Brazilian MUTI RANDOLPH builds interiors and installations using light and sound and not much else. Is he taking design – and all our senses – into the fourth dimension? WORDS�SHONQUIS MORENOPHOTOS�COURTESY OF MUTI RANDOLPH

THESOUNDOFLIGHT

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MUTI RANDOLPH INSIDE TUBE, WHICH USES MIRRORS TO CREATE THE ILLUSION OF A NEVER-ENDING TUNNEL OF LIGHT.

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Muti’snamemayaswellbeanabbreviationof‘mutation’or‘mutability’.Fluentinbothlow-techandhigh-tech,andintheactualandthevirtual,41-year-olddesignerMutiRandolphdemonstratestheenduringpowerandourunderestimationofphysicalsurfacesandthen,forgoodmeasure,challengesthenotionofstaticspace. Recently,RandolphcompletedthethirdincarnationofSãoPaulo’sbelovednightclubD-Edge(seeFrame25,page116,andFrame35,page104).Itisadenser,higherresolutionandhigheroctaneversionofitspredecessors.Theoldvector-likelinesoflightarethinnerandmorenumerous;surfacesnowcantatcascading45-degreeangles,increasingtheunmistakableimpressionofspeed.Butthistimehisalterationsrundeeper.Thevenuehassheditstinnygloss

andisinsteadrenderedrichlyinavarietyofwoods.Itsuggeststhattherehasbeenafinemutationinthegenes,notjustofthenightclubbutofthedesignerhimself.‘Mutationisoneofthebasesofevolution.Livingbeingskeepchangingallthetime,frombirthtodeath,’Randolphmuses.‘Lifeischange.Ifyoucan’tchange,you’renotreallyfree.’ Freedomtomoveandfreedomtochange,anobstinatewilltonotremainthesameortonotremaininthesameplace,arepartandparcelofRandolph’sworkandRandolph,himself.TravellingbetweenRioandSãoPauloweekly,Randolphhasworkedonabroadrangeofprojectsoverthepast15years:bars,scenography,artinstallations,fashion-weekbooths,catwalks,partyenvironments,retailinteriorsandshopfaçades.Hisinstallations

oftenchangeliterally,withprojectedimagesplayingwithoutrepeating,coloursandlightscyclingthroughgradations,orentiresurfacestransmutingintowhatseemtobemorethanmerelysurfaces.ThefaçadeoftheMelissaflagshipinSãoPaulo,forinstance,wasdesignedtoberedesignedandtosuggestadepthandtexturethatitdoesn’tactuallypossess.Evenwhenasurfacedoesn’tchangephysically,though,ourperceptionsofitdo.Muti’smural-likeconstructionfencingmadefrominkjetprintsonvinylfortheMuseudaImagemedoSominRiolooksabstractcloseup,yetatadistancepatternsemerge,coalescingintoportraitsofBrazilianfilmandmusiclegends.Infact,mostofhisprojectsaredesignedfromorformusic.He’sdoneeverythingfromalbumcoverstoconcertstaging,fromdancefloorstoparties.>>>

TUBEForashowatGaleriaBaró,141LEDtubesmultipliedbymirrorscreatedtheillusionofaninfinitelighttunnel.Amulti-sensoryexperience,theinstallationincorporatedanimationandsoundandwas,inRandolph’sopinion,‘thenextbestthingtobig-wavetuberiding’.

LOCATION São Paulo, BrazilPROJECT InstallationCOMPLETED August 2010

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‘Information overload is making us less tolerant of sameness’Muti Randolph

IMAGEMMorethan6000suspendedglobesoflightinvitedvisitorstoimmersethemselvesinanotherdimensionduringtheone-dayCreatorsProjectinNewYork.Theinstallationrespondedtopeople’smovements,producingvarioussoundsanddramaticshiftsofcolour.

LOCATION New York, NY, USAPROJECT InstallationCOMPLETED June 2010

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‘I’m interested in confusion, but without the aid of drugs’Muti Randolph

D-EDGE ANNIVERSARY PARTYUsingtheconceptofhisD-Edgeclubs,RandolphtransformedalargevenueinSãoPaulointoanightclubfor2000people.Customanimations,madeusingthedesigner’sownsoftware,wereflashed–insyncwiththeliveaudio–acrosslow-resolutionLEDpanelscoveringthedancefloorandstage.

LOCATION São Paulo, BrazilPROJECT EventCOMPLETED January 2009

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DEMONSTRATING HIS PREFERENCE FOR NON-PHYSICAL SOLUTIONS, RANDOLPH’S ANIMATIONS PROVIDED A VISUAL FEAST AT THE D-EDGE ANNIVERSARY PARTY.

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Translatingsoundwavesintolightwaveshasgivenformtomuchofhiswork. Sowhatistheimportanceoftranslationandchange?ItwouldseemthatRandolph’sreactiontotheglutofinformationthatweareswampedwiththroughmediatodayistogiveusmore–additionallayers,patternsthatdon’trepeat,imagesrelatedtosounds.‘Mutationisaconstantqualityinmyprojects,whetherit’sthroughprojection,printsormodulation,’henotes.‘Theoverloadofinformationthroughelectronic/digitalmediamakespeoplelesstolerantofsameness.’Ashe,himself,hasalwaysbeen.RandolphstudiedvisualcommunicationsatPontíficiaUniversidadeCatólicadoRiodeJaneirointhelate1980s,butislargelyself-taughtintermsofdesignandarchitecture.Intheearly1990s,graphicandsetdesignerGringo

Cardiatappedhimtodo3Dillustrationsforhissets.Randolphbegantobuildoutthevirtual3Dspacesthatpreviouslyhehadonlyrenderedandmodelled. Thiswouldmarkthebeginningofhisincreasinglycomplexmash-upofsurfaceanddepth,imageandsound.‘Iwantedtobeabletogoinsidemyillustrations,’hesays.Today,anotherevolutionistakingplace:Randolphisactivatingthethreephysicaldimensions–oratleastmakingthemresponsivetostimuli–inrealtime.Hecallstimethe‘fourthdimension–thedimensionofmusicandchange,whererealmovementtakesplace’.Heretheimagesthathadbecomeobjectsandspacesnowbecomevirtual.‘Youcanstillgetinsidethem,butthey’relessphysical,’heexplains.Thischangecame,inpart,fromthedesigner’s

increasingdiscomfortwiththeamountofresourcesputintoshort-liveddesigns.(Randolphhassaidthat‘runwaystakefourhourstobuild,12minutestouseandonehourtodestroy’.) Butthechangealsocamefromhisobsessionwithgeneratingflux.‘Thethingaboutsustainabilityisthatitissomewhatinverselyrelatedtotheeconomicsituation.Thebestthingfortheworldiscrisis.Forthatreason,thecurrenteconomicboominBrazilscaresmealittle,’Randolphexplains.‘Wastingresourcesforasetthatwillbeusedfor15minutes,likeafashionshow,reallybothersme.ThisisonereasonI’vebeenusingmoreandmorenon-physical–software–solutions.Notonlybecauseofecologicalconcerns,butalsobecauseofmyobsessionwithchange,thespacesIdesignaregettingmorevirtualagain.Youcanstillget

I CAPULETI E I MONTICCHIAmonumentalfaçadeservedastheprimarysetpieceforI Capuleti e i Monticchi (Romeo and Juliet).Thematicdevelopmentswereportrayedthroughtheuseofprojections,whichwerecontrolledbyindividualinstrumentsintheorchestra.

LOCATION Rio de Janeiro, BrazilPROJECT Set designCOMPLETED 2009-2010

Randolph is obsessed with generating flux

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insidethem,butthey’relessphysical.’ Therecentemphasisonnon-physicalsolutionshastakentheformofsoftware.(Hisothertools,or‘hardware’,arealwaysrentedandcanthereforebeusedagain.)Overthepasteightyears,Randolphhasdeveloped,andcontinuestorefine,aproprietaryprogramthatsynchronizesliveaudioandvideo.Thesoftwareanalysesaudioinrealtimeandtranslatesitintoimagesandlight,followingparameterssetbyhimandgeneratingvisualresponseswithnoperceptibledelay.Hehasusedthesoftwareondancefloorsandforfashionshowsandconcerts.Heandhismother,oneofthecountry’smostaccomplishedclassicalpianists,collaboratedtoprojectimages–somerobustlyabstractandothersoftheexposedstringsofthepianoshewasplayingatthatmoment–overlargecubesofwood

mountedonthewallaboveherassheperformed. Healsousedthesoftwaretofleshoutanopera.Amonumental,blockyfaçadeservedastheprimarysetpieceforI Capuleti e i Monticchi(Romeo and Juliet),anoperastagedin2009-2010attheTheatroMunicipaldoRiodeJaneiro.Itsfaceconsistedoflarge,impenetrable,regimentedlinks–anarchitecturalexpressionoflawandsocialorder.Thisveneerofrectitude,civilityandhonourwasbelied,however,byshiftingpatternsprojectedoverthefaçade,whichappearedtorenderittransparent,asiftheaudiencewerelookingintoitsdepths.Theretheysawexpressionsofthechaos,fearandpoetrythatlayjustbeneaththeedificeofShakespeare’scautionarytragedy.Randolphdidthesamewiththe‘façades’ofhumanfaces,whichheprojectedinoverlaidimagesonalargescreenbeside>>>

PRÊMIO MULTISHOWForthetelevisionchannelMultishow,thedesignercreatedanenvironmentusinglightandcolourfortheafter-partyofanawardsceremony.

LOCATION Rio de Janeiro, BrazilPROJECT Temporary barCOMPLETED October 2009

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thestage.Theprojectionsweretriggeredbythemusicpipedthroughfivemicrophonesplacedonstageandintheorchestra–whereindividualinstrumentscontrolledspecificelementsoftheimagery. Aswiththeopera,Randolphhasoftenmadearchitectureandsurfacescanvasesforhislayeredprojections,lettingthetwoworkintandemtocreateadeep,animatedsurface.Hesometimesheightenstheeffectofthese‘laminated’surfacesandtexturesbychoosingtoprojectnothingonadjacentsurfaces(therailingofabalcony,interiorcolumns).Thesebecomedark,blank,fertileframesthatthrustthenowconcentratedareasofcolour,patternandlightontotheeye.Lately,however,hehasbeencreatinghisownmicro-architectureandinhabitablesurfaces.Fortheone-day

CreatorsProjectinNewYork,Randolphbuiltaninteractivecubeconsistingofmorethan6000suspendedglobesoflightthroughwhichvisitorswereinvitedtowalkasifhavingfallen,Alice-like,throughthescreenofacomputer.Imagem,immersiveandoutofthisworld,respondedtotheirmovementsbyproducingvarioussoundsandcoolshiftsofcolour. Oftenhisimageryandformshavetheirprovenanceinthedesigner’sinterestintherepetitionofasingleelementorgroupofrelatedelements–atriangleorasphereorahexahedron–fromwhichhegeneratesanentirespace.Randolphrelatesthistohisfascinationwithbiologyandphysics,pointingoutthatalllivingbeingsaremadeofcellsand,ultimately,ofastonishinglyelegantsubatomicparticles.Strungtogetherintherightcombinations,

OI Formobile-phoneproviderOi,Randolphbuiltvastlettersoutofgridsofcolour-changingLEDs.Asalternatingsectionsweredimmedandilluminated,themassivelettersassumedamomentarilydiaphanousqualitythatmadethemseemasinsubstantialasholograms.

LOCATION Rio de Janeiro, BrazilPROJECT Installation COMPLETED Advertising campaign: November 2009; Fashion show: February 2010

Even when a surface doesn’t physically change, our perceptions of it do

hewantshis‘particles’toproducefreshsensoryexperiences–asortofartificialsynaesthesia.‘I’minterestedinconfusion,butwithouttheaidofdrugs,’thedesignersays.‘Iliketoplaywiththerelationshipsbetween2Dand3D,graphicsandvolumes,graphicsrepresentingvolumes,andvolumeswrappedingraphics.’

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OI COMMISSIONED TWO INSTALLATIONS. THE ONE PICTURED HERE IS A SET FOR AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN.

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