Tribalism is on the rise fueled by increasing polarization along political and ideological lines. At the same time, capitalism has come under fire from both the left and the right. These trends have led to a renewed interest in philosophy, particularly in debates about human nature and the role of technology in our lives. Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that there has been a growing fascination with the idea of a digital self. This concept has been explored in fiction for decades, but it is only now becoming a reality thanks to advances in technology. As we enter a new era of human history, it is clear that real revolutions are often the ones that nobody sees coming.
Six centuries after the birth of the European Renaissance, blockchain, artificial intelligence and machine learning are now set to provide the foundations for a new digital renaissance. These foundations reduce the costs of production, distribution, and promotion, supporting digital technology in democratizing access to the cultural marketplace, allowing for the construction of a greater economic equality. Amidst these currents, culture may again be altering its course towards a new civilization visualized, as is so often the case, through the arts.
In 2017, Canadian Founders of Larva Labs, Matt Hall and John Watkinson, unknowingly set in motion a paradigm-altering model for the digital art market and challenged the concept of scarcity, demand and ownership itself. CryptoPunks (Punks) were their creation, experiment, and legacy but… this is not an article about them, nor about non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is a story about all of us and what may lie ahead.
The allure of the Punk experiment has endured despite hits of ambivalence, controversy, and obsession – the 24×24, 8-bit-style pixel art images have become the visual embodiment of the decentralized blockchain movement itself, a movement sparked by Satoshi Nakamoto’s genesis block of Bitcoin on 9 January 2009.
Within the digital halls of the House of Punk, now five years young, an old idea has been taking a new form and spreading throughout the nascent corners of web3… what we here at CC have termed Tribal Capitalism. It is based on the philosophy that humans are fundamentally tribal by nature.
The idea behind Tribal Capitalism is that by harnessing the power of tribalism, one can create a more efficient and profitable economy – a more direct connection between the producer and the consumer. Blockchain technology is facilitating this direct connection, creating stronger bonds between the two parties than anything previously available, as they are both invested in the success of one another. This connectivity is facilitating a greater sense of community and cooperation within groups, allowing for a greater degree of creativity and innovation, as people are free to experiment and pursue new ideas without fear of failure, which spurs more innovation and risk-taking.
Auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s have to be given a great deal of credit for the early development and expansion of this marketplace by exposing traditional art spaces to Punks. Considering their history of growth and development alongside the Ethereum blockchain, owning a Punk, some would argue, is like placing a bet on the importance of NFTs and the Ethereum blockchain, but these are also more fundamentally seen as Art. Luxury brands have started to take notice. Tiffany & Co’s partnership with blockchain tech company Chain launched “NFTiff” to provide CryptoPunk owners bespoke IRL jewelry shaped like their Punk, pushing the boundaries of what individual consumerism can be. Something digital has just reached out to something physical within this 184-year-old jewelry maker.
It’s no surprise that subcultures have started to emerge in the digital sphere… but when these digital tribes start to reach out from their digital screens, the world will be shocked by yet another aspect of this digital movement.
Punks will continue to embody a wide range of opposing concepts: anti-establishment, non-conformist risk takers vs. popular, commercialized, successful elites. That’s what it is. These oscillating, still developing, bipolar tendencies are in their infancy… but narratives are powerful narcotics.
To the naysayers and skeptics, the last laugh may be from beyond the grave. A thoughtful, culturally conceived, mass-produced and algorithmically generated effort that at its core is the intersection between virtual assets, artificial rarity, and real-world value, something that Andy Warhol would have appreciated as he explored digital generative art using Amiga computers in 1985, two years before his death in 1987.
In the summer of 1985, Warhol received his first Amiga 1000 home computer from Commodore International and signed on as a brand ambassador. For their world premier, Commodore had a theatrical performance, which featured Warhol on the Lincoln Center stage beside rock ‘’n’’ roll icon and Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry, in front of a live audience, using the new ProPaint software (in beta), to create a portrait of Harry. A wonderful video of the retrieval of Warhol’s digital artworks, lost for 20 years, is found at The Andy Warhol Museum website.
As we confront the various challenges of the 21st century, it is helpful to understand the larger forces at work in our world. In their theory of generational change, William Strauss and Neil Howe explain that history moves in “seasons.” Following cycles of birth, growth, decline, and renewal, history oscillates between seasons of awakening and unravelling. These seasons are punctuated by crisis periods that ultimately lead to new social orders. Each generation finds its footing within unique seasons of history. Even as the economic impact of COVID-19 still reverberates, governments battle with inflation and interest rates, nationalistic furor rises, geopolitical tensions escalate… so far these focuses have quietly accelerated the decline of an older industrial order (i.e. before crypto) but history is often not quite. As we enter into a new season of history, it is important to be aware of the powerful forces at work around us. Only by understanding the past can we hope to build a better future.
So it is that the younger and more tech savvy generations alive today have grounded themselves in the foundations of web3 with concepts of digital identity as a cornerstone. Profile pictures (PFPs) are not new to gamers or anyone who has ever used social media. The question always dives down to the options available and choices concerning information disclosures.
With the increasing time and importance of online reputation and brand, people are increasingly searching for unique and original ways to express their digital identities. How best to represent your more multidimensional self in a digitally filtered world? If we know anonymity increases creativity by destroying the conventional barriers placed on its contributors, how best to create an alternative self to best take advantage?
The rise of PFP NFTs coinciding with the emergence of Web3 is not an accident. Concepts around digital identity are complex. In the early days of the internet, anonymity was seen as a key virtue. It allowed people to explore new identities and experiment with different forms of self-expression. However, as the web evolved, the cultural importance of identity shifted increasingly towards the “likes” of Facebook and LinkedIn where IRL identities were held up as what the successful and socially connected did. A subculture existed outside that realm, never really buying into what the web2 startups and corporations were giving for “free”.
This is where blockchains come in. By giving users the ability to control their own identity, blockchains have the potential to transform the internet into a more secure and private place. Punks are the perfect embodiment of this vision. These digital avatars are unique, immutable, and completely under the control of their owners. They’re also a powerful reminder that owning your identity is the first step towards owning your privacy.
CryptoPunks embody the rebellious, DIY spirit of aristocratic cryptonatives, celebrities, and savvy degens alike, a community of pioneers and profiteers pushing the development of web3. Their alliance is founded on dedication to maintaining anonymity and freedom from government and corporate controls: Crypto-Jedi acting as the guardians of an open metaverse and the decentralized internet that is only now beginning to come into its own.
The most interesting thing about the Punks’ journey is that it’s still too early to make sense of the ecosystem – largely because most of it is hidden. Blockchain technology is disrupting the financial infrastructure of the world, and NFTs are shifting how we think about art, media, community, and even the broader concept of consumer ownership. While Tribalism may be our natural state, it’s not our only state. We’re also capable of reason and empathy. We can choose to see ourselves as members of a global community instead of just our tribe. We can choose to embrace change instead of resisting it. We can choose to work together for the common good instead of just furthering our own self-interests. This is the hope of the digital renaissance, these are the converging currents of time. Roadmaps be damned. That is Punk.
