Carolina Melis is an Italian-Danish artist, designer, and animation director. Born in Italy, she graduated from Dartington College of Arts and the University of the Arts Central Saint Martins in London. Specialising in choreography and animation, she has been directing music videos and short films for almost two decades, attracting notable appreciation from the world of fashion. Infused with a keen sense of composition and design, Melis' creative repertoire encompasses a variety of mediums, ranging from grand-scale intricate textiles to computer-generated patterns. Her work has been featured in major publications and exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
My work spans various art forms. Over the years, I've directed animated films, designed textiles, illustrated book covers, and created unique art pieces. Whether on the page or off the page, I always aim for elegance and playfulness. In my definition, I associate elegance with a sense of balance, harmony, aesthetic appeal; while playfulness means the work being enjoyable for the viewer.
I have been, and still am, highly influenced by the art and philosophy of great minds like Bruno Munari, Saul Bass, and Paul Randl. In their work, I love the use of essential shapes and bold colours, as well as their ability to simplify complex concepts.
Someone once described my work as having a 'sense of rhythm,' and I found that definition to be very accurate. Whether animated or static, I always consider timing, dynamics, and pace as an essential part of the work.
We are moving into a world that is becoming more and more familiar with the metaverse. I see a continuum between the physical and digital spaces emerging. The idea of ownership, traditionally tied to tangible objects, is becoming outdated and, at times, a limitation on creativity.
I've been exploring the world of NFTs and generative art for a while, trying to find my voice and perspective within this context. 'Kubikino' is a project specifically conceived for the blockchain and as a generative art project. I worked on the concept, design, and structure of the collection, collaborating with creative coder Enrico Penzo, who provided invaluable support throughout the 18-month it took to develop the project. With the imminent drop on ArtBlocks (Thurs 29th of November starts @6:00 PM UCT end @ 6:30 PM UCT)
I'm excited about the idea of this collection consisting of 320 NFTs that only will exist on the blockchain. It marks an important moment and adds immense value to the artwork by legitimising, storing, and documenting the collection forever.
'Kubikino' revolves around masks and facial representation in general. I used code as a means to generate as many unique faces as possible, employing a very limited palette and set of shapes. Working on 'Kubikino' felt like building a tribe of individuals. I had to consider what would make each face unique yet similar, creating a sense of belonging to the same group. The most complex challenge was to maintain simplicity.
Before incorporating coding, I dedicated significant time to sketching on paper and exploring fields like graphic design, choreography, and animation. Once I had a solid visual concept, I began devising rules to govern the generation of these faces. To make the project even more interesting, I introduced a set of special rules that would generate some rare faces. I was thrilled when I learned that the collection was accepted by ArtBlocks, a platform that is an important reference for the work I do.
Generative art is inherently exciting, and this project, in particular, made the process of generating art particularly thrilling. Despite being the creator of the project, I always experience a moment of curiosity, anticipation, and surprise every time a face is generated. Each face presents a combination of features that give it a unique personality. During the process, I developed favourites and least favourites, which is part of the creative process.
As an artist, the approach to working in generative art is very different from traditional art forms. While traditional art focuses on the final composition as the masterpiece at the end of the process, generative art introduces an intermediate level between the concept and the final result—the generation itself, which is driven by code.
Absolutely. I spent most of the creative process pondering the rationale behind the project. During my research, I aimed to define a set of rules that would generate consistent yet diverse results.
For the first time, I felt like I truly understood what design is all about. Design encompasses functionality, much like code, as well as form.
Incorporating code into this project has greatly stimulated my creativity and enriched the body of work I've produced. This is precisely what fascinates me about generative art—I view the machine as an essential tool for artistic expression, not a replacement for my creativity."
