MOCA LIVE

The Foundational Texts of Crypto Art: Eric Hughes’ ”A CypherPunk’s Manifesto”

Welcome to the first Current Events miniseries! Over the next four weeks, we tackle four of the most important influences on crypto culture, crypto art culture, and all the values we hold dear. Up first, Eric Hughes' 1993 "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto," a document that directly influenced the Bitcoin mission, that tackles privacy in the online age, and feels prescient today some 30 years after its writing. 

MOCA LIVE: The Crypto Art Class Struggle, A Future for Blockchain Books, Sex, Moxarra, and More with Judy Mam

What a joy it is to be joined by a true pioneer of crypto art, the writer and thinker and founder of DADA.art, Ms. Judy Mam, to discuss her new NFT book "Serves You Right," whether blockchain writing has a future (and how!), crypto art often feeling like middle school, sexuality in crypto art, the brilliance of Moxarra Gonzalez, and much more. An all-timer. 

Current Events: A Eulogy for Async Art, Dead Artists Getting Into NFTs, NEW XCOPY ART, and the Rise of the Art Contest

This week, Max and Colborn speak for awhile about the just-announced closure of Async.Art, the stalwart and innovative platform, and what Async has meant to both of them throughout their crypto art journeys. Then it's onto the Norman Rockwell Museum announcing the NFT-ization of old Rockwell photographs, the potential implications of XCOPY's newest artwork, and why there are so many art contests in the Twitter-sphere of late. 

MOCA LIVE: Techno-Optimism, The Death of Decentralization, Scaling Love Endlessly, and Being Out on AI

My favorite Colborn and Max episode by far. Digging into Marc Andreesen's (founder of a16z) "The Techno-Optmist Manifesto" leads us to talk about the successes and failures of this very 21st-century philosophy, the dangers of unmitigated technological advance, the very possibility of endless decentralization, the overwhelming importance of love in our lives (and its many forms), and why AI might force us all back into each others' arms. 

Current Events: Is 6529 a Real Person, Will the Bitcoin Spot ETF Change Everything, Opensea’s Terrible Year, and Colborn’s Take on Matt Kane’s Latest Performance

On this week's Current Events, Max and Colborn talk 6529's new automated allowlist program —EMMA— and whether 6529 is a person or a conglomerate, the explanations and implications of the possible Bitcoin Spot ETF (coming soon???), Opensea's Downfall, and Matt Kane's Contractual Obligations AI project. 

MOCA LIVE: Interviewing the Legends, Maintaining Positivity, and The Importance of Discourse with MLow

Max is joined by MLow, one of the most irrepressibly positive figures in recent crypto art, to talk about the art of interviewing, stories good and bad from the dozens of interviews MLow has done with crypto artists big and small, why critical thought is so vital, and the responsibility on the shoulders of every interviewer/writer/critic doing this kind of work. 

Current Events: Matt Kane on ”Contractual Obligations,” Artist Expectations, Renewed Interest in Early AI Art, and Halloween Candy

The one and only Matt Kane joins Current Events to talk about ALL his own contributions to crypto art current events this week. That means diving deep on his performance art project "Contractual Obligations" and the way he's challenging our expectations of what a "Matt Kane artwork" even is. Plus, interest mounts for early AI art, MOMA Postcards are confusing, and why Matt has such a powerful connection to Halloween candy. 

MOCA LIVE: The Terrifying Threshold with Ezra Shibboleth

Max is joined by poet, artist, and founder of Sovrn.art, Ezra Shibboleth, for a conversation on the cutting-edge of everything. Tokens, and their many forms. Artistic expectations, and how Matt Kane has spent this past week subverting them (with fiery results). Building a successful platform in a bear market, and what that requires of its founders. The very apocalypse itself, and how humans might react. 

Current Events: Penguins Invading A Store Near You, Cryptopunks Aren’t Punk Anymore, and a 20,000 Piece PFP Project in This Climate??

On today's Current Events, we talk about Pudgy Penguins pivoting into plushie sales, the value crypto art, the mechanisms by which culture is programmed from the top-down, the problem with Beeple throwing Cryptopunks party, and how Fewocious could drop a 20,000 piece PFP project in the dark heart of a bear market. And, of course, the Boston Celtics.

MOCA LIVE: The Most Abstract Afro in Crypto Art with WGMeets

An abstract conversation about abstract art, how fitting when your guest is the profound OG talent WGMeets. WG is an abstract artist with a whole range of visual styles, and our conversation with WG covers the whole range of abstract topics: Making abstract art, marketing abstract art, the abstract artist's unique fingerprint, finding and staying true to an abstract vision. Rule of thumb: If you have a chance to hear WGMeets riff on what he does best, take it.