Behind the Screens: Sasj
An interview with Saskia Freeke (Sasj).
Saskia Freeke is a livecoder who creates generative artworks on the daily. Her works consist of simple geometric shapes, creating more complex patterns and sometimes animations.
In this interview we’d like to talk about her practices and tools, as well as work in the community and the way she copes with the radical and drastic changes in her practice resulting from the corona crisis.
What is your first encounter with live coding and what are sources of inspiration?
During my master studies in Computational Art I encountered more music live coding. But with CCU meetings — where there were live coding jams organised — I got more interested and encouraged by others in the community to try live coding myself.
Which platform do you use and why?
The platform I use for my live coding performances is Hydra. This got me excited to learn more, because I think it’s very accessible and you quickly have a visually interesting output.
How has live coding influenced your way of making things?
When I play at home creating my daily artworks, I have the time to create something before I show it to the world. During live coding, I have to be playful in the moment itself. This is a really fun challenge, as well as listening to the music and responding to it with my visuals in real time.
In these times of lockdown, what can we learn from the live coding community in terms of their way of organisation?
It’s great to see how the live coding community keeps working on their tools and expression. Maybe that’s becoming even more visible now. The community is always creative in organising, online and offline.
Did the isolation force you to make adjustments to your current practice, and can you elaborate on how these changes impact your work?
I don’t see much change in my practice, but I miss the social aspect when performing, to see the response of the viewer and to work together with other live coders.
Find more of Saskia’s work here:
Website — Instagram — Twitter — Tumblr
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This article is part of the 10 Minute Livecoding Challenge by Creative Coding Utrecht and Netherlands Coding Live — a series of events where digital artists and live coders create a piece in ten minutes.
The 10 Minute Live Coding Challenge is sponsored by Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie.
