Absurdeity on “Carnival Dharmas”: Curating Contradiction in Web3
NFT collector and curator Absurdeity discusses the making of Carnival Dharmas—where the eight worldly dharmas collide with carnival overload. He shares his path into collecting, the role of curation on Tezos, why AI art brings joy, and what’s next: a “sonder”-driven theme. Read the interview.
About Absurdeity
Digital Art Collector · part-time artist, and unapologetic AI art enthusiast
He has amassed over 15,000 digital artworks on Tezos, curating visually and emotionally charged projects that thrive on extremes — from glitch-driven chaos to surreal absurdism (electric-chronicles.com). In recent years, he has curated several influential collections, including Carnival Dharmas, where the aesthetics of absurdity meet philosophical honesty and the carnival’s dizzying contradictions.
A/ How did you first come into collecting digital art? Was there a specific moment, artist, or work that pulled you into the web3 world?
I had known about NFTs for about a year before collecting my first work of digital art, but never really thought much about this until the summer of 2022 while I was on a road trip with my daughter. On vacation I had some time to investigate web3 and just had a sense that I should see whether there was anything to it. I had no idea I would be pulled so deep into this universe.
I had no idea I would be pulled so deep into this universe.
https://objkt.com/@absurdeity/owned
A/ You’ve collected more than 15,000 works on Tezos. How has your journey as a collector shaped your perspective on Web3 and the role of curators within it?
My early journey could most accurately be described as blindly stumbling around the Web3 feeds. Fortunately, while I was lost in this vast wilderness, I met some wonderful individuals who generously guided me in my journey. Curation was not really something I paid attention to other than in the more abstract sense that the art within every collector’s wallet is in some sense a curation. Only recently have I gained an understanding of what it means to actively curate. I have since developed an appreciation for how this act can both highlight the artist’s and collector’s respective skills.
https://objkt.com/@absurdeity/owned
A/ You are curating Carnival Dharmas, where the Buddhist concept of the eight worldly dharmas — pleasure and pain, fame and disgrace, gain and loss, praise and blame — meets the sensory overload of a carnival. What inspired you to merge this philosophy with carnival’s visual extravagance?
In my own personal collection I have curated art based on two main themes: “seasons” and “worldly dharmas”. In a sense, these are complimentary themes as each dharma pair is metaphorically reflected within the seasonal “pairs” of winter/summer and fall/spring. Since long before I ever started collecting art, however, I have been fascinated by the raw emotional dissonance of the carnival. As a child I did not comprehend the source of these simultaneous yet conflicting visceral sensations. As an adult, I recognize that no mere description is capable of truly representing this. But I felt certain that the structure of the dharma pairs combined with the creative energy of these skilled artists would be capable of alchemically transforming this dissonance into compelling visual expressions.
I have been fascinated by the raw emotional dissonance of the carnival.
https://objkt.com/collections/exhibitions/projects/carnival-dharmas-31554287
A/ Many featured artists work at the edge of glitch, absurdity, and surreal imagery. How did you decide who would best fit Carnival Dharmas, and what does this “play of incompatibles” mean to you personally?
Both the process of creating a glitch as well as the “broken” aesthetic are to my way of thinking ideally suited to this theme. A skilled glitch artist “breaks” an image (loss) in a manner that liberates a beauty (gain) that is unexpectedly and arguably superior in aesthetic to the unbroken image. The artists chosen to participate in the Carnival Dharmas event are all adept at this core requirement. Beyond that, they have each demonstrated the ability to convey a compelling sense of dis-ease in their previous works--something that I felt was essential in visually communicating the “play of incompatibles” inherent in both the worldly dharmas and the carnival experience.
A/ You’ve said you don’t care if AI art is “not art” — it brings you joy. How do you see AI art fitting into the theme of Carnival Dharmas, where contradictions and emotions become visual narratives?
AI does not “experience” cognitive dissonance or struggle with contradiction as would be the case in human brains. As such, AI has the ability to excel at merging the worldly dharma pairs (opposites) in a manner that can be both visually surprising and emotionally stirring. Add to that the dreamlike surreal element that is often generated by AI and you have the perfect recipe for capturing the grotesque and uncanny emotional stew of dharma pairs experienced in a carnival setting.
AI does not “experience” cognitive dissonance or struggle with contradiction as would be the case in human brains.
https://objkt.com/@absurdeity/owned
A/ If Carnival Dharmas is an emotional carnival, what’s the next “mental arena” you’d like to explore?
As both a nerd from the days when it was uncool to be one, as well as a practicing Buddhist, I’m fascinated by the themes within both science fiction and gaming that highlight or exemplify Buddhist teachings and practices. The non-player character (“NPC”), for example, is a striking metaphor for how many of us view almost everyone outside of our immediate circle of family and friends. Yet unlike NPCs, every individual on earth has a life experience as complicated and emotionally intense as our own. Given that, I’ve already begun to curate in my mind the artists that I wish to see create art around the theme of “sonder”.
https://objkt.com/@absurdeity/owned
Collector and curator ‘CARNIVAL DHARMAS’ 🎠 Digital Art Auction - Absurdeity // @absurdeity
