Question: What if you could pursue the creative projects that you already saw in the world?
In this episode, Beatie Wolfe takes us through her creative journey to become the technologist and artist she is today. Back when she was 7 or 8, she began to imagine the “music books” (album covers) that she wanted over music and moved to reimagine the vinyl experience in her later work. She shares her journey through projects like “Raw Space” (the anti-stream in the quietest room in the world). She also discussed “From Green to Red” which she created for this year’s London Design Biennale, and ‘Postcards from Democracy” with Mark Mothersborough that will be a Featured Session at March 2021’s SXSW Online. Enjoy Beatie’s journey to create and re-create our ceremonial experiences around music in the real world.
Guest: Beatie Wolfe, Singer, Songwriter, Technologist (Photo: Ross Harris)
“Musical weirdo and visionary” (Vice)
Beatie Wolfe is an artist who has beamed her music into space, been appointed a UN role model for innovation, and held an acclaimed solo exhibition of her “world first: album designs at the V&A Museum. Named by WIRED as one of “22 people changing the world,”Beatie Wolfe is at the forefront of pioneering new formats for music that bridge the physical and digital, which include: a 3D theatre for the palm of your hand; a wearable record jacket – cut by Bowie and Hendrix’s tailor out of fabric woven with Wolfe’s music – and most recently an “anti-stream” from the quietest room on earth. Wolfe is also the co-founder of a “profound” (The Times) research project looking at the power of music for people living with dementia.
The Barbican recently commissioned a documentary about Beatie Wolfe’s pioneering work titled “Orange Juice for the Ears: From Space Beams to Anti-Streams” and Wolfe’s latest innovation is an environmental protest piece built using 800,000 of historic data that will be premiered at the London Design Biennale in 2021.
Mentioned Links:
- Beatie Wolfe: https://beatiewolfe.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beatiewolfe/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BeatieWolfe/
- Punk Rock by Virginia Boston – https://beatiewolfe.com/this-beats-blogging/punk-rock-by-virginia-boston-1978
- 8ight (2017) – “World’s first 3D Interactive Album App” – “Theater for the Palm of the Hand” –
- https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/beatie-wolfe-8/id666096956
- Montagu Square (2015) – Album Deck of Cards – https://beatiewolfe.com/shop-list/the-mongatu-square-album-deck-of-cards
- Raw Space (2017) – Documentary about the album and Bell Labs – https://beatiewolfe.com/raw-space-beam
- Victoria & Albert (2018) – “The Art of Music in the Digital Age” – https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/bJR1B3Ng/ldf-2018-the-art-of-music-in-the-digital-age-a-series-of-world-first-designs
- SXSW Session – Mar. 18, 2021 – https://www.sxsw.com
