Introducing SurrealDoge
You have stumbled upon my newest NFT project which I call “SurrealDoge”. This is a project I have spent the present year putting together and I hope you’ll find it interesting. This post will be comprised of a few sections which I will outline first and then we’ll delve right into who/what/why/where. I will begin the post by introducing myself and the work I have done in the past, then explain the journey and process used for SurrealDoge and finish the write-up with technical details and blockchain related matters.
Who?
I am Erik Bohm, a Nordic artist who has spent most of his life making and enjoying art in various forms and shapes. My earlier works have mostly focused on sculptures, ceramics and paintings, and some of them have been displayed in various art museums. I have always been fond of design (such as architecture and furniture) and other forms of visual arts. After attending art school, I have dedicated my time, sometimes more, sometimes less, to art. For the last few years I have found my passion rising again. I have been intrigued with blockchains and the cypherpunkism which goes alongside with it for a long time. Back in 2020 I started to research NFTs as an art form. I created some preliminary artworks just to see how it all works. In fact, you can still find them on Rarible under my name.
What/Why?
At the beginning of this year (in the midst of the dog-related cryptocurrency craze) I got struck by the inspiration for SurrealDoge. One could say SurrealDoge is a tribute to both cryptography and machine learning, two disruptive technologies that are probably going to shape our lives in the near future.
I have spent the past year working with a machine learning algorithm to use pictures, keywords, and even sentiments to create pictures portraying those combinations. The only keyword that has remained as a constant for this specific project has been “Doge”. Using Doge as a basis, I have created a massive hand-built collection of surreal, unique art all with one thing in common, the beloved Shiba Inu and the meme cryptocurrency created to honour those memes. Below you will find few examples of the artworks of this project. SurrealDoge website also has a randomly chosen selection of 200 different NFTs, which equals to 2% of the whole collection.
Some of the keywords which I used refer to famous painters like Riley, Rivera and Mondrian. Also, using the names of designers like Henningsen and Jacobsen created very interesting results. Of course, not every NFT is modelled on these artists’ distinct styles as I have consistently let the AI-algorithm do more and more work as it has created a distinct style of its own; e.g. the algorithm has created art pieces with normal sentences and keywords like “space”, “moon”, etc. I feel confident that these art pieces will resonate with you as well and hopefully everyone will be able to find one that astonishes them as much as they have astonished me.
I am also not ignorant of the trends and other ways the NFT market currently works by. I realize many people want to buy NFTs to use them as profile pictures and other trademarks and, fear not, the collection includes a multitude of artworks which suitably fit as a profile picture as is or with a bit of cropping you can gain something truly unique to showcase your love for crypto and art at the same time. Maybe you are an avid Salvador Dali or Picasso aficionado? Why not pick up some of the Dali-influenced Doge pictures? (You’ll recognize them when you see them, trust me)
Where?
SurrealDoge will be released on the Ethereum-blockchain as an ERC-721 token. The whole collection spans 10,000 unique artworks created by me in collaboration with the AI. The number of artworks is naturally an homage to CryptoPunks and their amazing pioneer-work in the NFT-landscape.
SurrealDoge is now live on https://www.surrealdoge.com/
All SurrealDoges will subsequently be listed on Opensea so you will be able to trade them freely and do with them as you wish. There will be no hidden taxes or fees included with the NFTs, once you’ve minted them, you own them 100%. The NFTs will be stored on IPFS such that every SurrealDoge is fully decentralized and safely stored for millennia to come.
To ensure a fair distribution and valuation, the NFTs will be listed for sale for 0.08eth/piece (+ the minting expenses). Also, within one transaction you will be able to mint a maximum of 20 SurrealDoges at a time. For any questions or inquiries please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Contact Info:
Website: https://www.surrealdoge.com
SurrealDoge Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/SurrealDoge
Erik Bohm Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ErikBohm2
Discord: SurrealDoge Discord
Opensea: TBA
You can also contact me by email:
erik.bohm@protonmail.com
And on Telegram:
@ErikBohm
Getting a SurrealDoge is a bit like tasting the Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans from Harry Potter: You never know what you’re gonna get. And I can guarantee that there will be many Easter eggs to be found😉
I hope you will be around with me to celebrate the release on the 8th of October!
-Erik Bohm
