Looking Outwards 08: The Creative Practice of an Individual

The artist I chose to learn about this week is Alexander Chen, a Creative Director at Google Creative Lab who focuses primarily on music visualization. He has contributed to a plethora of tools and gadgets that bring a new perspective to sound. One of his projects, the Spectrogram, is probably the most visually appealing spectrogram widely used on the internet. In his Eyeo Festival presentation, he demonstrated how different types of sounds look on the spectrogram and how harmonies can be easier to conceptualize when the frequencies are mapped out spatially. Other projects of his, like a string instrumental version of the New York City subway system and its real-time schedule, bring together many abstract ideas into one cohesive work. I personally love the simple style of his pieces and the way he chooses to follow curiosity to create unique experiences. As a musician working in production and engineering, it is exciting to see new ways of experiencing music and to think about sound through a brand new lens.

Alexander Chen