
From Street Art to the History of Digital Art: Noah Bolanowski
In this episode of Verse Talks, Leyla and Jamie speak with digital art historian and researcher Noah Bolanowski about the overlooked history of digital art. From street art and the early days of Nifty Gateway to the NFT boom, blockchain, and the pioneers of computer art, Noah takes us through his journey into uncovering the people, works and stories that helped shape the medium. 00:00 — Introduction: Noah Bolanowski 01:43 — Becoming a digital art historian 03:16 — Street art, collecting & the origins of Nifty Gateway 07:22 — Keith Haring, Timothy Leary & early digital art 11:59 — Becoming a “digital Indiana Jones” 15:15 — Discovering NFTs & collecting on Nifty Gateway 18:37 — The NFT boom and sudden six-figure valuations 23:27 — Speculation, collectors & the pandemic NFT market 30:48 — The 14-year-old CryptoPunks millionaire 33:03 — What happened to the NFT market? 36:48 — What can blockchain actually do for art? 38:19 — Museums, smart contracts & exhibiting NFTs 43:49 — Rethinking how digital art is displayed 45:15 — Museums and the 70-year history of digital art 48:19 — Why blockchain changed access to digital art 50:21 — 1OF1 and the institutionalisation of digital art 51:47 — Bill Gates’ early digital art displays 55:32 — Do we actually want screens in our homes? 58:49 — Why Noah turned towards digital art history 1:02:48 — Who gets canonised in digital art history? 1:04:05 — Questioning established narratives & the importance of provenance 1:09:13 — The forgotten pioneers of computer art 1:10:43 — Charles Csuri and the unlikely computer art pioneer 1:13:40 — Making computer art in the 1960s 1:16:49 — Why digital art history still needs to be written 1:18:58 — Collecting historic computer art 1:21:15 — How early digital artworks survive and are preserved 1:23:28 — Charles Csuri, treasure hunting & Part Two 1:25:17 — Investigating the past and rediscovering lost histories 1:28:03 — Closing & Part Two You can find Noah on X @Noahbolanowski
