StarryNight served as an artistic interface for the curated online archive of Rhizome's early email discussion list.
In StarryNight, every email within the Rhizome archive was visually manifested as a luminous point of light against a dark background. The brightness of each point increased every time its corresponding message was accessed online. Through an ingenious navigation system, users could explore the emails by selecting assigned keywords, which would draw a constellation of interconnected points, evoking the interrelatedness of the database. As a timeless work of information aesthetics, it not only showcases the artists' vision but also offers a captivating glimpse into the early online community of Rhizome.
Despite its historical importance, StarryNight was nonfunctional and partly lost for more than a decade, until it was partly restored by Rhizome’s digital preservation department from a recovered portion of the early email archives. Now, still images from this restored artwork form the basis of Postcards from StarryNight, the official launch NFT for Seed and the starting point for a new chapter of Rhizome’s work with online community and generative art.
Postcards from StarryNight is an exclusive series of NFTs created from a restored version of an early work of net art.