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Layers of Creation: Marcelo Terça-Nada on Art, Code, and Cultural Expression

How a Lifelong Creative Journey Led to Generative Art, Cultural Homages, and Transformative Urban Interventions

In this interview, we delve into the evolution of his work, his dedication to merging traditional and digital art forms, and his belief in art’s role as a tool for social and cultural transformation. His story offers an inspiring look at the possibilities of art in the digital age, as well as the resilience and passion that have driven his journey.

A: You’ve been a constant presence in the art world for over two decades. Can you tell us about the beginning of your artistic journey and what first inspired you to start making art?

MN: From a very young age I always drew a lot, I loved to experiment with different materials and would spend hours drawing. I also loved to read and found in books a passionate universe, both for literature and for graphic arts. When I reached my teens, I started to go to all the visual art exhibitions that took place in my city. I also went to the many festivals that took place there: video, poetry, film, theater, dance, music, etc. Since I already had a passion for learning, I started taking free courses. I was lucky enough to study in public elementary and high schools, where the arts and humanities were much more present and varied than in most Brazilian schools. For example, I took glass painting in elementary school, and woodworking and philosophy in high school. In addition, I was always experimenting and creating on my own. From this melting pot I began to develop a poetic style, which at first involved experimenting with stencil painting and poetry. When I decided to study art at university, I fell in love with photography, engraving techniques and urban intervention.

A: Your work spans many disciplines—generative art, photography, printmaking, and urban intervention. How do you balance these different mediums, and what connects them in your creative process?

MN: The language or medium to be used is defined by the project I'm working on. Some projects have to do with photographic research, others are more suited to being materialized as urban interventions. Sometimes the project is born out of a desire to experiment with a particular language. At other times, the “subject” I want to investigate is what drives the definition of which medium will be used. Each time I'm more involved with one language or another.

A: You’ve mentioned before that you found an "instant passion" for generative art after discovering fxhash. Did your prior experience as a web developer shape your understanding and appreciation of generative art? And how did the process of creating via code change your approach to art making, if at all?

MN: It really was an instant passion. The process I described above about my involvement with drawing and other artistic languages happened in a similar way with programming. I started out as a self-taught programmer, studying and experimenting as a teenager with a language called "Basic" on computers where the only way to record data was on K7 tapes. When the Internet started to become accessible (mid-1990s), I spent a lot of time immersed in this universe that mixed the promise of free knowledge for all with an environment where people from all over the world could come together to share and learn from each other. It was a beautiful and promising time. Somehow, the generative art environment and the fx(hash) community reminded me a lot of the effervescence of that time, but with much more powerful possibilities for making art. And yes, generative art combined a lot of what I had learned and developed during my years as a web developer with my artistic experimentation practices.

A: Your first generative art collection, "Monotipia," was inspired by traditional printmaking techniques. How do you see the relationship between the tactile world of printmaking and the digital processes of generative art?

MN: From the beginning of my experiments with generative art, I was looking for the possibilities of generating texture that I could achieve with the code. These experiences brought back memories of images from when I worked with metal engraving 20 years ago. This memory comes both from the textures of the prints and from the process of "opening" the ink with the roller on the glass table and then inking the matrices. I have even experimented with monotypes using the "leftover" ink from the glass table, applying the paper to it, and removing the printed images. Monotipia recaptures some of that experience.

A: "Junina" pays tribute to Brazil’s June festivities, and you’ve often drawn inspiration from cultural and social elements in your work. How do Brazilian culture and your environment influence your art?

MN: I believe that artists should be connected to the time and place in which they live. The Brazilian culture is very rich and diverse. I've always been interested in getting to know its manifestations, from popular culture festivals to avant-garde creations. I have been formed and crossed by all of this. The June festivals are especially strong in the region of Brazil where I currently live, they have a very present imaginary in the affective memory of the people and generate a beautiful transformation of urban landscapes in the months of June and July. Junina is my homage to the power of these festivals.

A: You often reference rhythm, movement, and sound in your works, especially in projects like "Poema." How do you conceptualize these elements visually, and what role do they play in shaping your compositions?

MN: Even static images have rhythm and can evoke movement. Somehow this rhythm and movement evokes music (Kandinsky was an artist who wrote brilliantly about this relationship). The Poema project is related to my passion for visual poetry. Throughout the creation process, I wondered what it would be like if the outputs were used as musical scores or sound poems. I invite anyone interested to try reading some of the Poema´s outputs aloud.

A: We’ve deeply explored your creative process and your life as an artist. What about Marcelo, the person? What type of music moves you, what’s your rhythm?

MN: I love music. My favorite styles are jazz and Brazilian rhythms like choro, samba and MPB. But I also like electronic music, soul and reggae.

A: On another personal note, do you have favorite outputs in your collections? If you had to choose a favorite Monotipia, Junina, and Poema what would they be?

MN: It's hard to choose just one from each collection, but I think my current favorites are: Monotipia #85, Junina #41 and Poema #16

A: You’ve participated in many urban interventions with Grupo Poro. How do you think urban spaces and public engagement contribute to the power and relevance of contemporary art?

MN: I believe that art can contribute to critical thinking about contemporary problems with a poetic approach. When art acts directly in a specific context, place or situation, it can create other ways of perceiving those specificities and thus broaden the imaginary about them. This is very powerful with urban intervention, which takes place and affects public space, often inviting other people to also engage in questions about the city and the uses of its spaces.

A: As someone with a background in both art and web development, how do you see the relationship between technology and creativity evolving in the future?

MN: I believe in technology as a tool to materialize and enhance creativity, whether that technology is something as simple as a pencil or something extremely complex like blockchain. I hope that creativity and other wonderful human capabilities will not be captured by corporations, and that human societies will be able to propose collective solutions to the enormous challenges we face today.

A: Looking ahead, are there any new mediums or themes you’re excited to explore in the future?

MN: I still have a lot to learn and experiment with when it comes to generative art and I'm very excited about this field.

You can find more about Marcelo Terça-Nada following these links: