# UMK by Fernando Jerez

## The work and its context

UMK is project 436 on the Art Blocks V2 core contract 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, published under the canonical slug umk-by-fernando-jerez and credited to Fernando Jerez. The indexed project record reports a completed edition of 762 of 762 invocations, runtime p5@1.0.0, and the official description: **:: UMK [Ultra Mechanika]. Beyond technology ::**  Imagine a world where technology not only advances mechanically, but also adapts and changes in response to its environment.   In this view, machines could evolve into a variety of forms, from biological and organic to architectural and industrial, each with its own unique capabilities and characteristics.  The UMK algorithm could be thought of as a life form that has evolved from a seed. Its DNA defines the way in which it grows and develops.  **:: Motivation ::**  UMK expands my previous explorations of the interaction between humans and technology.   Previously, In the "Defrag Trilogy" (link in the website), I narrate a tale spanning three chapters, exploring the emotions we encounter as we mature amidst a technologically world. The conclusion: technology emerges victorious every time.  This time, I delve into the idea of a world where human intervention is not necessary, showcasing a hypothetical scenario where machines operate and evolve independently. What would self-evolving technology look like?  **:: Aesthetics ::**  As a devout admirer of Manga and graphic novels, the style of the artwork is centered around creating a hand-drawn, captivating one-page masterpiece.   With UMK, I embark on a journey of maximalist illustration. A path that pushes the boundaries of my previous creations to achieve  figurative pieces that are both visually stunning and unpredictably intriguing.   This maximalist approach is designed to evoke a sense of wonder and exploration. The intricate use of textures and interlocking geometries invites the viewer to dive into the artwork and be entranced by the details and nuances.   **:: Animation ::**  Animation is crafted to captivate and hold the viewer's attention. Sit back and savor the mesmerizing construction mechanics and the gentle flow of the subtle elements in the background.  **:: Final words ::**  In UMK there is a touch of the clean and dreamlike drawing of Jean Giraud (Moebius), the intricate technological structures of Katsuhiro Otomo, or the biomechanical orgies of H.R. Giger. These are some examples of artists who have left a lasting impression on me and whose works continue to shape my aesthetic sensibility.  Art lies within the code itself. When we view the outcome on the screen, we are witnessing the crystallization of the algorithm at a specific moment, under certain conditions. The code is immutable and the results are mere coincidence.   Enjoy UMK.  **:: Interaction ::**  You can restart the animation or save it as a hi resolution PNG image. Tap the screen or mouse click to show the reset/save buttons. Also you can use keys: 'S' to save , 'R' to restart [^S01][^S02]

Those figures are current index observations retrieved on 2026-09-19, not a reconstruction of the original public sale announcement. Atlas position is a catalogue ordinal and is not the on-chain project ID. The live collection page and the Hasura projects_metadata row agree on title, slug, contract, and project ID after a filtered query that used the exact slug. [^S01][^S02]

Contract 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069. Aspect ratio indexed as 0.66666. Website https://www.fernandojerez.com/umk.

This essay treats the stored artist program, four independently identified outputs, and a freshly checked AB5D holding (or an explicit collection gap) as primary evidence. Metadata traits are cited only when they were returned for the same V2 contract token IDs that were visually inspected. They do not replace looking at the pictures. [^S04][^S09]

## Conception and development

The official project description is the development account used here. Interview or dossier sentences that name a different slug are not treated as statements about this series. **:: UMK [Ultra Mechanika]. Beyond technology ::**  Imagine a world where technology not only advances mechanically, but also adapts and changes in response to its environment.   In this view, machines could evolve into a variety of forms, from biological and organic to architectural and industrial, each with its own unique capabilities and characteristics.  The UMK algorithm could be thought of a

The development account used here is the specific source named in the citations, not a paraphrase of an artist-dossier page. Where that account is an official project description written in the artist's voice, that limit is stated rather than upgraded into an unpublished studio diary. Where an interview exists, the sentences that actually name UMK are the ones relied on. [^S07][^S01]

Secondary pages that only repeat the marketplace listing are not treated as independent conception sources. [^S02][^S07]

## How the work was constructed

The complete artist program for slug umk-by-fernando-jerez was retrieved from projects_metadata.script filtered by that exact slug. The UTF-8 payload is 19798 bytes with SHA-256 214c4fbd1a6b8b09eef6043491af390491b2a58033daf839f62302d1e0c7fd3d. Runtime on the project record is p5@1.0.0. The script was read in full; it was not executed in this research session. [^S03]

The stored generator is 19798 bytes, SHA-256 214c4fbd1a6b8b09eef6043491af390491b2a58033daf839f62302d1e0c7fd3d, runtime p5@1.0.0. Detected source markers: setup, draw, createCanvas, mousePressed, keyPressed, tokenData, hash, colorMode. Named functions include bgGrid, buttonGUI, canvasResize, dip, draw, drawArc, fCircle, fan, fillArc, getSides. tokenData.hash is read in source. Output then follows the drawing path those functions implement. Token 0 observation: Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1600x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 182,179,168). File size 5775985 bytes. Indexed features: Style Colored; Coloring Steampunk; Symmetric No; Boundaries Entangled

Visual claims come from inspected media-proxy PNGs plus indexed token features.

Seed handling is visible in the retrieved program: tokenData.hash is read in source. Time and interaction behaviour in code is: Loop behaviour inferred only from source keywords. The inspected PNG is a static frame. A handler found in source is not the same thing as a control that was pressed in a live renderer during this session; tested controls are listed only when an actual key or pointer action was performed. [^S03][^S10]

External dependencies are those declared by script_type_and_version plus any library identifiers inside the file. Public visibility of the stored script does not grant a right to redistribute the raw artist source in this package, so the analysis cites functions and byte length rather than reprinting the program. [^S03][^S06]

## The mint

Indexed chronology for project 436 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069 is as follows. First token minted_at is 2023-03-13T23:23:59+00:00. activated_at is 2023-03-17T01:42:59+00:00. start_datetime is 2023-05-01T17:00:00+00:00. completed_at is 2023-05-04T08:27:59+00:00. Invocations stand at 762 of a maximum 762, with complete=true on the retrieved row. [^S02][^S04]

Calculated intervals from those timestamps: first mint to activation is 3.10 days; activation to start_datetime is 45.64 days; start_datetime to completion is 2.64 days; first mint to completion is 51.38 days. These are differences of indexed clock fields, not a claim about when a web storefront button became visible to every collector. A first mint that precedes start_datetime is treated as an early or reserved mint unless a separate allocation record is produced. [^S02][^S04]

Indexed clocks: first 2023-03-13T23:23:59+00:00, activated 2023-03-17T01:42:59+00:00, start 2023-05-01T17:00:00+00:00, completed 2023-05-04T08:27:59+00:00. Early first-mint timestamps are not labelled reserved without a separate allocation record.

Historic per-token ETH prices for the original public sale were not recovered from a primary price table during this session and remain unresolved. Any floor price visible on a marketplace page in 2026 is a current listing observation, not the 2021 ask. [^S01][^S02]

## Copyright and licensing

The project record stores the artwork licence label 'NFT License 2.0'. That label is not a Creative Commons version string and is recorded as a custom or unknown artwork term. Code rights for the artist program are not separately labelled on the same field; they are treated as unknown rather than assumed identical to the artwork deed. [^S02][^S06]

Artwork label copied exactly as 'NFT License 2.0'.

Third-party runtime p5@1.0.0 is a separate rights object from both the artwork outputs and the artist source. p5.js, three.js, and ordinary browser JavaScript each keep their own licence texts. This package does not redistribute those libraries. [^S03][^S06]

Original essay prose in this package is dedicated CC0-1.0 by the research operator. That dedication does not change the artwork, code, or dependency licences.

## Close reading of examples

UMK #0 is token 436000000 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-03-13T23:23:59+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1600x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 182,179,168). File size 5775985 bytes. Indexed features: Style Colored; Coloring Steampunk; Symmetric No; Boundaries Entangled Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Style Colored; Coloring Steampunk; Symmetric No; Boundaries Entangled.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

UMK #1 is token 436000001 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-05-01T17:00:47+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1600x2400px, light and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 187,194,180). File size 4920507 bytes. Indexed features: Style Colored; Coloring Acid; Symmetric Yes; Boundaries Entangled Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Style Colored; Coloring Acid; Symmetric Yes; Boundaries Entangled.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

UMK #10 is token 436000010 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-05-01T17:02:47+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1600x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 185,177,177). File size 6196236 bytes. Indexed features: Style Colored; Coloring Acid; Symmetric Yes; Boundaries Bounce Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Style Colored; Coloring Acid; Symmetric Yes; Boundaries Bounce.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

UMK #20 is token 436000020 on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069, minted 2023-05-01T17:04:59+00:00. The canonical token page returned HTTP 200. The inspected media-proxy PNG is a static frame. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1600x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 169,185,171). File size 5731911 bytes. Indexed features: Style Colored; Coloring Jungle; Symmetric No; Boundaries Entangled Indexed features returned for this V2 token: Style Colored; Coloring Jungle; Symmetric No; Boundaries Entangled.  [^S04][^S05][^S09]

The AB5D header candidate is token 436000726 (edition 726), currently indexed to 0xdd19308a9731cdecb67e0d80ca6823394208c045, which is one of the three linked addresses returned for username ab5d on 2026-09-19. That ownership match is a present-tense index observation, not proof of continuous custody since mint. Inspected media-proxy PNG is 1600x2400px, mid-tone and muted or near-neutral (mean RGB 163,156,155). File size 7160842 bytes. Indexed features: Style Colored; Coloring Acid; Symmetric No; Boundaries Entangled [^S08][^S04][^S09]

Motion, interaction, and audio: Loop behaviour inferred only from source keywords. The inspected PNG is a static frame. The static PNGs document halt or preview states. They are not by themselves proof that a live loop is still running, nor proof that a work is silent. No soundtrack was heard from these pages during this session. [^S09][^S10][^S03]

## Significance and limitations

UMK is project 436 by Fernando Jerez on 0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069. The close readings above are the evidence for what the stored program outputs.

Unresolved research questions that remain after this pass: (1) What was the exact public-sale unit price in ETH at start_datetime, supported by a contemporaneous primary source rather than a later floor? (2) For tokens whose live renderer was not stopwatch-timed, what is the measured wall-clock period of one full cycle or one completed progressive draw? (3) What contemporaneous primary source records the original public unit price in ETH? (4) Incomplete Control aside, do any of the three current AB5D wallets later acquire or dispose of the header token used above after 2026-09-19? [^S02][^S08][^S10]

This package is a draft for human review. Structural validation tests file shape, not the truth of seeing or of licence interpretation.

[^S01]: Art Blocks. [UMK by Fernando Jerez collection page](https://www.artblocks.io/collection/umk-by-fernando-jerez). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S02]: Art Blocks Hasura index. [projects_metadata record for umk-by-fernando-jerez](https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S03]: Fernando Jerez. [UMK on-chain artist program](https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S04]: Art Blocks Hasura index. [tokens_metadata for sampled UMK token IDs](https://artblocks-mainnet.hasura.app/v1/graphql). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S05]: Art Blocks. [Canonical token pages for sampled UMK outputs](https://www.artblocks.io/token/1/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/436000000). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S06]: Art Blocks project record. [Reported artwork licence label NFT License 2.0](https://www.artblocks.io/collection/umk-by-fernando-jerez). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S07]: Fernando Jerez. [UMK official description](https://www.fernandojerez.com/umk). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S08]: Art Blocks. [AB5D linked wallet set and profile index](https://www.artblocks.io/profile/ab5d). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S09]: Art Blocks media proxy. [Static PNG renders of sampled UMK tokens](https://media-proxy.artblocks.io/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/436000000.png). Accessed 2026-09-19.
[^S10]: Art Blocks. [Live generator renderer for UMK](https://generator.artblocks.io/0x99a9b7c1116f9ceeb1652de04d5969cce509b069/436000000). Accessed 2026-09-19.