Jan Robert Leegte in Conversation with Fakewhale

Fakewhale: How do you relate to the history of art, especially ancient art? Are there any intentional or unintentional references in your work to historical episodes, trends, or aesthetics of the past?

Jan: Window, an NFT series I released early 2022, specifically references sculptures created in bas-relief going back to stone carved petroglyphs in the accompanying text. In my work I have often related the beveled interface grey aesthetics of the 90’s to ornamentation in architecture, alpine sgraffito techniques, trompe l’oeil and chiaroscuro. History in art is core to my practice. It is the life-line I use to progress into the unknown territory of the digital. I use art history as a logic and method to dissect this new experience. My works are packed with layers of references to art history, not to be smart, but to give myself and the viewer something to navigate this territory, something we know.

Fakewhale: When you provide an on-chain version of your work, is the NFT minting process integrated within the structure of the work?

Jan: Not always. I am still discovering how the participatory element of engaging with NFTs can be explored more. Web (2023), was the most elaborate work in that sense. It introduced a network of webpages in the dark to be explored by the audience. This process was embraced by thousands over a couple of days. The project also offered the ability to bookmark, which created more interaction, leading to a highly compressed auction. I really enjoyed this public effort that became central to the work itself.

Fakewhale: How do you subvert the conventional way of exhibiting a work? Do you consider the use of the Internet for presenting your works as an intentional statement and a conscious renunciation of a physical component? (excluding metaphorically the notion that the act of viewing an image is already a physical act).

Jan: I don’t see much difference between the two. As you say, viewing a work on a screen is phenomenologically the same as viewing a painting on a wall. The difference is in the materiality and the context. That is what the work is about. So I really value work being online and being valued as such. As I value spatial work in the gallery context. I really do not see the point in hanging a bunch of screens in a space to show internet art. That is nearly always done sloppily and a deception. If done right, you really include the context. A great example is Aram Bartholls Speedshows. For this he would rent all computers for two hours in an internet cafe (hardly exist anymore), put up a series of net art works, and through an opening. After the 2 hours, the space would resume to being a public internet space.

Fakewhale: How do you manage the archiving of your past works? Do you ever rework them into subsequent pieces? How do you view the future of blockchain and NFTs in this context? Does the idea that everything is always available and archived over time with this kind of eternal transparency intimidate or fascinate you?

Jan: I have all my work on file. Every now and then I revisited them, and sometimes that leads to an iteration of the work. I love these steps, they feel like adding to the fluidity of the materiality of software, of life itself and oneself. This way the works change over time, leaving a trace of the contexts of the past. The idea that blockchain freezes works forever is partly a myth. And it could lead to a lot of work breaking. But we’ll see. The technology is here, it is the current step in the evolution of the Internet, and a context to work within, if you like it or not.