SCAD alumnus Roberto Carlos Lange makes distinctive visual music
Roberto Carlos Lange, "Brain Finger Composition," Miami, Florida, October 2012. Photograph by Ben Fein.
As a high school student during the early 1990s, Roberto Carlos Lange (B.F.A., computer art, 2003) would stay up late watching "Liquid Television" on MTV. Intrigued by the experimental videos and animation he saw there, he "was fascinated by the mystery of how they were made, and was curious as to how to make them."
The son of Ecuadorian immigrants, Lange was also affected by the sounds of bass music and late-night "peñas," or a grouping of musicians or artists, in and around his South Florida home. With whatever he could get his hands on — guitars, tape-loops, found sound and voice — Lange's way of hearing continued to evolve.
These dual interests — the visual and the audible — have lead to the body of work Lange is known for. He uses an unlimited variety of sights, sounds and live performances to produce his signature type of visual music.
"The only physical objects I make that represent the work I do are in the form of CDs and vinyl records and cassette tapes," he said. "I never studied traditional musical notation but the way I define it for myself uses visual references."
One such example is "Brain Finger Composition," a work commissioned by SCAD for deFINE ART 2013, the university's annual celebration of fine and contemporary art.
For several weeks leading up to the deFINE ART event held at the SCAD Museum of Art, the SCAD community was invited to participate in the creation of the work by providing sounds via Google Voice. This collection of sounds served as the inspiration for a performance in which Lange directed a 10-piece orchestra, with each musician tethered to one of his fingers by a brightly colored piece of yarn. The musicians played according to a defined set of musical instructions, resulting in a unique audio and visual collaborative experience.
"It brought together all aspects of what I enjoy doing," Lange said. "To be surrounded by people I respect in it terms of musicians and artists, and to create work and execute an idea was really rewarding."
"SCAD has offered me an opportunity to present new ideas I'm exploring and developing, " he added. "To be encouraged to create new work and have someone believe in what is possible feels infinite."
Lange is also known as "Helado Negro," meaning "black ice cream" after his wife's favorite food and the nickname his family gave him during his childhood. He uses this moniker for many projects and has been greatly influenced by his education at SCAD.
Lange majored in computer art "when not everyone had a computer." Having followed his brother Carlos Adolfo Lange (B.F.A., graphic design, 1997) to SCAD, he was knocked out by the university's resources. He also enjoyed collaborating with students pursuing other disciplines such as 2-D animation, motion graphics and sound design.
Collaboration and community have always been key to Lange's creative practice.
"I've never been a person to be completely isolated," he said. "I have a human need to communicate, share and play."
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