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Amplitudes of Canvas with @harvey_rayner
Recorded: Aug. 19, 2025 Duration: 0:32:00Space Recording
Short Summary
Harvey Rayner announces the launch of 'Amplitude of Canvas,' a groundbreaking generative art project set to debut on August 20th, featuring 555 unique tokens. The project emphasizes community engagement through a tiered allow list for collectors, reflecting a trend towards long-form digital art and the importance of provenance.
Full Transcription
E aí Thank you. Arby, can you hear me all right?
All right.
How are you doing?
Doing great.
We'll give it a few minutes for folks to join.
We'll chat in two minutes. so
E aí so We'll begin in about one minute, everybody. Sorry. E aí so
E aí E aí Okay, Harvey, can you hear me?
Yes, loud and clear.
All right, GM, GM, everybody.
Thank you for joining our pre-drop talk.
I'm Patrick.
I go by PC Nuge in the Discord server.
I'm a member of the community team here at Artbox.
And I'm also joined by Jordan from the team Artbox here up on stage.
And today we are speaking with Harvey Rayner.
Harvey is an English algorithmic artist
with over 25 years of digital and code-based practice.
He attended the City and Guilds of London Art School.
He's had a diverse career, creative career,
working as a designer, inventor, programmer, business owner,
all while maintaining a dedicated daily art practice.
His large, varied body of work reveals an evolution
in formalized geometric approaches to art practice. His large, varied body of work reveals an evolution in formalized geometric approaches to art making. And in early 2022, Rainer discovered Artblocks,
and thank goodness he did. His first Artblocks release was Faux Times Dream back in the summer
2022. Later that year, he followed with Fontana, a fan favorite, part of the Artblocks curated
collection. He's worked not only with Artblocks, but also Sotheby's, Christie's,
Verse and Bright Moments.
And anyone who's attended our annual MARFA event in 2023 has
Harvey to thank for the MARFA Mesh project.
He's also released a previous studio project.
John, can you hear me?
Deco Echo.
Whoa.
And.
What's your gun?
Something's blended. Great. And Am What's your gun?
Something's playing.
And Amplitudes of Canvas releasing tomorrow, Wednesday, August 20th in the ArtBlock Studio.
Harvey, welcome back.
Hey, man. Yeah, pleased to be here.
I don't know where that voice is coming from.
It's not my end, I don't think.
It is playing back for some reason on me.
Give me one second.
Something is playing back.
Can you hear me now?
Yeah, I can't.
I don't hear the echo anymore.
So maybe we're good.
We've had some technical difficulties.
We had DeFi up here on stage and he was kicked off.
Seems to be playing back there with us, folks.
DeFi shows as a co-host on my end.
Yeah, he's back.
Okay. Let me see.
It seems to be playing a recording from somewhere.
Give us one second, everybody. Thank you. Okay, we're back.
Harvey, can you hear me?
Yes.
Okay.
All right.
So, sorry about that, guys.
That was a previous tweet playing, a previous space is playing on my computer.
But let's get into it.
Harvey, welcome back.
I hope everyone heard your lengthy bio introduction.
I'm sure most people listening are very aware of your work.
But for those who aren't, I felt the need to do that.
But how you been Harvey?
Very well, very well. Kind of busy,
but you know that's usually my normal stay,
I guess is what I like.
So yeah, everything's good.
How about you?
Doing well. Let's dive into the project.
Amplitude of Canvas, you describe it in the project page as the infinite sketchbook of a mad person. What's it all about? What's the story?
thing you know themes i've been exploring for the last couple of years it's kind of a difficult
project to explain because it can you know kind of knits together all these different uh ideas but
um yeah one of one of them as you mentioned was this this this way i've just been thinking about
algorithms recently in the sense you know they're a bit like um you could say they're like a sketchbook
of a mad person and that means like they're a sketchbook
in the sense that like each output is not really fully crystallized it's kind of like pointing to
the algorithm as a whole you know it's not like this kind of finalized crystallized painting it's
more of a kind of um something that points to the bigger picture and then i kind of feel like they're
a little bit like sketches of a mad person just because you
know the the insane they kind of get stuck in these sort of loops and they tend to sort of
iterate over the same thing over and over again so it's just you know it's just a fun way to kind
of like try to describe what it is but then you know in the process of you know when i wrote the
tweet about this idea it's that i kind of you know i noticed as the as the project unfolded and it became much more gestural and some of the you know the
gestural markings but had this kind of like violent kind of um madness to them basically
that that the idea started to fold back into the you know the evolution of the project um
it's it actually starts with a kind of an idea about landscape
um again just a kind of like whimsical idea about um you know you know you got this theme you know
this motif in in our history of landscape painting well i thought well you know these these primitives
i'm making they look like they're made from canvas so this idea that you know I could
create this this landscape out of you know the material properties of canvas itself rather than
actually painting a landscape onto canvas so you know um and then uh but I think like the core
some of the core ideas are more about kind of like replicating gesture. And, you know, obviously,
I've also got things like the handwriting in there,
which kind of like tie into the madness.
They kind of look like they're describing of a mad person.
But this is sort of tension between the human made
and the machine made.
Obviously, I'm making code, which makes, you know,
and I'm using it to make things that look maybe more human created.
And I really like that tension.
Anybody who knows my work, it's a common thread that links all my work, really.
Maybe not the first project, but recently anyway.
Yeah, I know I love the little kind of scribbled signatures.
I don't know what you call them.
And I love how you say text as texture.
I think that's very apt when looking at these.
Right, because when you,
I tried lots of different ways to introduce text
into the work, which I've done in the past.
I've always loved text in art,
but it's hard because when you do that,
often ends up looking like a poster or something not art.
But I love the texture of text because you read it in a different way.
It brings a new dimension to the work, a different depth.
And so I settled on this kind of cursive script, which is not a font.
It's actually just a generic. It's an algorithm that replicates my handwriting.
So, and yeah, it's kind of looks like it's been sort of
like almost like the artwork's been erased in places
and the text's been written over like notes.
And I like the kind of, it's almost, yeah,
it looked mad and I liked that.
Sure.
And one neat thing about this project
and for those that they're listening who may not be aware, you held a contest to gift some of the artwork.
And so there are actually 20 of these works already out there alive that folks should go check out on the project page.
I want to ask you, Harvey, of those 20, has anything jumped out at you so far?
It kind of either surprised you, intrigued you or excited you.
kind of either surprised you, intrigued you, or excited you?
Yeah, so I was really pleasantly surprised by the response of, you know, the people who submitted.
Like, having looked at tens of thousands of these, I know how many you have to look at to find something, you know, completely, you know, right on the kind of fringes of the algorithm.
So people obviously iterate over a lot.
And, you know, I found it hard to pick 20 in the end, but there was some pretty wild outputs that I'd never.
What was the contest exactly for those who don't know?
So basically they just went onto my Rayner.art website and, you know,
onto my my rayner.art website and you know um found the the amplitudes of canvas generator and
and just found some outputs they liked and they could they had to just retweet my post and and
share the the outputs in that and uh and the hash which is uh so you know i could replicate them
and um and i just picked them out then i did then i minted them and you know sent them to to to the
winners so you know they got free mint super cool and um you mentioned something called recursive
curation can you kind of explain what that is right so so this is actually an art curated
project you know i i didn't want to talk about it too much because
i didn't want to confuse the curated language of you know the art blocks curated language with
so so actually so i use i don't use these 64-bit long string hashes you know i i just use these
four four digit little um strings that like seeds for the so I can embed them in the code and I can curate a collection,
but the recursive part of it is actually, um,
I sort of,
when I started to create the collection about a month and a half ago,
just the act of curating, I thought, wow, you know,
you start to look at it in a different way because you have to make, you know,
very clear decisions. Do I keep this or do I not? Right. And then you start to look at it in a different way because you have to make you know very clear decisions do i keep this or do i not right and then you start to think well i wish i
could just fine tune this bit and this bit and so i introduced this kind of structure in the algorithm
where i could actually i could continue to work on the algorithm and save those previous uh outputs
and and that could go on indefinitely you know it's a way of kind of like creating these
pathways through the algorithm because normally when you when you when you change the algorithm
you lose everything that's gone before you know you can't preserve certain outputs because of the
way the random class works but this this new structure introduced a way for me to kind of like
i i kind of recursively go back iterate over the algorithm and save outputs and i think this
is something that i'll use again to for sure in the part in the you know in the future and i'll
make a more generalized version of it for other artists to kind of do so that so they can explore
um you know a curated set on artbox because i know there's something generally i don't know if it's ever been done before um i know you know there was there was a sense where you know it felt like
it was kind of you know it's not there's a purity to the random mint of course um but uh you know
this is one of the beauties of studio allows you to go off and do you know you can you can extend
the model so to speak and and i think there and do, you know, you can, you can extend the model, so to speak. And, and I think there's a certain,
you know, certain type of algorithms that, you know,
what you can do if you curate, you can make a much wilder algorithm.
You can have a much bigger possibility spaces because you're not too worried
about having, you know, some, some duds in there.
So it's the only way to really extend it beyond you know um i felt anyway you
know beyond what i've done before in terms of variety and i think this collection definitely
has a lot of bigger variety space than anything else i've done before and it's because of this
recursive curation model sure and you mentioned just now that this is on studio and i know that
you kind of debated whether or not to do this in Artbox Studio.
And you've spoken publicly about your decision to release this in Artbox Studio.
But I'd like you to just kind of say, like, what was that thought process like and why Artbox Studio?
Right. Yeah, it was a long process, I see, because, you know, I started to kind of like go around to the different people in
the space different you know different platforms and what have you potential partners uh just to
show them what i've done and you know quite a few quite have even liked what i did but in the course
of like talking to them and like trying to fit the work into what they what how they sold uh you know
and sort of like getting a sense from them
that they felt a little bit apprehensive about selling long-form art,
you know, so there's this big pressure to sell smaller supplies
and what have you.
I kind of like ended up thinking, well, who is really committed
to the same, you know, to long-form generative art in the same way I am?
And, of course, it's art blocks.
There's no question about it.
And, you know, with the AB 500 and stuff,
this commitment, you know, to preservation and provenance, you know,
you've got FX hash and stuff that can be, it's a long form, but, you know,
for me, you know, all the, all the coin stuff and everything,
it's not for me. It's to me, it feels like noise. So,
it was just like suddenly obvious, you know i mean of course studio was always on my
radar and i always loved the premise that you could have your own studio there and invite people
you know collectors in and um but um for some reason you know i i was just missing what was
obvious so i sort of circled back and suddenly thought yeah let's just put this on on studio and
and try to help kind of like champion studio
because I think it has this huge potential
to serve as this foundation for a new chapter,
especially after AB500,
a new chapter in the next kind of chapter in gen art,
long form gen art.
Well, I'm biased, but yeah,
if you're looking for folks that are committed to the future of long-form generative art, Artblocks is definitely a good place for that.
And I know that you've kind of committed to doing the studio moving forward.
You've kind of given a sneak peek about an upcoming project, Monte Carlo.
What's kind of your personal vision for Artblocks Studio moving forward?
What I love about it is just that this is you know i'm i like the
autonomy i like to be able to release when i when i want without you know obviously you're still
you know and it's still a strong team to help with technical problems and stuff it's not like
there's you're totally on your on your own but i i've always liked that sense that okay i'm in control i don't have to negotiate
with anybody about price or anything like that um and so that's that's just what i i've always
dreamt of you know and i felt like maybe i had to build you know there was a period where i went
through i thought what do i have to build all this on my own site and stuff and then of course
it's like well no because artbox has rebuilt rebuilt it. Why spend energy time and energy building stuff
and it's already been done really robustly, right?
And I love the fact that everything is so,
you know, is obviously fully on chain.
That's always been important to me.
So, yeah, it's just the future vision maybe is just like,
you know,
I'd like to see tools where we can communicate better maybe with collectors
and just make it feel like more.
I personally would like for it to feel like this is my studio, right?
Rather than a studio full of us, I'd like it to feel like a bunch of us
with their own studios.
But that's just a personal kind of preference.
But that's kind of what it is, basically.
Yeah, so that's how I see the future.
But yeah, I'm totally committed.
I'm committed for, you know, let's give it a few years and see how this all unfolds.
Well, we're glad to have you.
You just mentioned kind of a better way to communicate to collectors.
I think this is a good time to talk about the allow list,
which has multiple steps and phases, but it is certainly collector focused.
I'd love for you to talk about kind of how you created the allow list, who's on it and why you really wanted to give back to collectors in the first place.
Well, it just makes total sense to me know put my collectors first they're the people who who have supported me
in the past and and enabled me to work full time and you know follow my dreams so you know why
wouldn't i and um you know that's another reason i i kind of stayed away from maybe other platforms
because there was always this pressure to maybe help their communities and and of course i can't
put my holders i can't put other people's communities in front of my own holders.
Right.
So and I do have because I've always worked with long form.
I have a lot of holders, you know, and it's like 1600 holders at this point.
So so the so there's three phases.
The first phase is my top holders, which is like my top hundred holders as calculated by the DECA leaderboard.
And, you know, there's some kind of it looks at the length of time people hold my work and the amount of see and there's weights for different works.
And I also folded into that the my Council of Elders, which is this like core discord group I have, which are like people who have supported me in lots of different ways.
There's a few friends in there, but they're all collectors of my work.
And then I've also followed in my, my black dragon holders from my quasi dragon studies,
because those people made this huge kind of monumental commitment to,
to create these black dragons.
And, you know, and and uh you know lots of really
well i really sort of like hold those pieces in in high regard and and white dragons too of course
but so so that's that's the phase one and they get a discount in this phase two which is all my
holders and then after that is public and i've and used the first two phases, the fixed price.
The third phase is a small duck short.
And I'll be over in 15 minutes.
And it's just, you know, I was told many times it's going to be bothered by.
I thought, well, maybe this is a way to help.
You know, if you really want a piece in public, you can get in early and grab one.
For sure.
And all those details are listed on the project page for those out there listening.
Aside from this project being different, Harvey, and you kind of constantly pushing boundaries
and exploring, has anything specific changed in your creative process, kind of in your
day-to-day?
Yeah, I would say yes and no. No in the sense that I'm still, I still always regard myself as fundamentally, I call it a picture maker.
I mean, it sounds simplistic, but somebody who likes, is really interested in things like composition, visual dynamics, expressiveness, you know, just the act of making pictures.
So that's always remained constant for me.
It has to, I mean, it sounds simplistic, for me it has to I mean it sounds simple but
it just has to stir me
on a purely visual level so
but yeah my practice has
changed a lot
I think just like
becoming more sort of like confident
in my direction you know
obviously like Gen Art fell out of favor
I was
affected by that everybody was affected but i now
feel like no this you know this is what i believe in i'm committed to this sort of path um i'm not
going to try to shape my the work i do you know i'm not going to start making one-on-ones but
just because there's a pressure to do that from my collectors or anybody you know from from
from platforms i i really love long form i feel
like there's so you know i'm only just scratching the surface personally in terms of what i want to
explore with with the genre um so i feel like over the last year you know i've kind of really done a
lot of self-reflection i've become a lot more confident in my path and what i want to do how
i want to support my collectors well not support them but like give them first dibs and sort of shape my trajectory,
you know, work with our blocks and sort of simplify things in a way, you know.
When you commit to this one thing, clearly you actually free up a lot of creative energy,
I find.
So the creative energy should really be
directed towards making innovative kind of like crazy projects not trying to you know not in terms
of worrying about who i release with and things like that which kind of you know uh yeah i found
it quite taxing to be honest for for a couple of years so now i've uh that's one of the reasons
you know i'm really making this commitment to Artbox and this kind of format of dropping because it just enables me to focus.
Well, I'm looking at these first 20 tokens right now, and a lot jumps out to me about what we've already talked about.
And this is kind of a throwback question that I used to ask every artist in our pre-drop talks.
throwback question that I used to ask every artist in our pre-drop talks.
But here it is.
How do you best envision collectors ultimately experiencing and enjoying this
work?
Right. Well, that's, yeah.
At the end of the day, I have no,
I have no idea or control over how people experience it, but I will say,
I will say how I would like, I guess, well, that's what you're asking me,
I guess. So one thing's what you're asking me, I guess. Yeah, yeah.
So one thing I think with this project,
I've really tried to make something that's very sort of expressive,
that expresses, touches people on a human emotional level.
Now, that's hard.
You know, when you do that in purely abstract terms, it's really hard.
So, you know, in my my description i talk about abstract expressionism and what they were trying to achieve
this is it's been my goal for a long for many many years i've always wanted to sort of like
make art that sort of like connects to the on a human sort of emotional level so um and some of
the images quite dark you know but i just want people to feel
that heart that sort of like spirit and um and it may may take time to reveal itself you know i don't
necessarily want to make art that's just pretty and and just you know just it's eye candy and
candy and doesn't have any sort of like deep story to it i want to make art that kind of really
and doesn't have any sort of like deep story to it i want to make art that kind of really
unfolds over a period of time so um yeah some mystery and some sort of feel the heart that i
put into it that's what i want people to feel i think i think you've achieved that with this
project so far and what do you like what have you been up to in 2025, aside from your art practices?
Any events with collectors or anything?
Well, I'll be going to Martha.
I've had a quiet year.
Yeah.
Oh, for sure.
I wouldn't miss Martha for the world.
But yeah, I missed NFT NYC this year.
I haven't.
So I've had a quiet year.
Just been head down and I'm working on multiple projects.
But yeah, I've been other things I've had a quiet year, just been head down, kind of working on multiple projects. But yeah, other things I've been doing, I've been learning to play the drums.
I've been climbing in my climbing wall I built last year.
I've been playing with my grandson.
Been making puzzles with my grandson.
That's been a highlight.
We've been puzzling hard.
Amazing.
And what's the best way for collectors to reach out and learn more about you and your
work i know you're already very in tune with many collectors but for those maybe just discovering
you for the first time uh just x you can anybody can dm me on x or you know they can go into my
discord uh i don't know if i've got a link in my bio anymore actually but if yeah if you go to my
discord i'm active in there yeah The Discord's pretty active right now.
Or on BlockTalk, maybe.
So yeah, this should be easy to get hold of me.
All right.
Well, Harvey, is there anything else that you'd like to add before we sign off about amplitudes of Canvas or anything else?
Oh, no, I just hope people, you know,
you always hope that people will enjoy it.
You know, it's not, I's, I'm proud of it.
I would say I actually already feel satisfied.
Even if it didn't sell, I'm happy that I'm putting this project in the world.
And that's, that's always like the main thing.
I mean, it's easy to say, right?
Of course, you know, if nobody bought it at all, I would be a bit bummed.
But, but, but I just does feel like, yeah, this feels, I'm really proud of what I've done.
But I just does feel like, yeah, this feels,
I'm really proud of what I've done.
And yeah, just, you know, I'll be,
I don't take anything for granted, you know?
I worked for a long time
and I didn't have any kind of audience.
So I know I don't take it for granted.
People all buy it, but I'll certainly be happy if they do.
And if they like it, I'll be even happier.
All right. And for those who want to learn more more there will be a beyond the box with Raven I believe coming out today and Harvey I
know you did a chat with uh Wim in his uh new series for those to check out um which I thoroughly
enjoyed and yeah all right everybody this isplitudes of Canvas by Harvey Rayner,
releasing in the ArtBlock studio.
Has an edition size of 555.
First phase starts at 9 a.m. Eastern.
The final phase starts at 2 p.m. Eastern,
if it gets to that point.
But all this information can be found in the sales notes
on the project page.
And this all happens tomorrow, Wednesday, August 20th.
Harvey, thanks for taking the time to chat with me today.
Thanks, Patrick.
Yeah, thanks for having me here.
And thanks to everyone out there listening.
Happy minting.
Take care all. Thank you.
Host
Art Blocks
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