Notes from a Neutron Star

105 supply
3 artists

Notes from a Neutron Star is an homage to Joy Division’s iconic Unknown Pleasures album cover, designed by Peter Saville. PROOF asked three artists - Aaron Penne, Jesse Woolston and Luke Shannon - to create pieces which reflect on Saville’s original artwork: an image of radio waves emitted by a neutron star. Artists drew inspiration from astrophysics, autonomous systems of art, and cosmic balance to create a multidisciplinary collection of physical and digital pieces. This project runs in conjunction with CP1919, Saville’s most recent NFT project released by Pace Verso.

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Receive Transmission

Aaron Penne’s ‘Receive Transmission’ is a 100-piece generative collection powered by Art Blocks Engine. This will be a fixed-price mint with two mint phases opening on October 26th, 8AM PST.

Phase 1: Full Set and ‘Archive of Feelings’ Holders

Holders of the PROOF Collective Pass, ‘Archive of Feelings’ NFT, and CP1919 Open Edition, as well as 15 winners of the ‘Archive of Feelings’ PREMINT raffle have exclusive 24-hour access or until sell-out. Each eligible holder may mint one (1) token.

Starts on: October 26th, 8AM PST

Mint price: 0.1 Ξ

Mint starts in: 24h : 32m : 17s

Phase 2: PROOF Collective, Moonbirds and ‘Archive of Feelings’

Holders of the PROOF Collective Pass, Moonbirds and ‘Archive of Feelings’ may mint one (1) token per eligible wallet.

Starts on: October 27th, 8AM PST

Mint price: 0.1 Ξ

Starts after Phase 1

Phase 3: Public mint

Public minting until mint close or sell-out.

Starts on: October 27th, 12PM PST

Mint price: 0.1 Ξ

Phase 3: Public mint

Public minting until mint close or sell-out.

Starts on: October 27th, 12PM PST

Mint price: 0.1 Ξ

Receive Transmission

Aaron Penne

Instability and my first plot

Jesse Woolston’s ‘Instability’ and Luke Shannon’s ‘my first plot’ will run as concurrent English auctions and will be open to the public. Winners of the ‘my first plot’ auctions will receive a signed and framed physical plotted print of the artwork. If a PROOF Collective holder wins the auction, they will receive a 10% discount on the final sale price. Auctions will open October 26th, 8AM PST. If reserve price is not met by mint close on October 28th 8AM PST, the work will remain unsold.

Curator statement

There are few works as recognizable in the cultural lexicon as Peter Saville’s design for Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album. The interdisciplinary nature of this work has influenced artists for decades, originally drawn from a chart recording of a pulsar: the first recognized recording of a neutron star, CP1919. “It's become quite a famous cult image,” Saville explained in a Pace Gallery short film, “Almost kind of totemic of the Joy Division story. ” That story continues with Notes from a Neutron Star: An Homage to Peter Saville and CP1919. PROOF selected three artists to create work directly inspired by Saville’s album artwork. Aaron Penne, Luke Shannon, and Jesse Woolston were chosen for their artistic and technological pursuit of innovation in both the process and execution of digital art. Artists were encouraged to elaborate on CP1919, the inextricable link between art and science, and what it means to create in a universe that we know so little about. Shannon submitted his first plotter drawings, a technical process in which a computer literally ‘plots’ a drawing on paper. These were carefully created with Saville’s work in mind several years ago. “my first plot #0 is directly inspired by—almost copies—the cover of Unknown Pleasures,” wrote Shannon, “Actually, I think a lot of generative artists' first works are inspired by it.” Shannon views his plotter pieces as a form of performance art, each drawing delicately executed.

Music is an essential element in this exhibition. Woolston, a composer by training, has long been fascinated by natural elements and our place within them. Visual and auditory composition is inspired by the behavior of gasses and plasma, creating an organic, hypnotic experience. “My artistic endeavors concentrate on quantifying and simulating universal laws, embodying the physics of the universe through beauty and aesthetics,” Woolston explains, “Instability provides a space to articulate the dimensions of art, music, science, and the cosmos as a cohesive whole.” Receive Transmission is a culmination of Penne’s work over the last five years. “Incorporating human stories and music and the power of universal observations is at the heart of my practice, and channeling that through this technical capability allows me to push generative work in new directions.” The rhythm in the colorful outputs of Receive Transmission is comparable to a pulsar wave or a heartbeat. Creating art and education around the beauty of technology helps continue the story of discovering that first pulsar wave. As described by Shannon, “Thinking about these algorithms, learning from them, teaching workshops on them, to me that is a radical and wonderful way of engaging in the world.”