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Verse Talks

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In this episode of Verse Talks, Leyla and Jamie speak with digital art historian and researcher Noah Bolanowski about the overlooked history of digital art. From street art and the early days of Nifty Gateway to the NFT boom, blockchain, and the pioneers of computer art, Noah takes us through his journey into uncovering the people, works and stories that helped shape the medium.

00:00 — Introduction: Noah Bolanowski
01:43 — Becoming a digital art historian
03:16 — Street art, collecting & the origins of Nifty Gateway
07:22 — Keith Haring, Timothy Leary & early digital art
11:59 — Becoming a “digital Indiana Jones”
15:15 — Discovering NFTs & collecting on Nifty Gateway
18:37 — The NFT boom and sudden six-figure valuations
23:27 — Speculation, collectors & the pandemic NFT market
30:48 — The 14-year-old CryptoPunks millionaire
33:03 — What happened to the NFT market?
36:48 — What can blockchain actually do for art?
38:19 — Museums, smart contracts & exhibiting NFTs
43:49 — Rethinking how digital art is displayed
45:15 — Museums and the 70-year history of digital art
48:19 — Why blockchain changed access to digital art
50:21 — 1OF1 and the institutionalisation of digital art
51:47 — Bill Gates’ early digital art displays
55:32 — Do we actually want screens in our homes?
58:49 — Why Noah turned towards digital art history
1:02:48 — Who gets canonised in digital art history?
1:04:05 — Questioning established narratives & the importance of provenance
1:09:13 — The forgotten pioneers of computer art
1:10:43 — Charles Csuri and the unlikely computer art pioneer
1:13:40 — Making computer art in the 1960s
1:16:49 — Why digital art history still needs to be written
1:18:58 — Collecting historic computer art
1:21:15 — How early digital artworks survive and are preserved
1:23:28 — Charles Csuri, treasure hunting & Part Two
1:25:17 — Investigating the past and rediscovering lost histories
1:28:03 — Closing & Part Two


You can find Noah on X @Noahbolanowski


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  • 24 episodes
  • Avg 1 hr 12 min
  • English

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  • Dec 5, 2025 · 1 hr 39 min

    On the ground inside Zero 10 with Matt Medved

    00:22 - Welcome Matt Medved 04:34 The Evolution of Media and Culture 06:36 The Birth of NFT Now and Its Mission 08:52 The Gateway: Bridging Traditional and Digital Art 10:42 The Shift to Now Media 15:32 Art Basel and the Digital Art Council 21:51 Meeting the market where it is and growing understanding 24:33 Reflections on Art Basel and Digital Art 26:46 The Future of Digital Art in Traditional Spaces 29:34 Interactive and Immersive Digital Art 33:00 - Highlights and Reflections from the fair 41:02 - Live on the ground inside zero 10 https://nowmedia.co Matt Medved: https://x.com/mattmedved Now Media: https://x.com/nowmedia

    • Transcript
  • Nov 28, 2025 · 59 min

    Laurie Simmons: art, identity & experimentation in the age of AI

    01:42 - Welcome Laurie Simmons 04:17 - Early inspiration, New York and formative travel 07:25 - Artistic beginnings and creative identity 12:00 - Politics, rebellion and activism 14:57 - Navigating gender norms and early works 21:45 - AI and artistic evolution 27:55 - Photography and artistic identity 30:26 - Connections and collaborations 32:32 - Meeting kindred spirits in the art world 33:08 - Defining movements and appropriation 35:05 - Rejecting the previous generation’s approach 37:14 - Navigating the art world and personal identity 40:26 - Embracing NFTs and digital art 43:39 - Thinking about the space as a separate art world 47:53 - What causes the stigma around NFTs and AI among legacy artists 50:24 - The changing landscape of the art world 54:40 - Looking forward towards the future Laurie Simmons: https://x.com/simmonslaurie Black & White: https://www.alminerech.com/exhibitions/11587-laurie-simmons-black-white

    • Transcript
  • Nov 25, 2025 · 1 hr 23 min

    Refik Anadol: building the world's first museum for AI art and celebrating humanity through machine collaboration

    01:15 - Welcome Refik Anadol 02:07 - Blade Runner, media architecture and early inspirations 03:34 - Defining data painting 04:45 - The concept of data as pigment 07:44 - Fusing art and architecture 10:24 - Viral success and public art 13:49 - Collaborations and technological innovation 16:30 - Defining a medium through a holistic approach 21:27- Building the datasets and creating positive impact 25:10 - Galleries, collectors and shifting understandings 29:10 - Avoiding the hype and staying focused 31:19 - Collaborating with Messi 38:03 - Public perception and criticism 45:08 - Early blockchain exploration 47:25 - Unsupervised at MoMA 48:34 - Balancing physical and digital art 49:41 - Challenges and opportunities in web3 54:27 - The vision behind Dataland 01:00:02 - Thinking in "living systems" 01:03:09 - The role of technology in art 01:07:18 - Art as a celebration of humanity 01:11:59 - Collaborating with Demis Hassabis and Jensen Huang 01:20:44 - Future plans and collaborations Refik Anadol: https://x.com/refikanadol https://dataland.art/ Dataland Residency Program: https://dataland.art/blog/introducing-the-dataland-ai-artist-residency

  • Nov 21, 2025 · 48 min

    Tyler Hobbs: From Noise

    00:50 - Early days and the Art Blocks boom 03:48 - A mixed-media approach to a generative practice 05:02 - From Noise 08:50 - Exploring gestural mark-making through an algorithmic practice 10:39 - The power of messy ideas and an unrestricted output space 15:01 - Where the art lies 16:30 - The curation process behind From Noise 18:21 - Thinking about how the work exists physically 22:55 - Unpacking an artist's need to create and experiment 24:24 - Sketching with code and the genesis of From Noise 27:22 - The pressure in a series-based format 28:59 - Avoiding trends and examining the impact of new technologies 30:50 - Edward Hopper and a lesson in authenticity 33:30 - Detaching from social media 35:20 - What represents personal success 36:30 - Agnes Martin and going all in on the work 37:42 - On Marfa, community and the future of digital art 39:28 - Tyler's personal collection and its impact on his work 41:09 - Rejecting the idea of persona as a brand 42:30 - Exploring the different stereotypes around digital and physical artists 46:15 - The cultural influence of the computer https://www.tylerxhobbs.com Tyler Hobbs Studio: https://x.com/tylerxhobbs Tyler Hobbs on Messy Ideas: https://www.tylerxhobbs.com/words/direction-reaction-and-messy-ideas

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