The primary example for the definition of generative is “the female reproductive system and its generative cycles.” Primavera De Filippi’s “Plantoid” takes the form of a physical sculpture. It is a generative artwork in the very literal sense that it is capable of reproduction. Through its own governance structure, “Plantoid” unleashes capitalistic tactics to keep its species alive. Reproduction is possible through a system designed by Primavera in which a “Plantoid” eats cryptocurrency. Fun fact: its earliest iteration in 2014 was literally a bitcoin-eating plant. Gathering enough funds until it has enough in its wallet to commission an artist to create the next species, the cycle continues. This process is managed by Plantoid’s smart contract, which automatically opens a call for proposals and manages a transfer of funds to the hired artist. The most recent “Plantoid” is number 15. A “Plantoid” cannot be owned, but they need humans to reproduce themselves. Feeding a “Plantoid” gives you the ability to vote on which artist creates the next one, but there is no potential for profit, neither for the participants or the artist. The latest Plantoids have new capabilities and avenues of expression, adding on another layer of its re(production). They are blockchain-based lifeforms that are capable of reproducing physically and digitally, and also create generative audio-visual works (Plantoid seeds). These seeds are created through a conversation with the sculpture. Plantoids’ anatomy is composed of: 1) a “body” which is the metal sculpture integrated with physical computing parts and animated by multiple AI for voice interaction, 2) the lifeforce—or the “spirit,” as the artist calls it—is the Solidity smart contract. The “Plantoid” seeds are audio-visual artworks that act as speculative NFT assets used to attract humans to feed it ETH. “Plantoid” brings generative art and our experience of the blockchain out of the screen. You touch its cold face, “Plantoid“ knows you’re present. It engages with you in a chat until it can’t be bothered. It is disarming, sly, and cool. “Plantoid” shills you an oracle in the form of an NFT. Primavera, artist and legal scholar, gives agency to the artwork, not the artist, and says: “This model goes, therefore, one step beyond the traditional logic of open source, in that the art piece actually acquires a life on its own, and is able to evolve independently of the will of the original author.” She first created “Plantoid” in 2014 as a way to illustrate her legal research around blockchain, demonstrating the complex legal questions that arise with an independent system of relationships governed solely through a smart contract. Another aim is to have a mechanism for an artwork itself to have a thriving life and deflect attention away from the artist. It is difficult to imagine that this is not related to the artist’s aversion to being known or depicted digitally. — Dejha Ti, Operator