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ARTIVATE: A JOURNAL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE ARTS 
VOL. 8, NO. 2, SUMMER 2019 

BOOK REVIEW 

Artists Re:Thinking the Blockchain 
Edited by Ruth Catlow, Marc Garrett, Nathan Jones, and Sam Skinner 

Marc Mitchell 
University of Arkansas 

A blockchain is a digital record of transactions. The name comes from its 
structure, in which individual records, called blocks, are linked together in a 
single list, called a chain. Blockchains are used for recording transactions made 
with cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, and have many other applications. 

Each transaction added to a blockchain is validated by multiple comput-
ers on the Internet. These systems, which are configured to monitor specific 
types of blockchain transactions, form a peer-to-peer network. They work to-
gether to ensure each transaction is valid before it is added to the blockchain. 
This decentralized network of computers ensures a single system cannot add 
invalid blocks to the chain.  

—TechTerms.com  
 
To many, the term blockchain conjures notions of complex computational coding, digital cur-
rencies, and a world far removed from everyday life. While there may be some truth to this 
view, the technologies surrounding Ethereum-based systems and other blockchain applica-
tions have sweeping implications for the contemporary cultural landscape. Artists Re:Thinking 
the Blockchain, a deftly crafted collection of twenty-eight essays, explores the impact of a de-
centralized ledger, or database, and how those invested in creative enterprises could conceiv-
ably utilize technology to promote efficiencies, build trust, and design systems that boost en-
trepreneurial endeavors. The book offers a provocative and compelling read regardless of 
one’s background in the arts or business.  



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While not a traditional textbook, the collection of thematically organized essays estab-
lishes a baseline knowledge for those individuals who seek to explore the transdisciplinary 
nature of new technologies and understand how these systems can support artistic practices. 
The editors—Ruth Catlow, Marc Garrett, Nathan Jones, and Sam Skinner—have created a 
platform that allows the book to operate as a work of art, one in which each author has the 
liberty to experiment with the presentation of their thesis and create a more performative 
experience for the reader.  

Organizing the book into three parts—Documents, Fictions, and Theory—the editors 
offer a format where readers can opt to enter and exit the book at various points without 
sacrificing context or insight. However, it should be noted, there was clear consideration of 
how the book was structured, and it benefits readers (especially those who may not be tech 
savvy) to move chronologically through the text for the most comprehensive understanding.  

The book begins with two essays that form a critical framework as one moves through 
the remainder of the publication. Nathan Jones and Sam Skinner provide fundamental infor-
mation via “A Quasi Proto Preface,” which does a wonderful job equipping the reader with 
concise synopses related to each of the twenty-eight texts. Ruth Catlow extends these efforts 
in her essay “Artists Re:Thinking the Blockchain,” which expands the conversation to include 
historical information pertaining to the socio-political, financial, environmental, and ethical 
implications of decentralized technologies.  

As readers begin the first section, Documents, an article by the Design Informatics Re-
search Centre outlines FinBook, a QR-code system that allows readers to rank their favorite 
essays in the book by awarding them FitCoins. This pseudocurrency provides a traceable 
value that can be evaluated in real-time through open-source software. This novel merger of 
traditional book and participatory art allows readers to engage in blockchain technology in a 
manner that is easily unraveled and playful. Primavera De Filippi, Paul Seidler, Paul Kolling, 
and Max Hampshire all explore the ways in which decentralized technology can play an in-
creasing role in crafting new ways of thinking about ecology in their texts. In Jaya Klara 
Brekke and Elias Haase’s essay “Breaking Chains and Busting Blocks: Commentary on the 
Satoshi (Hippocratic) Oath for Blockchain Developers,” questions surrounding ethical and 
moral dilemmas take center stage for those who are actually developing the technologies. Spe-
cific artworks, artists, and exhibitions play a prominent role in the essays by Martín Nadal, 
César Escudero, and Ami Clarke, as well as the interview between Sam Skinner and Simon 
Denny. In many ways, these texts do a marvelous job of addressing themes first brought to 
the mainstream with the ninth Berlin Biennial in . Topics such as the commodification 
of information, the pitfalls and benefits of digital sharing, and even pop culture’s relationship 
to institutional critique all make appearances in the essays.  

Fictions, the second section of the book, offers a nice respite from the foundational ele-
ments established in the first section before transitioning to the dense theoretical essays found 
in section three. No doubt the editors planned for this breather, and it is perfectly situated. 



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Cecilia Wee’s “Flying Under a Neutral Flag” positions the reader amid complex moral dilem-
mas that surround a decentralized and anonymous system, even when it’s meant for the 
greater good. The essays by Theodoros Chiotis, Rob Myers, Lina Theodorou, and Juhee Hahm 
provide waggish takes on digital and screen culture, coding, and the way we create networks. 
Taken as a whole, the section provides a refreshing and unusual vantage point for considering 
the societal implications of Ethereum-based systems.  

Like most aspects of contemporary culture, blockchain and its offshoots are simultane-
ously celebrated and vilified by those who are most familiar. This conflict is apparent in the 
third section of the book, Theory. Whereas the previous essays highlighted facts or provided 
fictional accounts, the essays within Theory were teeming with overarching philosophical 
questions related to the technologies. In Hito Steyerl’s barn burner of an essay “If You Don’t 
Have Bread, Eat Art!: Contemporary Art and Derivative Fascisms,” she rides the perfect wave 
of satire to highlight the correlation of events occurring throughout the world and the tech-
nologies outlined in the book. Ben Vickers and Rob Myers both discuss the sociopolitical 
impacts of blockchain technology within governmental structures as well as those communi-
ties trying to upend traditional institutions, regulations, and authority. Given the premise of 
the book—ways in which artists can rethink the blockchain—the essays by Helen Kaplinsky 
and Mark Waugh are delightfully dense in discussing the implications of smart contracts, how 
Ethereum-based systems could shift the historical paradigm found in museum structure, and 
ways in which these systems could handle artist copyright in the future.  

While the book may not be suitable for introductory courses related to art or entrepre-
neurship, it’s a valuable resource for those who have interests that extend into the realm of 
new media and commerce. It’s a refreshing publication that straddles both traditional schol-
arship and an avant-garde approach to discussing philosophical topics related to art and dig-
ital culture. The result is an immersive experience where each reader finds their own context 
for relating to new and abstruse technologies. For readers wanting to teach blockchain tech-
nology, two authors from this collection, Ben Vickers and Jaya Klara Brekke, have published 
The White Paper, an annotated guide to Satoshi Nakamoto’s  Bitcoin white paper. The 
book, which also includes James Birdle’s history of cryptography, provides a primer for read-
ers who are newer to blockchain but would like to read one of the original texts. Visit 
https://ignota.org/products/the-white-paper for more information. And for ongoing news of 
blockchain developments in the arts, readers may wish to follow Tim Schneider on Artnet 
and Jason Bailey of Artnome.  
  



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