Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 10: On-Chain Era (2020s)
2021
RGB Elementary Cellular Automaton by ciphrd
A few days after the platform’s official launch, fxhash founder ciphrd released the first collection proper: RGB Elementary Cellular Automaton (RBG). Inspired by Stephen Wolfram’s Elementary Cellular Automaton, the project is the quintessential study of a rule-based generative system. Recognizing the importance of this work, Le Random acquired RGB #1 from the artist himself.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.
Sources
People
Baptiste Crespy (ciphrd), Stephen Wolfram
Movements
long-form generative art, Tezos Art
Filed under
- Ideas
- collecting, generative art, generative systems, Tezos Art
- Technologies
- cellular automata, elementary cellular automata, long-form generative art, rule-based systems, Tezos
- People
- Baptiste Crespy (ciphrd), Stephen Wolfram
- Works
- RGB Elementary Cellular Automaton
- Organisations
- fx(hash), fxhash, Le Random
Related moments
Echoes across time
- 1986 · Langton’s Ant
- 2004 · Matthew Cook proved that CA Rule 110 is capable of universal computation
- 1970 · Generación Automática de Formas Plásticas Exhibition at the Centro de Cálculo of the University of Madrid
Le Random editorials
- Demystifying Generative Systems, Peter Bauman, June 20, 2024
- John Provencher and Raster on Generative Identity, Peter Bauman, September 3, 2026
- Demystifying Generative Aesthetics, Peter Bauman, March 21, 2024
- Snowfro and Ciphrd on a Symbiotic Relationship, Peter Bauman, November 30, 2023
Le Random podcast
- Elevating the Generative Art Space (Launch Episode) with Casey Reas, ciphrd, Anne Spalter, Anika Meier & Georg Bak — listen with transcript on Le Random (28 Jun 2023, 52 min). Featuring Baptiste Crespy (ciphrd). Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- One Year of Le Random — listen with transcript on Le Random (22 Mar 2024, 59 min). Title mentions: Le Random. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Recapping 2024 and Projecting 2025 in Digital Art — listen with transcript on Le Random (13 Jan 2025, 89 min). Transcript mentions Baptiste Crespy (ciphrd). Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Timeline Ch 10—On-Chain Era (2020s) with Erick Calderon, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Itzel Yard & Rafael Lozano-Hemmer — listen with transcript on Le Random (02 Sep 2024, 63 min). Chapter 10’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify