Q & A with designer Macy Burr

Macy Burr is a designer based in Arkansas. She creates colorful soundscapes from hit songs. She has a passion for design and music, and the visuals of her work captures that. 

Victoria Hernandez: Where are you from and how does that affect your art?

MB: I’m originally from Dallas, Texas. I grew up in music venues listening to my dad play in a variety of bands. He taught me to play the piano around the age of 7 or 8. I wasn’t a fan of lessons and quit immediately, but eventually picked it back up in college as I became more interested in jazz. Playing with and listening to other musicians refer to songs in terms of color, shade, and negative space helped me to start seeing it in visual terms instead of just audio.

VH: Who are your biggest artistic influences (both visual & audio)?

MB: Visual: Laurie Frick is one of the most impressive artists to me. She is a self-described data artist making intricate pieces out of natural materials that depict information in extreme detail. I’m forever fascinated by the way her work represents monotonous daily activities in a such visually expressive way. Boundary pushing always inspires me, and I especially love creatives that make you question ‘what is considered art.’

Audio: Kiefer is an indie keyboard player who’s held the #1 spot on my Spotify wrapped for 5 years running. I love the way he manipulates pitches and maintains a really unique sound while still adhering to standard jazz principles. His song Orange Crayon is one of my favorites. Taking a new approach to something familiar is always the goal for me creatively, and he does it so well.

VH: What is your favorite medium to work with?

MB: I started out making giclee prints—I’m a graphic designer and so that felt the most natural to me. Now I’ve become more interested in using acoustic panels to create large-scale versions of my work. There’s something really compelling about adding a dimensional, tactile component to my system of shapes and colors. I think having three senses activated by a single experience heightens our sense of connection to the present, and I love the idea that I can create and share that experience with others through my art.

VH: What is your favorite music that inspires you to create? What music did you use for your recent piece at the Medium?

MB: I love string instruments. I played the viola for several years in high school orchestra and fell in love with classical music. It always amazes me how many jazz icons like John Coltrane and Bill Evans were inspired by 19th-century composers like Debussy. Classical music has always been my gateway into other musical genres. There’s so much crossover we don’t even realize. After learning that Van Halen samples Bach in his guitar solos, I became hooked on observing iterative musical elements.

In my recent work, I wanted to reveal the design behind a familiar song—Bach’s Cello Suite in G Major, Prelude. I wondered if seeing and hearing the pattern simultaneously would help us feel more connected to the piece and more open to recognizing patterns in other things. What does it mean that the golden ratio for a good cocktail (1 + 2 + 1) also applies to a great song ( A + B + A)? Everything is more closely related than we think it is. If I can communicate that message through my art and evoke an emotional response, then I’ve done my job.