E06 sgt_slaughtermelon — The Best Kinds of Collaborators, Balancing Depth & Fun, Glitch Forge, Lisa Frank, and Reinvention vs. “The Signature Style.”

"The key is not to take ourselves too seriously. If we truly understand the meaninglessness of it all, then irony and nonchalance make more sense than nobility or defiance." — sgt_slaughtermelon

sgt_slaughtermelon (@sgt_sl8termelon) is a digital artist working mostly in abstract compositions — often code-driven. His designs span the gamut from looking backward to modernist and Bahaus-influenced geometric abstraction to crumbling code-addled neon structures fit for a future age. 

He is best known for his Artblocks drop autoRAD, “Lazlo Lissitsky” generative Swiss modern collection, and his glitch artwork across the blockchain and on album covers. He recently had a sold-out drop called Cantographs on the Canto blockchain and, the same week, a sold-out collaboration with FiveTimesNo on MakersPlace. 

sgt_slaughtermelon earns the high distinction in my book as being an articulate artist who takes his art seriously while at the same time being incredibly playful and taking absolutely nothing seriously. If you’re interested in his work, I highly recommend you check out his website sgtslaughtermelon.com to read some of the extensive essays he writes on each of his series. 

See our show notes for this episode here.

The transcript of this episode can be found here.

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Follow MakersPlace on Twitter: @makersplace

Follow Brady Walker on Twitter: @bradyevanwalker

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1. Collaboration and community in glitch art: The importance of collaborations in pushing the boundaries of glitch art and the sense of novelty that comes from working with others in the glitch community.
2. The Glitch Forge project: A discussion about Glitch Forge, a generative art tool for Tezos, and its aim to provide a platform for collaboration between artists and coders to create unique projects.
3. Consistency versus innovation: The dilemma artists face in maintaining a signature style while avoiding repetition and embracing new ideas, with insights on finding the balance and trusting artistic intuition.
4. Balancing life and creativity: Insights on time management and the artist's approach to balancing a full-time job, creating art, participating in communities, and parenting, emphasizing the importance of not being desperate and approaching art with an open hand.
5. Personal growth and art: Advice to the artist's 20-year-old self to focus on personal growth and cultivating a sense of culture before fully committing to being an artist, highlighting the value of learning and exploring beyond the latest trends.

Please enjoy!

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