Jack Butcher, creator of the innovative Checks VV NFT collection and founder of creative firm Visualize Value, has announced a new project called Checks Elements. This project combines hand-drawn physical prints with generative art.
Checks Elements is a new project by Jack Butcher that explores the relationship between consensus and truth with a collection of 152 generative art pieces. The collection is based on the four classical elements of earth, fire, water, and air, with each piece representing a unique algorithmically-generated composite of colors that make up these elements. The algorithm that created the original Checks collection was modified by Butcher’s team and new parameters were added to create the new collection.
Butcher collaborated with master printmaker Jean Robert Milant and Cirrus editions to translate the NFT outputs into hand-drawn 30-inch by 43-inch monoprints. They used an on-chain SVG file fed through a vintage lithographic printing press to bring the art to life.
The physical prints were created by etching the signature four-by-four Checks grid onto a plate, and then adding each paint color featured in the collection one by one based on the algorithmic outputs. Each physical artwork received authentication using Butcher’s fingerprint and came paired with an Ethereum-based NFT.
Christie’s will hold a solo auction featuring three of the four “Alpha” elements, which include water, air, and earth, starting on May 16 and ending on May 23. St. Luke’s Hospital will receive a portion of the sale proceeds.
The remaining pieces of the Checks Elements collection, including the fourth Alpha element of fire, will be available via public auction for 24 hours. The physical prints will begin shipping on June 24.
In recent months, NFT artists and galleries have started embracing the physical forms of their NFTs. Tyler Hobbs exhibited large-scale prints of his QQL: Analogs in March 2023 at the Pace Gallery in New York City. In February 2023, owners of artist Mpkoz’s Metropolis NFT collection were allowed to participate in a physical activation to mint a second, physical piece in the particular city associated with their NFT, thanks to a collaboration between Art Blocks and NFT Gallery Bright Moments.