon(te)s #5” — a collaboration by Iskra Velitchkova and Zach Lieberman.
“I don’t know why I love this, but I just do. It’s perfect because I love Iskra’s work and I love Zach’s work. It’s the perfect combination. I love the light and abstract shapes, it’s just amazing work.”
Who do you listen to when creating art?
“Kendrick Lamar and Sofiane Pamart. I really like classical music, especially when I try to be in the flow state. When I need to crush stuff, it’s hip hop.
“Performers are in another light. They need to go up in front of the public. They have to be fragile and sensible, yet you have to let your shell down. I find that very inspiring.
“I try to be more like that. To let my emotions out. Prior, I was basically shutting them down because I wasn’t creating art full-time. Now that art is my job, I want to explore expressing myself more. Performers are very inspiring in that regard.”
What’s hot in NFT art markets
Mapan’s aforementioned “Distance,” a collaboration with Cactoid Labs and LACMA, sold out its 250-piece collection at a 2 ETH mint price per piece. The collection has done close to 185 ETH in secondary sales volume since its 13 September mint.
Below are some of the other top recent digital art sales.
Cool Cats headed to Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Nothing says mainstream more than the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and Cool Cats is set to become the first NFT collection to be featured.
In its 97th annual edition, the parade ran a contest that featured numerous NFT collections, including SupDucks, Boss Beauties and VeeFriends. Cool Cats eventually won out, which means a massive Blue Cat balloon will grace the skies of Manhattan on 23 November.
The lead artist and founder of Cool Cats, Clon, couldn’t be more excited for his beloved project.
“This is a big moment for me as an artist and as the founder of Cool Cats. Personally, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has always been an important event in my family and it holds a lot of memories. Being able to showcase my artwork alongside some of the world’s most recognizable characters is a dream come true,” says Clon.
Read also
Nouns DAO fork finalizes
After a bumpy ride over the past few weeks, the Nouns DAO fork has finished with 472 Nouns NFT holders out of 844 in total opting into the fork that was approved in proposal 356.
The Nouns holders that opted into the fork will have the opportunity to get approximately 35 ETH back, while Noun holders that voted against proposal 356 will carry on as the DAO had originally been structured, where 1 Noun per day is auctioned, with the proceeds going to fund the treasury of Nouns.
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Tulip Siddiq has told Sky News her “lawyers are ready” to handle any formal questions about allegations she is involved in corruption in Bangladesh.
Asked whether she regrets apparent links with the Bangladeshi Awami League political party, Ms Siddiq said “why don’t you look at my legal letter and see if I have any questions to answer… [the Bangladeshi authorities] have not once contacted me and I’m waiting to hear from them”.
The London MP resigned as a Treasury minister in January after being named in several corruption inquiries in Bangladesh.
In her first public comments since leaving government, Ms Siddiq said “there’s been allegations for months on end and no one has contacted me”.
Last month, the interim leader of Bangladesh told Sky News the MP had “wealth left behind” in the country “and should be made responsible”.
Lawyers acting for Ms Siddiq wrote to the Bangladeshi Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) several weeks ago saying the allegations were “false and vexatious”.
The letter said the ACC must put questions to Ms Siddiq “by no later than 25 March 2025” or “we shall presume that there are no legitimate questions to answer”.
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Staff from the NCA visited Bangladesh as part of initial work to support the interim government in the country.
In a post online today, the former minister said the deadline had expired and the authorities had not replied.
Sky News has approached the Bangladeshi government for comment.
The allegations against Ms Siddiq are focused on links to her aunt Sheikh Hasina – who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh for 20 years.
Ms Hasina was forced to flee the country in August following weeks of deadly protests.
She is accused of becoming an autocrat, with politically-motivated arrests, extra-judicial killings and other abuses allegedly happening on her watch. Hasina claims it’s all a political witch hunt.
Electrocuted on their genitals and mouths sewn up: Inside Bangladesh’s ‘death squad’ jails
Ms Siddiq was found to have lived in several London properties that had links back to the Awami League political party that her aunt still leads.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s standards adviser Sir Laurie Magnus who said he had “not identified evidence of improprieties” but added it was “regrettable” Ms Siddiq had not been more alert to the “potential reputational risks” of the ties to her aunt.
Ms Siddiq said continuing in her role would be “a distraction” for the government but insisted she had done nothing wrong.
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX reportedly hired former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over the federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.
Cuomo, a New York-registered attorney, advised OKX on legal issues stemming from the probe sometime after August 2021 when he resigned as New York overnor, Bloomberg reported on April 2, citing people familiar with the matter.
“He spoke with company executives regularly and counseled them on how to respond to the criminal investigation,” Bloomberg said.
The Seychelles-based firm pled guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws on Feb. 24 and agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from mostly institutional clients.
The breaches occurred from 2018 to 2024 despite OKX having an official policy preventing US persons from transacting on its crypto exchange since 2017, the Department of Justice noted at the time.
A spokesperson for Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, told Bloomberg that Cuomo has been providing private legal services representing individuals and corporations on a variety of matters since resigning as New York governor.
“He has not represented clients before a New York city or state agency and routinely recommends former colleagues for positions,” Azzopardi added.
OKX reportedly wasn’t willing to comment on its relationships with outside firms.
Cuomo also influenced OKX to make executive appointments: Bloomberg
Cuomo, who is now running for mayor of New York City, also advised OKX to appoint his friend US Attorney Linda Lacewell to OKX’s board of directors, Bloomberg said.
Lacewell, a former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, was added to the board in 2024 and was named OKX’s new chief legal officer on April 1, according to a recent company statement.
Source: Linda Lacewell
Related: New York bill aims to protect crypto investors from memecoin rug pulls
After the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the issues stemming from the federal probe and bolster its regulatory compliance program.
“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies,” OKX CEO Star Xu said in a Feb. 24 X post.
Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again
United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
The reciprocal levies on will be approximately half of what trading partners charge for US imports, Trump said. For example, China currently has a tariff of 67% on US imports, so US reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods will be 34%. Trump also announced a standard 25% tariff on all automobile imports.
Trump told the media that tariffs would return the country to economic prosperity seen in previous centuries:
“From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation. The United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been. So wealthy, in fact, that in the 1880s, they established a commission to decide what they were going to do with the vast sums of money they were collecting.”
“Then, in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying,” Trump said.
Full breakdown of reciprocal tariffs by country. Source: Cointelegraph
Trump presented the tariffs through the lens of economic protectionism and hinted at returning to the economic policies of the 19th century by using them to replace the income tax.
Related: Bitcoin rally to $88.5K obliterates bears as spot volumes soar — Will a tariff war stop the party?
Trump proposes eliminating federal income tax and replacing it with tariff revenue
Trump proposed the idea of abolishing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and funding the federal government exclusively through trade tariffs while still on the campaign trail in October 2024.
According to accounting automation company Dancing Numbers, Trump’s plan could save each American taxpayer $134,809-$325,561 in taxes throughout their lives.
US President Donald Trump addresses the media about reciprocal trade tariffs at the April 2 press event. Source: Fox 4 Dallas
The higher range of the tax savings estimate will only occur if other wage-based taxes are eliminated at the state and municipal levels.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who assumed office in February, also voiced support for replacing the IRS with the “External Revenue Service.”
Lutnick said that the US government cannot balance a budget yet consistently demands more from its citizens every year. Tariffs will also protect American workers and strengthen the US economy, he said.
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