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, fact-checked September 2026.
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