What is this Madness?
Specifically this particular madness
Orbisms
plural noun
single noun: orbism
”Colloquial ramblings about body modification, art, code, decentralization, sci-fi, and seemingly weird human experiences from the personal experiences of Orban Isma”
I’ve always been fascinated with finding bridges between different worlds. My primary goal in interacting with folks has always been to encourage them to start thinking differently, and seeing the connections across mediums, industries, and even philosophies and ideologies.
As an artist, developer, and writer, I find it hard not to see the connections across mediums, disciplines, and technologies. A lot of it feels like science fiction, and watching it all develop over time just proves that fiction is often an assemblage of facts of the future. I’m mostly intrigued by how it’s all coming together over the web.
Topics on this stack will invariably end up relating to, or referencing what’s going on with crypto & NFTs, and the culture surrounding it. Nothing on my posts should ever be considered financial advice, unless you want to support me or someone else as an artist. Supporting artists you believe in is always good financial advice. If you disagree, you’re in the wrong place and you can navigate somewhere else, that won’t tell you that the utility of art, is art.
90s Internet Culture
I like to think that my personal journey into all of this began in the 90s as a kid that traveled a lot, and found solace in connecting with folks online. Whatever geographical location I ended up in, while the faces IRL were all new, my friends online were always there. Some of them still are, 30+ years later.
My regular web haunts began with BBSs, Usenet, and IRC. I was never an AOL person, except when we were up to no-good. I feel like 3 decades later, the blockchain is picking up right where we left off in the late 90s; everything sort of kind of definitely maybe works, but is mostly just broken or underdeveloped bullshit. It’s awesome because there is so much room for growth and learning.
It’s also fucking awful, because it’s full of scammers exploiting human naïveté, and VCs entering the space, ensuring that the bubble is about to pop entirely. Honestly, it’s probably less climactic than that. It feels like it’s just been half-assedly deflating for months now, like an abandoned birthday balloon. The festivities are over, and those of us that chose to stay are still wearing the makeup and costumes, keeping the party going. Yes, we’re back to the late 90s tech bubble all over again.
All of the folks who have been leaving during this cycle of fear and uncertainty are either part of a long and messy shart consisting of failure and disappointment, or just a zen exhale following common sense. In between those two are those of us partying to bring the sun back up. We’ve been here before, and we want to have a say in the outcomes of this system we believe in. In many ways, we want the organs and vital functions of decentralization to continue working properly, the technology to get better, and keep being put to use.
Those of us who stayed after the web bubble popped got plenty of opportunities that led us here. Personally, I went from being a script kiddie, to doing some InfoSec work, to web dev & design, to hosting Drupal NYC meets, to programming and installing LED arrays for public art installations - all because I stayed with the scene along the way. The 90s mentality of “figure it out” really goes a long way in tech, especially if you don’t have an academic background in computer science or related fields. Us freelancers are the OGs of decentralization; we are our own bosses.
The reminder that everything comes in cycles is the primary motivator many of us cling to. Whether it’s a mental health cycle, a financial cycle, or just a cycle of trends, we tend to always circle back to something familiar. The challenge is to keep doing “the work” while we’re between peaks, and end up better than we did last time around. If we end up with the same results, or worse off than before, then it’s a good opportunity to look back and learn from our mistakes.
We want the organs and vital functions of decentralization to continue working properly, the technology to get better, and keep being put to use.
Body Suspension
Speaking of biological function and utility, the second part of my journey begins around 2005, when I discovered, and seriously got into a strange thing called “body suspension.” Yeah, no, it’s not the kind of levitation you may have pictured if you haven’t heard of people hanging from hooks before. It’s certainly not for everyone.
Body suspension is the practice of hanging from hooks pierced into your skin. Okay maybe not your skin specifically, but a surprisingly large number of people have been a part of this practice for literally thousands of years. Here’s a wikipedia article about it, so this first article doesn’t turn entirely into a primer on hook suspension:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_(body_modification)
» Note: the linked wiki article is wildly inaccurate and outdated, and I hope to dispel and clarify a bunch of the bullshit in it over time.
The reason it’s such a big part of this weird adventure called life that I’m on, is because I’ve been practicing, facilitating and making art with it as a medium since 2005. It’s the only medium in which I have gotten the chance to work on such an intimate level with other humans. The process is defined by themes of vulnerability, trust, and catharsis. It’s innately a collaborative experience as a whole, and the culture behind it reflects a modus of tribal knowledge, and is wildly decentralized. Nobody is in charge, and those posing as authorities tend to go the way of the dinosaur pretty quick. Knowledge is often gate-kept, but once shared, it propagates rapidly. I believe I have taught enough folks both practical and theoretical aspects of this practice, to confidently say that it’s not for everybody. It takes dedication and commitment to excel in this niche medium.
I am one of very few people who are making complex art with this medium on a large scale. While there is a lot of visual media out there of folks suspending, there are very few projects that intentionally create aesthetic environments/contraptions/vibes that go beyond the norm. It’s simultaneously a privilege to be able to work on this level, because of how much folks have taught me along the way; and a curse, because it’s an unreasonably non-lucrative and expensive medium to work in.
Body suspension is not for everyone.
When you hear about broke artists that pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their creations, this may be the most literal version of that you can imagine. From fabricating our gear to piercing the skin, and doing the mental work to ensure a safe space, we literally bleed for our art to ensure its outcomes are life changing.
Again, it’s not for everyone, but it’s certainly one of the most impactful things that has happened along my life journey. Oddly enough, it has also provided some of my biggest learning moments with human networking, social media, censorship, and web culture.
NFTs and Crypto Art
The third, and current chapter of my journey is defined by my discovery of NFTs, and understanding what it means for creators, curators, and collectors. I think it’s really cool mostly because it’s one of those rare moments in life, where a multitude of one’s skillsets are used in unison productively. Here’s a list of some of the things that I have done over the years, that have suddenly been put to use through the communities I have engaged with through crypto art spaces:
physical installation art - for my own art
physical fabrication - for my own art
digital media (video and photo editing) - for myself and for projects I worked for
programming & development - for myself and for projects I worked for
web design & development - for myself and for projects I worked for
internet security and ops - for projects I worked for
writing (copywriting and fiction) - for myself and for projects I worked for
social media & marketing - for myself and (more successfully) for projects I worked for
community engagement - for myself and for projects I worked for
public speaking - for myself and for projects I worked for
interviews and curation - for projects I worked for
event organization & production - for projects I worked for
It’s not just about selling art.
The clout-factory marketplaces and VC money entering the space does not define the technology; these are simply more parasitic products of late stage capitalists feeding off of the desperation of the masses. “Web3” is not a reality yet, it’s just a fancy looking sticker somebody slapped over “web2” with a bunch of promises of a better future, but no functional roadmap attached.
The beauty of this to me, is the transparent nature of the blockchain. As with all things, the truth always comes out in the end. In this case, it’s happening faster than expected, as is the case with all things blockchain. Time passes by both very slowly, and very rapidly when engaged with this financial ecosystem. Anybody that has been around longer than 1 year in these spaces will tell you they have learned more in the last 100 years they’ve been engaging with the blockchain, than they have in their life Before Blockchain. (B.B. ?!)
Ironically, we all also feel like we just got here. There’s so much to do still, so much to learn, and so much to create/build/develop/destroy. It’s not just about selling art, or taking profit from flipping some collectibles. We’re going to need some new and properly inflated party balloons.
To keep this short, I see utility in this ecosystem for everything ranging from ticket sales, to bespoke furniture ownership, to securing generational wealth for families. Do you own yourlastname.eth? When you die, will yoursonsname.yourlastname.eth have access to your savings? How do you tackle identity in the real world vs online? Are they analogues for each other?
So many questions. I want to explore them all.
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Well, I just got here on substack, so I will end this first article here on a note of bewilderment about how time actually works. It expands and contracts based on your chemical states. Just like with suspension, when your endorphin and adrenaline levels are high, and your dopamine centers are being stimulated, time slows down, and your productivity increases. It’s important to engage with euphorias, to see clearly. Just remember that you can’t stay here permanently, but you can always come back for more.
Ahoy! Here there be dragons and the horse they rode in on. Looking forward to your posts and hope to facilitate the dialogue as it goes...
Loved reading this..keep them coming. Riding this volatile waves is something else. Mad experience and only the strong minds will survive just like you need guts and clear thoughts to go through body suspension session. Very good parallel.