INTRODUCTION

Please read this guide on a laptop, since it'll be much easier to understand. The mobile layout is not as user friendly.

"Do you really own art if outside influences change how that art is perceived visually?"

Some Boxes is a social experiment about art ownership. The goal requires collectors to open and close their boxes when signaled to do so. Any collector that fails to comply with the rules will result in their box being permanently sealed with tape, removing that collectors ability to open or close their box forever.

You can view the artwork "Some Boxes" on Async Art --> here

OVERVIEW

Box(Control)

This layer is the box at the top of the artwork. It’s used to signal Box(1) through to Box(20), when it's time to open or close their respective boxes.

There are only 2 rules:

If Box(Control) is open, collectors must open their box.
If Box(Control) is closed, collectors must close their box.

All collectors will have 48 hours from the transaction timestamps of any Box(Control) changes, to comply with these rules. The frequency of when Box(Control) opens or closes is currently unknown.

Box(Control) cannot be purchased.

You can see that when Box(Control) opens and closes, all the other boxes follow. This is a perfect game. All boxes will have 48 hours from when Box(Control) opens or closes to follow.

Boxes

There are twenty boxes from Box(1) through to Box(20). Boxes can be opened or closed by their layer owners. The decision to open or close a box is decided by the owners, but signaled by Box(Control).

The location of boxes is shown below by the overlay of numbers.

Tape

There are twenty tapes from Tape(1) through to Tape(20). Tape is used to permanently seal boxes when they fail to comply with any rules. There are four colors of tape: brown, white, black and gold. The color of tape used to seal a box will depend on how many other boxes were sealed before it. Once tape has been used to seal a box, that tape layer will be burnt, causing those boxes to be sealed forever. Tape layers cannot be purchased.

You can see in the example below that Box(8) and Box(11) fail to open within 48 hours of Box(Control) opening. Failing to comply results in both boxes being sealed with brown tape. The tape layers will then be burnt, sealing Box(8) and Box(11) forever. This works because the tape layers are above the box layers. The experiment continues with these two boxes sealed permanently.

The color of tape used to seal a box will depend on how many other boxes were sealed before it. The rarity allocation will be as follows:

The first 10 boxes sealed will use brown tape.
The next 5 boxes sealed will use white tape.
The next 3 boxes sealed will use black tape.
The last 2 boxes sealed will use gold tape.

If two or more boxes fail to follow the rules at the same time, and it overlaps the above rarity allocation, the box with the lower number will received the rarer color. Therefore it may be beneficial to purchase lower box numbers for this very specific situation.

EXAMPLE EXPERIMENT

For better understanding of Some Boxes, below is an example slideshow to illustrate how the experiment could play out.

Click the black arrow on the right to move through the images.

You may have to click through all the images once to help it load faster. There are circles at the bottom to indicate which slide you're on.

TIMING AND DISPUTES

There is no timeframe of when Box(Control) may open or close. It's entirely decided by me. This design is on purpose to help myself and collectors avoid days of high gas prices, while also adding suspense to the experiment. It forces collectors to pay attention to the artwork to avoid their boxes being sealed with tape.

A box that is sealed, will be unable to be opened again. There are no second chances in this experiment. If your box is not opened or closed within 48 hours of any Box(Control) changes, your box will be sealed permanently (regardless if you didn't notice / didn't understand the rules / made a mistake) etc.

Any disputes from collectors over their box being incorrectly sealed, will be investigated based on the timestamps of Box(Control)'s last open or closing tx time VS a collector's last opening or closing tx time. If a collector's opening or closing time is not within 48 hours of Box(Control)'s opening or closing time then the box will be sealed with tape.

STRATEGY

Depending on what your goal is with this experiment, there are a few things you should be aware of:

A box that is sealed with tape could potentially increase in value.
- While you won't physically own the tape layer used to cover your box (it's burnt), your box is still shown on the master artwork. Maybe a collector really wants to own a box layer that is sealed with gold tape (for example) on the master artwork.
A unsealed box gives collectors more choice.
- If a box is unsealed, collectors can decide to continue the experiment or not. This could potentially be important to collectors.
Buying other collector's boxes.
- One could buy other boxes and purposely fail to comply with Box(Control). This would reduce the supply of unsealed boxes OR potentially gain a specific coloured tape for their own box on the master artwork.
Checking the master artwork often can help avoid "missing" any Box(Control) changes.
- Since you have 48 hours to open or close your box after any Box(Control) change, if you check the master artwork at the same time each day, you'll never be in a situation where you "miss" the change.

SECONDARY MARKET

Before you purchase a box, please check the master artwork to see whether it is sealed with tape or not. You can do this by examining the master artwork to check the position of the box you want to purchase.

If anyone is wanting to purchase a box on the secondary market, please be aware of the following:

If you purchase a box that is not sealed with tape:
- You will have to follow the rules of Some Boxes to avoid your box being sealed with tape.
If you purchase a box that is already sealed with tape:
- You will be unable to open and close that box.

RISKS

There are a few risks that could potentially result from Some Boxes:

Gas Costs.
- Each time a collector opens or closes their box, they will need to pay a gas fee. Please keep this in mind before deciding to participate in Some Boxes or not.
  - There is a gas cost for me as well, every time I open or close Box(Control) or seal a box with tape + burn tape layers.
Loss of potential gains.
- Let's say a box that is not sealed with tape is highly valuable, and you currently own a box. While waiting for a buyer, you didn't notice that Box(Control) opened! Then 49 hours later you notice your box has been sealed with tape! You didn't open your box! Fuck! No one wants to buy it anymore. You've lost all those potential gains you could have made from a sale!
  - Please make sure you are happy with the rules of Some Boxes before you decide to partake in this experiment :D

CONCLUSION

It took a while to think of "how" to run Some Boxes. I wanted to find a balance between punishing players who did not comply with rules, yet still give them something valuable to take away from the experiment.

I also find the concept of being able to visually and permanently change an artwork totally fascinating. While collectors are fully aware of the rules before the experiment, the dynamics of Some Boxes and how the experiment will go is unknown.

After reading about Some Boxes, before I leave, I will ask you the same questions again:

"Do you really own art if outside influences change how that art is perceived visually?"

If you liked Some Boxes, I recently came up with a new idea called "Page Two". It's a collaborative writing device. I need help creating the artwork, so if you'd like to read about it, click here!