As countless of artists have demonstrated, the creative process involved in art making can be as fascinating as the finished product—all the more so when technology is involved. The technical implications that go into it, the research and development, overcoming the inevitable glitches and issues that arise when dealing with new and emerging tech—navigating all these facets of tech-based projects is itself an art. Rio de Janeiro-born, New York-based artist Lucas Werthein shared this and other reflections regarding his latest work, The Music Project–a perfect example of aesthetic value that emerges from the process.Werthein and his Portuguese partner Rui Pereira developed a software tool that generates designs by translating songs into images. The idea came up when they first met designer Todd Bracher, who "was fascinated with a more artistic way of creating carpets." Werthein and Pereira’s concept piqued his interest."It was a super complex process," says Werthein. "We got coordinates for sound waves of four different musical genres: jazz, electronic, ambient, and classical. Each style of music was programmed differently. In electronic music, for example, you look for a very different tone than ambient or classical music. It's about how you can bring that data up with optimized parameters."The following images resulted.
On the carpet there's no way to replicate that visual richness, with the number of pixels from the computer," says Werthein. The carpet-adapted patterns are far simpler. "When you walk into a room with this carpet, with this creative process behind it, I think the richest experience is to understand how the process occurred. If you are not aware of that, it may not make a difference, but knowing that makes you really able to identify it – electro is a little schizophrenic; ambient is a straighter, more geometric shape. Codes don't lie.AmbientJazzClassicalElectronicThe Music Project has already inspired several future projects for Werthein and his team. "We are going through a huge revolution, learning how to deal with new codes, with so much technology. The process can often be more charming than the final result. Our mission is to think about how can you take something that is so ordinary in our daily lives and find another way to explore and see it."Werthein just returned from London, where he exhibited his installation Samba Surdo, or "Deaf Samba," during the FRIDAY LATE: Hot Brazil event at the Victoria & Albert Museum. "It was wonderful. People stood in line for 45 minutes just to get in. Lots of Brazilians went there to remember their homeland, recall that home feeling. And there were the British who were curious to learn the beats, the samba, the sound." Check out a video of the installation below:Werthein runs the office of our Creators SuperUber in New York.
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