Hervé Graumann
ConcretionX144X160 #39
With the NFT series ConcretionX144X160, the artist Hervé Graumann continues his body of work Raoul A. Pictor cherche son style, focused on the fictional artist alter ego Raoul Pictor, a concept he has been working on since 1993, with some iterations of this project being part of the HEK collection. (https://hek.ch/sammlung/kunstwerke/raoul-a-pictor-cherche-son-style)
In the 114-part generative NFT series ConcretionX144X160, from which HEK acquired three iterations, the fictional digital artist Raoul A. Pictor explores the artistic potential of the pixel format. Each of the 114 NFTs has an image size of 144 × 160 pixels (the screen format of the original 1989 Gameboy) and is rendered in four pale green tones, consciously referencing this iconic aesthetic. The pixel-generated images display clusters of circles and inorganic-looking forms against a dark green marbled background. All the images were generated by the fictional artist Raoul Pictor on his computer.
The title’s term Concretion refers to the natural phenomenon of a compact, typically rounded mineral or rock formation that forms through mineral deposits around a core. While inspired by nature, the generated compositions bridge the digital and physical worlds by transferring the sculptural yet abstract form of a naturally grown object into the virtual world, thus translating organic shapes into the realm of pixels.
Each NFT shows the fictional artist in the color and format of an early Gameboy display during his individual creative process. In the animated sequence, we see the artist in his small studio as he generates an image, before the work is finally printed out via a printer in the virtual studio — a reference to the original installation version from 1993. While the overall scene remains the same, small details such as the weather and Pictor’s activities change from NFT to NFT while the image is being generated. The format and pixels thus serve as both the material and the environment for Raoul A. Pictor’s artistic creation.
