Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 9: AI Era (2010s)
2011
Len Sassaman ASCII Tribute on Bitcoin
Mined on July 30 as part of Bitcoin Block 138725, this work stands as some of the earliest on-chain art and it is ASCII. The work itself is a tribute to Leonard “Len” Harris Sassaman. Sassaman was a prominent cypherpunk, cybersecurity expert and privacy advocate who passed away just a few weeks before this ASCII tribute appeared in his honor.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random.
Sources
People
Movements
ASCII Art, Bitcoin Art, Blockchain Art, NFT Art
Filed under
- Ideas
- Bitcoin Art, Blockchain Art, cypherpunk, NFT Art, on chain art, privacy
- Technologies
- ASCII, ASCII Art, Bitcoin, on-chain
- People
- Len Sassaman
- Works
- Len Sassaman ASCII Tribute
Echoes across time
- 1967 · Computer Nude (Studies in Perception I) by Leon Harmon and Ken Knowlton
- 1963 · ASCII Adopted as Standard
- 1999 · Raging Bull and Deep ASCII by Vuk Cosic
Le Random editorials
- DEAFBEEF on (Im)permanence, Peter Bauman, September 20, 2023
- Infinite Images, Finite Control, Kevin Buist, July 28, 2025
- The memoir of a net.art memoir!, Vuk Ćosić, April 4, 2024
- Matt Hall and John Watkinson on Beginning Movements, Peter Bauman, September 25, 2024
Le Random podcast
- Recapping 2024 and Projecting 2025 in Digital Art — listen with transcript on Le Random (13 Jan 2025, 89 min). Transcript mentions ASCII. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Reviewing Digital Art in 3Q 2025 — listen with transcript on Le Random (28 Sep 2025, 83 min). Transcript mentions ASCII. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Figure31—Discussing and Demonstrating DEL with Peter Bauman — listen with transcript on Le Random (29 May 2026, 57 min). Transcript mentions ASCII. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- 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