French experimental homeware brand TRAME Paris has unveiled Navette, a project that materialises algorithms and computer codes of the digital realm and gives them an incarnated substance through renowned craft traditions. Titled Craft Nouveau, this series pushes the boundaries of conventional art and design production.
Art Blocks, TRAME, and Crypto Packaged Goods (CPG) have partnered with French artist Alexis André to create Navette, a series of 200 on-chain generative artworks (NFTs) and eight accompanying loom-woven tapestries. In creating the collection, André travelled from his studio in Tokyo to Aubusson in the Creuse region in France. He familiarised himself with the intricacies of Néolice’s technology, optimising his generative code to reflect the capabilities of stitching, dying, and weaving. Combining 3D printing and textile craftsmanship, André created uniquely coded digital outputs with complimentary physical expressions.
The project explores a juxtaposition of virtual and reality as a voyage between them. Fusing together a digital generative process and a physical loom, this collection offers a tangible result to the abstract concept of NFTs, one of the most talked about subjects in the art world in the last few years.
Using a combination of digital techniques adapted specifically for a physical and traditional production process, Navette plays with the rigid conceptions of the art world, mainly the notions of series and unique pieces. After all 200 works were sold out at the auction, the generative code created by André was fed into Néolice’s digital loom, which created eight large-scale physical tapestries, each one-of-a-kind, that became claimable by owners of the original digital artworks. A redeemable token was airdropped to the first six minters to claim their tapestry. Subsequently, inspired by the inherent randomness of the digital realm and the infamous “glitch”, two others were randomly distributed to the collectors of the remaining 194 artworks.
With the sizable dimensions of 67″ x 98″, the produced tapestries were exhibited at the iconic Parisian venue Le Bon Marché. And if the owners of the rest of the Navette NFTs want an actual tapestry of their code, they may purchase a Tapestry Redemption Pass NFT priced at €15.000. Redemption Pass holders are eligible to claim a 67 “x 98” tapestry matching any or all Navette NFTs they own.
Each digital output features André’s distinct use of colour and shapes, which the artist finetunes particularly to compliment the craft and process of textile weaving, testing the limits of digital generative art and Néolice’s traditional tapestry production. Néolice’s tradition lies in the Aubusson weaving technique, dating back to the 15th century.
The artist had to adapt his code to the Néolice loom, which offers a limited number of colours instead of a typical palette of millions of colours on screen. On the other hand, André states he was able to introduce the presence of wool, silk or Lurex threads, which will give depth to the tapestry.
Alexis André (aka MacTuitui) is a French artist, researcher and designer based in Tokyo. His work is ever-evolving, looking towards a future where the power of generative systems is leveraged to offer individual custom-created artwork. His generative art pieces have been showcased worldwide and auctioned at major auction houses. Navette is his eighth project with Art Blocks, which provides white-labelled generative minting technology to brands, organisations, and artists.
This project has a distinct meaning to André as it enabled him to take back control of how his art is experienced, particularly the scale of it. In his interview with TRAME, he admits having a 100 per cent digital art practice can be frustrating, mainly because his art “loses the subtlety if it is displayed too small.” He adds, “For this work, the output imposes the distance needed to really appreciate the work as the artist imagines it.” Thanks to the unique loom of Néolice, capable of weaving tapestries up to 1.80 m wide, he was able to achieve his goal of creating tangible large-scale artworks, while challenging his own skills, making sure the algorithm produces only high-quality interactions, developing a tapestry at its full potential.
With this collection for TRAME, André says his dreams of the last few months have come to life thanks to ultra-motivated collaborators. Ismail Tazi, CEO of TRAME, states, “TRAME is proud to bring together craftsmanship, generative art, and blockchain technology, positioning the company as a leader in design innovation and curation.”
Through their collaboration, Art Blocks, TRAME and CPG will continue to bring together artists, the technique of creative code writing and exquisitely crafted collectable design, exploring the potential behind the marriage of tradition and the future.
