Parker Day and Casey Rodarmor’s FUN! Collection is an unprecedented synthesis of photographic maximalism and protocol-level innovation—a piece that stands alone inside the panorama of Bitcoin-native artwork. Saturated with Day’s daring colour palette, surreal personas, and layered id play, the gathering is anchored by Rodarmor’s foundational function because the creator of the Ordinals protocol. Most notably, the sequence is inscribed instantly underneath Inscription 0—the primary inscription ever made utilizing the Ordinals Protocol—marking it as an ontological outlier within the digital artwork canon. No different assortment occupies this identical foundational location on-chain, making FUN! a conceptual and technical landmark in Ordinals historical past.
Now expanded with new reflections from each collaborators, this interview explores the venture’s deeper ideological dimensions—from the mechanics of trustless auctions to the ethics of inventive compensation, from professional wrestling and portraiture to capitalist generosity and the social roots of worth. Together, Day and Rodarmor kind a uncommon artistic pairing: artist and dev, photographer and protocol architect, equal elements absurdity and rigor.
One of the gathering’s most iconic works—that includes Rodarmor himself—is ready to headline the Megalith.art public sale, a Bitcoin-native sale construction that concludes on June third and can be showcased at each Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas and its satellite tv for pc occasion, Inscribing Vegas. The piece anchors a broader lineup that features standout contributions from main digital artists resembling Post Wook, Coldie, Ryan Koopmans, FAR, Rupture, and Harto.
It’s much less an interview than a glimpse right into a high-voltage collaboration:
Parker, your pictures is thought for its daring colour, eccentric characters, and fearless exploration of id and persona. How did this collaboration with Casey come about, and what visible or cultural influences helped form The FUN! Collection?
PARKER: Casey and I’ve identified one another since highschool. You might even say he was considered one of my first fashions—I shot his portrait for my sophomore 12 months darkroom pictures class. We saved in contact over time, and in 2017 he inspired me to show my ICONS sequence into crypto artwork. I handed on that on the time, however in 2021 I did launch an Ethereum NFT assortment of ICONS. Right after that, Casey referred to as me and stated, “Yo! You need to go even bigger! Do 10k!” And I’m like, “You know these are all unretouched and shot on film, right?” But together with his encouragement and funding, we found out how one can produce 1,000 distinctive portraits.
The visible and cultural influences behind FUN! are too quite a few to call—only a mishmash of popular culture that’s been stewing in my mind since childhood.
The FUN! assortment was launched underneath a CC0 license, which means anybody can reuse, remix, or recontextualize the work with out restriction. In a venture so rooted in persona, authorship, and efficiency, what led you to make that call—and the way do you concentrate on authorship or inventive management within the context of open licensing on Bitcoin? What would you discover attention-grabbing to see executed with the gathering past your authentic pictures methodology? What sorts of reinterpretations or mutations of the gathering would genuinely intrigue you?
PARKER: I adore it. As an artist, when you create one thing and it leaves the studio, it’s out of your palms. The viewers shapes the work in their very own interpretations. You haven’t any management over it. It appears foolish to say “this is my IP, you can’t do anything with it.” We reside in a world of memes, of copy advert infinitum. It appears anachronistic in right this moment’s world to clutch copyright with an iron fist. And it’s completely in line with the ethos of Bitcoin to make the work CC0. In phrases of worth, the inscriptions are the scarce collectibles. Even extra so than any editioned prints will ever be. Their inscriptions’ provenance is on chain, instantly descended from inscription 0.
There’s nothing specifically that I’d prefer to see or not prefer to see executed with FUN! I simply hope folks discover which means in it, and make which means from it.
You two have an uncommon artistic relationship: artist and protocol dev, patron and co-conspirator. Casey, you mainly invented a brand new medium to help Parker’s work. What does it imply to construct one thing enduring collectively in an area that usually prizes individualism?
CASEY: I adore it. I imply—I actually adore it. Parker and I are tremendous complementary. We every have our personal sturdy wheelhouses, and we’re all the time participating with one another’s work, however on this very chill, supportive method.
Like, after we’re capturing, I’ll inform her what I feel appears cool or what would possibly work effectively within the assortment—however it’s by no means directive. It’s extra like, “Hey, here’s some data. Do with it what you will.” And identical goes for the technical stuff. We’ll speak about metadata, domains, the web site format—she offers me her ideas, and it’s simply… enter. Take it or go away it.
We’re each so strong in our personal lanes that it makes collaboration straightforward. There’s no bizarre insecurity. She’s the artistic power behind the gathering—I do know that. I’m the technical spine—and she or he is aware of that. That type of readability makes it enjoyable.
And actually, I’m simply actually pleased with this partnership. We’ve been in one another’s lives in a constructive method for therefore lengthy—since highschool. Parker’s given me Bitcoin haircuts. I used to be bugging her to do NFTs in 2017. Even after we’d go lengthy stretches with out speaking, we all the time checked again in.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Saw you on Twitter.”
“Saw you on Instagram.”
It’s simply a kind of nice, long-running collaborations that’s rooted in mutual respect—and a shared willingness to go bizarre.
Casey, did you draw on any previous modeling expertise—or take notes from Raph? And what was it like working underneath Parker’s path: extra Kubrick or camp counselor?
CASEY: I feel I used to be fairly self-directed for the shoot. I wasn’t drawing on previous modeling expertise precisely—extra like theater child power. I’ve all the time beloved skilled wrestling. It’s extremely cool… and in addition extremely formulaic, so I get bored if I watch an excessive amount of. But each couple of years, I test again in, see what the storylines are.
For this shoot, I knew precisely how I needed to ham it up—like knowledgeable wrestler. That wild, sweaty, insane power. The spiked ball pressed in opposition to my face. All the bizarre faces. American professional wrestling is tremendous operatic, actually.
The character I used to be channeling? Mostly Ultimate Warrior. Parker actually nailed the eyes—these basic, intense Ultimate Warrior eyes. He wore wild make-up and had that jacked-up look. Ric Flair was one other affect—primarily for the hair. He had this lengthy blond hair, and when it received bloody within the ring, it regarded insane.
As for Parker—undoubtedly extra camp counselor than Kubrick. She units the scene: the whole lot prepared, hair and make-up dialed, wardrobe laid out. We talked via the costumes a bit. She’ll give path, a couple of hints right here and there—however it’s actually as much as the mannequin to deliver it.
You can embody that (Casey snaps his fingers.)
Yeah. You know? You know.
The FUN! assortment options an interactive web site the place guests can filter portraits by temper, prop, background colour—even astrological signal. What impressed that type of performance?
PARKER: Before FUN!, I had been excited about an exhibition that grouped pictures primarily based on emotional expression. Even although the personas might seem wildly totally different, the core humanity is identical. I’ve all the time tried to equate disparate identities by capturing folks in the identical method—with easy cloth backdrops that strip away time and place.
The FUN! web site (fun.film), displays this concept: distinction in sameness, or sameness in distinction. It’s a device for play—but in addition a option to mirror on id in a fragmented age.
Casey, you’ve described your self as a capitalist—however you’ve additionally given away instruments totally free and pursued an nearly obsessive class in your work. How do you reconcile market perception with this ethic of generosity? And what does that pressure imply for the way forward for Ordinals?
CASEY: There’s completely no pressure—and that’s as a result of most individuals simply don’t perceive what capitalism is. Like, I can’t even start to unpack what folks suppose capitalism means.
Capitalism merely means the technique of manufacturing are privately managed. That’s it. That’s the entire definition. The options? You’ve received two: both (1) violent chaos, or (2) the federal government owns and allocates all capital. That’s it. Those are your three choices.
So when folks say they’re “anti-capitalist,” what they normally imply is: “I want the government to control who gets what.” I’m not about that. I’m a staunch capitalist. I allocate my very own technique of manufacturing—my computer systems, my assets, my power—how I see match, not how the state tells me to.
And generally? That allocation contains giving issues away. That’s not anti-capitalist. If the authorities confiscated my stuff and handed it out? Sure, that’s anti-capitalist. But me selecting to make one thing—generally promoting it, generally not—is 100% aligned with the spirit of capitalism.
People have to get with this system.
You requested concerning the pressure between generosity and revenue in Ordinals? There isn’t one. We’re social creatures. It’s nice to generate profits—cash’s enjoyable. But the actual magic is the folks you meet alongside the best way. You’re not gonna be in your deathbed wishing you made more cash. You’ll want you spent extra time with individuals who matter.
The fantastic thing about capitalism is that it offers us a lot productiveness that we will afford to be beneficiant. You construct a lot surplus, you may lastly do issues that aren’t transactional—mentorship, gift-giving, bizarre artistic stuff simply because it feels good. That’s the bounty of capitalism. It permits non-market pleasure.
Honestly? The greatest moments on this house haven’t been about cash. Yeah, the uncommon occasions I’ve made some have been enjoyable. But the actually nice stuff? The enjoyable initiatives, the bizarre experiments, the pals. That’s the soul of it.
Like, if I needed to reside in some crummy little place—however had healthcare, sufficient to get by, and this unimaginable community of individuals and concepts—I’d take that any day over ten occasions the cash and no pals.
So I hope the degens are listening.
Megalith.artwork’s public sale mannequin introduces a novel method by leveraging atomic swaps for settlement. Could you elaborate on how this mechanism ensures trustless, on-chain finality for high-value digital artwork transactions, and the way it contrasts with the delayed, custodial settlements typical of conventional public sale homes like Sotheby’s or Christie’s?
CASEY: So, usually, once you swap items—say you stroll right into a pottery retailer and need to purchase a pot—you hand the man a greenback. Now he’s received your cash… however you don’t have the pot. He might simply yell, “Get out!” and poof—you’re down a buck, no pottery.
Or perhaps he offers you the pot first, however you don’t hand over the greenback. You run out the door. Same drawback. This is what we’d name a non-atomic swap—one get together has to belief the opposite to comply with via.
Bitcoin adjustments that. With Bitcoin, you may arrange atomic swaps. Meaning: the artist offers up the artwork and the client offers up the bitcoin, and both each issues occur or neither do. Fully trustless.
It doesn’t assure the artwork will promote, but when it does, the artist undoubtedly will get paid. And the client undoubtedly will get the piece. No middlemen. No bizarre escrow.
What’s even higher is that on this setup—like the best way we’re doing it with Megalith—you may actually see the platform’s reduce. It’s all baked in and visual. Super clear. No humorous enterprise. It’s simply… a good way to do issues.
Megalith.artwork implements instant, protocol-level cut up funds to artists and collaborators, minimizing KYC publicity and decreasing reliance on centralized intermediaries. How does this method improve transparency and effectivity in artist compensation in comparison with the standard post-auction invoicing and payout processes?
CASEY: Yeah, the issue with conventional auctions is that they’re simply tremendous opaque. Every artist finally ends up negotiating a special take care of the public sale home. If you’re promoting a high-value piece, perhaps you may negotiate a greater reduce. But when you’re a more moderen artist—or your work sells for much less—you’re most likely giving up a much bigger chunk.
What we’re doing right here is far more clear. It doesn’t imply you can’t do variable preparations in idea—however on this case, everybody’s getting the identical reduce, and you’ll see that they’re getting the identical reduce. I feel that issues—so much.
I’ve executed occasions earlier than, normally VJing, and generally I’ve executed it totally free. Then I’d discover out later that among the DJs received paid, and I didn’t. That sucks. It simply places a foul style in your mouth. Either everybody will get paid, or nobody will get paid—particularly if it’s alleged to be a volunteer factor. I really feel fairly strongly about that.
Same goes for auctions. Some artists will promote for greater than others—that’s advantageous. But they need to all get the identical share reduce. That needs to be enforced on-chain, and it needs to be totally clear.
With this method, you may truly see what every artist is getting from every public sale. That’s the way it needs to be.
See extra from Parker and Casey at Inscribing Vegas on May twenty seventh, and the Bitcoin Conference Las Vegas May 27–twenty ninth. Bidding for all Megalith.art public sale tons concludes June third.
Want to expertise it in particular person? The Bitcoin Week cross offers you full entry to each Bitcoin 2025 and Inscribing Vegas—plus top-tier afterparties:
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