Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 9: AI Era (2010s)
2017
Creeps & Weirdos by DADA.nyc

Aligned with previous NFT attempts by the McCoys and ascribe, DADA aimed to empower artists by enabling more people to earn a sustainable living as artists. DADA’s Creeps & Weirdos collection was launched on October 31, 2017 with a Halloween theme. This global drawing program is by Beatriz Ramos, Abraham MIlano and Judy Mam. This collection, featured in Jason Bailey’s (Artnome) article “The Blockchain Art Market is Here” in December 2017, and serving as the official image of the Rare Art Festival in January 2018, is a significant milestone in NFT history. Employing the newly launched ERC20 standard and comprising 108 unique artworks by 30 artists, Creeps & Weirdos merged the aesthetics of early crypto collectibles with rare digital art. Unlike traditional trading cards or memes, these artworks formed on a decentralized marketplace, allowing them to be bought and sold, a clear foreshadowing of modern cryptoart platforms. Each piece in the collection represented a visual conversation, emphasizing collaboration and community—two elements still crucial to NFTs. With 16,600 digital editions across five levels of scarcity, Creeps & Weirdos remains a testament to DADA’s ability to recognize the potential of blockchain and art prior to NFT-mania in the coming decade. The collection also further solidified the Ethereum blockchain as the home for NFTs, despite the initial interest forming in the Bitcoin community.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random.
Sources
People
Abraham Milano, Beatriz Ramos, Jason Bailey, Judy Mam
Movements
Blockchain Art, Ethereum Art, NFT Art, Rare Digital Art
Filed under
- Ideas
- Blockchain Art, collaboration, collectibility, community, crypto art, decentralization, empowerment, Ethereum Art, market, NFT Art, scarcity
- Technologies
- Bitcoin, blockchain, ERC-20, Ethereum, NFTs
- People
- Abraham Milano, Beatriz Ramos, Jason Bailey, Judy Mam
- Works
- Abraham, Creeps & Weirdos, The Blockchain Art Market Is Here
- Exhibitions
- Rare Digital Art Festival
- Organisations
- Artnome, Ascribe, DADA.nyc, October
- Other subjects
- Jennifer and Kevin McCoy
Related moments
- 2017 · The Blockchain Art Market Is Here by Jason Bailey (Artnome)
- 2013 · Ascribe Conceptualizes Proto-NFTs
- 2014 · Jennifer and Kevin McCoy’s Quantum
- 2017 · ERC20 Launches
Echoes across time
- 1973 · France Hosts International Computer Art Events
- 1979 · Cybernetic Symbiosis, Berkeley: Lawrence Hall of Science
- 1970 · Generación Automática de Formas Plásticas Exhibition at the Centro de Cálculo of the University of Madrid
Le Random editorials
- Jason Bailey, Georg Bak & Kate Vass on the Art Form of Our Generation, Peter Bauman, May 29, 2024
Le Random podcast
- Timeline Ch 9—AI Era (2010s) with Tyler Hobbs, Helena Sarin, Rhea Myers & Gene Kogan — listen with transcript on Le Random (30 Jul 2024, 51 min). Chapter 9’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify