Mumbai: Lenovo India and Intel Evo have collaborated on a unique project called the 'Brave New Art' series, which aims to encourage creators to boldly express themselves through the use of technology. The series showcases artwork that has been created on Lenovo Yoga laptops, utilising the cutting-edge technology provided by the Intel Evo platform. By establishing Yoga laptops as a medium to inspire artists, Lenovo and Intel Evo hopes to foster creativity and innovation in the art community.
The concept of the series revolves around bringing together two artists with diverse creative backgrounds in each episode. One artist represents a traditional school of thought, while the other comes from a tech-based background. The series features episodes that are eight-ten minutes long, capturing behind-the-scenes moments and highlighting the use of state-of-the-art technology during the creative process. The end result is a bold, innovative, and immersive musical experience.
The Brave New Art series features a lineup of talented artists, including Santanu Hazarika, a multi-disciplinary visual artist, MC Heam, a rapper and producer, Meher Malik, a belly dancer, and Prithvi Shetty, a graphic designer and music producer. The first episode of the series is now available on Lenovo India's YouTube and Instagram channels. Additionally, the series will be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar starting in mid-June.
Through this collaboration, Lenovo India and Intel Evo aim to showcase the power of technology in empowering artists and enabling them to express their creativity in bold and innovative ways. The 'Brave New Art' series serves as a platform for artists to explore the fusion of traditional art forms with cutting-edge technology, pushing the boundaries of artistic expression
Indiantelevision.com caught up with FCB Kinnect executive creative director Mithun Mukherjee to talk know about Lenovo India and Intel Evo’s 'Brave New Art' series and much more.
Mukherjee comes from a rich work experience spanning over 15 years across radio, print and digital. A multi-award-winning creative, his case studies have been featured on coveted platforms like WARC and Ads of the World. He was also featured in Impact’s Top 10 India Creative Hotlist in 2023. He is the author of four published works of fiction. In his free time, he enjoys reading dystopian fiction and playing the guitar.
Edited Excerpts:
On 'Brave New Art' series artists adapting and collaborating across traditional and tech-based approaches
Lenovo has always pushed its boundaries when it comes to innovation. The Lenovo Yoga was specifically designed to enable artists from all disciplines to help create myriad expressions of the arts that they specialise in. With Brave New Art, the intent was to let these artists create a narrative for the GenZ, enabling them to turn inspiration into expression.
The curation of artists for Brave New Art was premised on getting talent that was willing to collaborate. Chosen from across genres and styles, they were not only meant to create a whole new expression of their art forms, but they also involved them working with a discipline that they mostly didn’t have an idea of. The Lenovo Yoga acted as the perfect bridge, becoming a collaborative device that got the world of Analog and Digital to work together. Through specific features that enabled extensive collaborations, the device seamlessly helped create an artistic expression that was both alien and relatable at the same time for the artists. While the tech-based creators found it easy to handle the technology, the analogue artists also didn’t feel out of depth, thanks to the Lenovo Yoga’s intuitive design and features. At the end, the collaboration yielded what the series set out to achieve – a collaborative expression of Brave New Art from each set of artists.
On sharing insights into the behind-the-scenes process of incorporating cutting-edge technology in the creation of the art showcased in the series
Each episode intends to push the artists involved in the collaboration beyond their comfort zone. Meher and Prithvi’s collaboration required environment replacement and blending a surreal narrative with a rather expressive form of dance – belly dancing. It required extensive collaboration to understand the fluid movements of the dance form and reimagining to restrict it within the confines of the movement that would allow for a croma key treatment. Meher also dabbled with a syncopated soundtrack, choreographing her movements that would keep her original essence, while still delivering something completely fresh. The result was a bold experiment in visualization and dance, creating the perfect blend of creativity and expression.
For the second episode, MC Heem and Shantanu Hazarika spent a lot of time studying each other's disciplines. Shantanu chose to create a visual output that wouldn’t just be ‘art’ – instead, it would become something that people could not just see, but immerse themselves in. It led to the birth of one of India’s first forays into immersive music video. Populated by MC Heem’s music, the immersive music video not only allows people to engage with virtual reality but also create their own avatars that they can use to explore space. Virtual reality features the journeys of both artists within the confines of the experience, helping push the envelope of creativity just a little further.
On specific features of the Lenovo Yoga laptops powered by the Intel Evo platform that was utilised by the artists to enhance their creative expression
With a constantly evolving universe of technology, the program helped artists collaborate across their various disciplines using various features in the device. Artists like Shantanu Hazarika leveraged the crystal sharp OLED displays and multimode touchscreen to work across terminals and platforms seamlessly. Prithvi Shetty used the Stylus support, constantly toggling between different EQs on multi-channel music software. Thanks to Bowens and Wilkins Sound and AI Engine+, Meher and MC Heem could jam and collaborate with crystal clear sound enabling them to choreograph and compose respectively. The spectrum of collaborators also showcased the device’s capability to serve a rich tapestry of artistic forms without breaking a sweat. Instead of an output that would just be an ad, Brave New Art pushes the boundaries of creativity, aiming at creating new benchmarks in artistic expression.
On the role of the 'Brave New Art' series playing in redefining the perception of technology as a creative tool for artists across different disciplines
Brave New Art will be a frontrunner in showing brands the power of strong storytelling while keeping your core product codes intact. As we move beyond the pilot episodes, consumers can expect a lot more examples of technology and artistic disciplines coming to the forefront. This extension would be in both analogue and digital spaces, helping artists from all walks learn the utility of the Lenovo Yoga. Be it artistic expression or just dabbling with the latest in technology, the show will showcase that no creative goal is too big if enabled with the right tools.
On the vision of the series and inspiring a wider audience of creators
The series intends to showcase unlikely collaborations that would open up newer avenues of creation for all sorts of creators. The more extreme the collaboration, the better utilisation of the features that the Lenovo Yoga comes bundled with. More importantly, different episodes will allow consumers to leverage each feature uniquely and often in multiple ways. While helping create content that would be extremely watchable, the show will also generate curiosity and interest in trying out the device itself.
