Audiovisual Digital Abstraction
Audiovisual Digital Abstraction is a new drop by the London-based artist, writer, and musician Massimo Magee. Known for his radically multidisciplinary work, on TAEX he presents a collection of 23 unique pieces, each accompanied by a dedicated page from his novel Variations on an Inexhaustible Theme (Eleusinian Press, 2019).
Massimo Magee is an artist, writer, and musician. He creates avant-garde digital art that challenges traditional perceptions and representations by interweaving sound and visuals into a single file. Magee authored Manifesto (New Unities) in 2017 —a seminal call to action passionately advocating for a radical new approach to creating and consuming art. Magee’s call to action embodies his oeuvre's innovative spirit and relentless experimentation. Moreover, Magee's work as a recording artist on the esteemed New York label 577 Records has garnered him a dedicated following within the experimental music community. Massimo Magee is based in London, UK.
Massimo Magee's audiovisual digital art pieces are designed to be read by computers as both a static visual image and a bit of audio. While computers perceive visual and audio aspects as one object, human observers require separate readings to discern them. By merging the lineages of abstract image-making and experimental music, Magee proposes a new hybrid form of art that pushes the boundaries of traditional perceptions and representations. In this series, Magee draws inspiration from the twin legacies of abstract art and jazz music, weaving them together in a complex, multi-layered tapestry of sound and visuals. At its core, Magee's art practice questions the fundamental divide between organic and electronic perception, exploring how our understanding of the world is mediated and interpreted by technology. In doing so, he opens up new avenues for artistic expression and cultural consciousness. Jazz music and crypto art may seem vastly different at first, with the latter being primarily visual and the former — sonic, but the two art forms share some striking similarities. Both have a history of pushing boundaries and breaking conventions. With its improvisational nature and experimental approach, jazz challenges music norms, much like how crypto art defies conventional notions of art and ownership with its use of blockchain technology and digital mediums. Both jazz and crypto art represent a spirit of experimentation and disruption, challenging the status quo.
