Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022
Self-declared trash artist and “Unofficial Punk®” (are there any official punks¹?) Eric Rhodes (also known as Second Realm) writes on the one-year anniversary of the first “Unofficial Punks®” trash art collection:
It’s the 1-year anniversary of [my] “Unofficial Punks®” [trash art collection]. And I learned that my punk fam[ily trash art collection] - who don’t have the blue checkmark - can’t use the word “PUNK” in titles when minting on the OpenSea shared store front. So I minted “Unofficial ‘PUNK®’“ for them.
This was a tool used for artistic expression and launched the careers of many artists including the punk [pixel art] movement. And now this tool has become ground zero for OpenSea’s quiet assault on 1-of-1 artists and appropriation art in the [non-fungible] token space.
Fuck censorship! Fuck gatekeeping!
What’s your take? Who owns “PUNK®”? Or a “2×2 Red Pixel Clown Nose”?
Matt & John’s® Metaverse comment:
It seems reasonable. Matt & John’s® invented pixel art, generative art, and the word punk. Oh and [non-fungible] tokens too. Anything that came after [and yes - before - hint: V1] Matt & John’s® Punks V2 is a blatant rip off and not considered real art [or historic].
PS: Ironically Eric Rhodes (also known as Second Realm) suffers from the same self-dilusion and hybris. The “Unofficial Punks®” page reads - I am not making this up:
The award-winning artist, [Eric Rhodes also known as] Second Realm, ignited the alt-punks [art] movement and the [non-fungible] token avatar renaissance after he posted on an american microblog his hand-painted [or is that clicked?] punk [pixel art].
I don’t have a punk. So I made [or is that hand-painted?] my own Second Realm® [24×24 Pixel] Punk.
– Eric Rhodes (also known as Second Realm), February 19th, 2021
Roll your own. Power to the people!
Did you back it up on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) tho? Then it becomes real duh.
Not minted yet. Considering how I want to mint it for now.
Shut up! And take my money!
Can I mint one of these?
[…]
Not only are we [why not I am?] responsible for developing a dynamic artist-led micro-economy, but we are the bridge between original gangsta collectible projects like Matt & John’s® Punks V2, Avastars®, and Mooncats® and avatar renaissance projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club®, Cool Cats®, and Dead Heads®.
[…]
Q: What is the difference between Unofficial Punks® and Certified Unofficial Punks®?
Unofficial Punks® are the limited edition custom punks created by the founder Eric Rhodes. Certified Unofficial Punks® are all of the sub-genres and artists in the Punkverse who have joined Eric Rhodes on this social collaboration in homage to the original gangsta Matt & John’s® punks V2.
Note ¹: Punk philosophy is that you are what you are. Period. Fuck you. There are no “official” or “unofficial” punks and no “authentic” and “unauthentic” or “alt” punks. A punk is a punk is a punk is a punk. Period. And yes, PUNK® belongs to us all.
Post them on the CryptoPunksDev reddit. Thanks.