{"access_artwork_files":"With proof of purchase, access to complete artwork and supplemental material is granted through creating an account on feralfile.com or Feral File’s official web address at the time of purchase. Files are redundantly stored on IPFS. If the official Feral File domain is no longer accessible or active, contact the present-day custodian of Feral File’s archive, the artist studio, or artist estate.","animation_url":"https://ipfs.feralfile.com/ipfs/QmPouRUStzHHHg2vUAMtu7MbKoTv1AhyHLHvdLSTdkVbD8?","artist":"Travess Smalley","artwork_index":24,"artwork_name":"025_SOUNDOVERCASTDEADNETTLE_CRAWL_MAP_BY_TRAVESS_SMALLEY_SEED_1719414937370_PYTHON_V_3_12_3_SCRIPT_V_1_0_DATE_2024-06-26_11-15-37-379633.png","attributes":[],"collection_name":"CRAWL by Travess Smalley","collection_uuid":"82dcf3d9-56ba-40bf-b57d-3a631bbdb7d5","creator":"0x54ee8301BA5902771cB6fd31eC69cE41B7F5FB17","description":"_CRAWL_ is a series of 512 unique artworks, each generated from a Python-code system authored by Travess Smalley. Each artwork is a “level” to be explored, and includes different patterns, colors, and textures. The core of each artwork is a map image, but the artwork is also the way the image is revealed to the viewer through Smalley’s custom-built explorer software. Viewers can sit back and watch the software perform itself, or they can navigate directly with a keyboard. While exploring, different colors within the image trigger different events. Each level has a door icon, as well as other features to discover — all of which reveal new ways to explore.\n\nEach _CRAWL_ artwork is one “level.” If you collect multiple _CRAWL_ artworks, they can be merged into a new artwork that contains all the levels in your collection. For instance, if 24 individual levels are collected, those artworks can be combined into a unique 1/1 software artwork featuring all 24 levels, and the original single-layer artworks are burned. After a merge, icons embedded into each level map enable the collector to move between levels.\n\nMouse Instructions:\n\nLeft Click and Hold - Move towards the cursor direction\n\nRelease Left Click - Stop moving\n\nLeft Click on Buttons to Trigger Action\n\nKeyboard instructions:\n\nW \\| Arrow Up - Move Up\n\nA \\| Arrow Left - Move Left\n\nS \\| Arrow Down - Move Down\n\nD \\| Arrow Right - Move Right\n\nHold Shift - Precision Movement Mode\n\n\\+ \\- Zoom In (20x)\n\n\\- \\- Zoom Out (4x) - (3x to 1x Unlocked)\n\nG - Show Map\n\n? \\- Show Info\n\nT - Warp (Unlocked)\n\nR - Create Spawn (Unlocked)\n\nU - Create Worm (Unlocked)\n\n\\[ \\- Ascend Level (Unlocked in Multi Level)\n\n\\] \\- Descend Level (Unlocked in Multi Level)\n\nTouch Instructions:\n\nTouch and Hold - Move towards the touch direction\n\nRelease Touch - Stop moving\n\nTouch Buttons to Trigger Action","exhibition_info":{"note":"I’ve had Travess Smalley’s newest artwork, _CRAWL_, running on my screen for over a day. Sometimes I watch it perform on its own as it explores what appears to be a map of a cave rendered in vibrant pixels. At other times I navigate directly with the W, A, S, and D keys, moving around using skills I’ve learned playing video games.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpending time with _CRAWL_ is a back-and-forth between watching and investigating. At each moment, I can see only a small piece of a larger map, but as I explore, more is revealed. I notice my speed slows down and accelerates as I pass through different colors. Sometimes the map is instantly magnified or reduced. This isn’t a game, but sometimes it feels like one; there are rules, but there’s no specific objective. Overall, there’s a lot happening, and the more time I spend here, the more I’m intrigued.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWelcome to the world of Travess Smalley, where mythic Greek labyrinths, artificial-life algorithms, and retro video games all coexist. We’ve been talking about this exhibition for over a year now, and every new meeting reveals more of the inspiration and ideas that have gone into _CRAWL,_ as Smalley makes new references across history and fields of knowledge. On the surface, _CRAWL_ feels like it could be part of the lineage of video games that include _Rogue_, _NetHack_, and _Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup_. But underneath the crunchy pixels and vibrant colors, there’s a deep set of references to artists including John F. Simon Jr., Harold Cohen, and Terry Winters — as well as to natural and physical phenomena including the way worms create silk, superorganisms like ant and termite societies, and cloud chambers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e_CRAWL_ is a series of 512 unique artworks, each generated from a Python-code system authored by Smalley. Each artwork is a “level” that includes different patterns, colors, and textures for viewers to explore. While the core of each artwork is a map image, the artwork is also created as the image is revealed through the explorer software. While a viewer interacts, different colors within the image trigger different events, and new sections of the map — i.e. the artwork — become visible. Each level also includes a door icon that reveals new ways to explore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen multiple level maps are collected by a single collector, they can be “merged” together into a new artwork. For instance, if 24 individual levels are collected, those artworks can be combined into a new artwork featuring all 24 levels. After this merge, icons embedded into each level map enable the collector to move between levels.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe _CRAWL_ software series is complemented by a series of unique relief prints called _CRAWL WOODBLOCK SCREENSHOTS_. While each print features an area of a generated level, the colors within the original map have been flattened and thresholded to black-and-white values. Unlike more traditional prints, where one wood block is used to create multiple prints in an edition, Smalley uses each woodblock to pull just one print, meaning each work is a unique object featuring pixels that have been transformed into cut wood, and then into ink-on-paper prints. Each _CRAWL WOODBLOCK SCREENSHOTS_ print is a blend of code, digital fabrication, and traditional printing — making each an object that represents thousands of years of image-reproduction technology.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e_CRAWL_ expands on themes that Smalley began exploring with his legendary _Pixel Rugs_ series (released through Hic et Nunc in spring 2021), as well as in his solo shows _Number colors burn randomly_ (at Foxy Production in Spring 2023) and _Coordinates_ (released on Folia in fall 2023). His unique ideas about digital-image generation and image processing underlie all of this work. With _CRAWL_, Smalley continues to explore digital images and unique works on paper — while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of how his images are understood and explored.","note_title":"Colossal Cave Adventure"},"external_url":"https://feralfile.com/series/82dcf3d9-56ba-40bf-b57d-3a631bbdb7d5","id":"27271357221255084324537793443996264744604553267670416617055471525879029383768","image":"https://ipfs.feralfile.com/ipfs/QmRcsoCbqN3KQMPjQaAmMquyhR6jCpwkpzg9uveGxo5iE5?","medium":"software","metadata_version":"v1","name":"CRAWL 025_SOUNDOVERCASTDEADNETTLE_CRAWL_MAP_BY_TRAVESS_SMALLEY_SEED_1719414937370_PYTHON_V_3_12_3_SCRIPT_V_1_0_DATE_2024-06-26_11-15-37-379633.png","royalties":{"decimals":4,"shares":{"0x2033606bE146405870F92Ea3144ef5057b9DEA48":250,"0x457ee5f723C7606c12a7264b52e285906F91eEA6":0,"0x54ee8301BA5902771cB6fd31eC69cE41B7F5FB17":750}},"series_id":"0x81c882c59799eA442317D020c39174AaAa8d7FC7-1","symbols":"FERALFILE","timestamp":"2024-09-04 06:03:06.536842856 +0000 UTC m=+427655.611058950"}