Eric P. Rhodes

Artist. Designer. Researcher. Technologist.

Essays & Reflections

These essays explore authorship, emotional expression, digital systems, and the messy, meaningful territory in between. Some are conceptual. Others are personal. All of them reflect my attempt to make sense of the tools and tensions shaping our creative future.

Trash Art: A Short History of an Emerging Digital Genre
Tracing the aesthetics, politics, and provocations of the Trash Art movement from protest to platform.
AltPunks NFTs: A Short History of a Crypto-Native Art Movement
A look at how CryptoPunk derivatives sparked a broader creative rebellion rooted in remix and access.
The Jacquard Loom and Its Profound Impact on Computing and Digital Art
Examining how 19th-century textile design helped shape the logic of computation and generative art.
Zombie Futurism: Has the Art of Tomorrow Lost Its Soul?
A critique of aesthetic stagnation in digital art and the emotional cost of empty innovation.
Technourishment: Balancing Art, Technology, and Humanity
Reflecting on how we can integrate emerging tools into creative practice without losing our humanity.
My Artistic Foundations: The Enduring Impact of My High School Art Teachers
An origin story of interdisciplinary learning, metaphor, and structure that still informs my practice today.
On Becoming a Designer
How an accidental detour through computer science reshaped my approach to creative systems and design thinking.
CryptoPunks Copyright: What’s All The Fuss About?
A foundational essay unpacking the ownership debate surrounding CryptoPunks and the remix rights that defined a generation of Web3 artists.
CryptoPunks Copyright: What Are The Legal Experts Saying?
A curated review of legal perspectives on CryptoPunks IP, remix culture, and how artists navigate ambiguity in Web3 rights.
CryptoPunks Derivatives Timeline
An archival timeline that documents years of derivative work inspired by CryptoPunks—an evolving visual and cultural lineage.