Tech • IA • Crypto
How Squidsoup Creates Art Installations with Claude
4/10TL;DR
A collaborative arts group merged orchestral music, light, and AI-assisted design to create an immersive installation inspired by stained glass and spatial experience.
KEY POINTS
Immersive collaboration with a historic orchestra
Squidsoup, a collective focused on light, sound, and spatial art, partnered with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to create “Echoes of Hill and Horizon.” The project marked the group’s first time working with a live orchestra, requiring precise synchronization with the conductor and musicians. The production demanded tightly choreographed coordination between visual and musical elements.
Reinterpreting a classical composition
The installation was built around “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” first performed in Gloucester Cathedral in the early 20th century. The piece’s historical and architectural associations informed the visual direction. The team sought to translate the emotional and spatial qualities of the music into a physical environment.
Stained glass as visual inspiration
Designers drew heavily from the vivid stained glass windows of Gloucester Cathedral. By layering clusters of red and blue light, they recreated the luminous, interwoven color effects typical of stained glass. This approach reinforced the connection between the music’s origins and the immersive visual setting.
Technology as artistic material
The group treated LEDs, software, and electronic systems as artistic media rather than mere tools. Their process emphasized exploration of these materials’ inherent properties, positioning digital technology within a long tradition of artists engaging directly with their medium.
AI as a creative collaborator
The team integrated Claude, an AI system, into their workflow to streamline complex design processes. It enabled them to bypass cumbersome software interfaces and translate intricate node-based modeling into more intuitive tools. This reduced technical barriers and allowed broader team participation.
Bridging technical and artistic workflows
AI acted as a “translation layer” between technical systems and creative intent, helping different team members collaborate more effectively. This shift redistributed creative ownership and improved efficiency across disciplines.
Focus on audience experience
The ultimate goal was to make technology invisible, allowing audiences to focus entirely on shared sensory experience. The installation emphasized human connection within a space defined by light and sound rather than the tools used to create it.
CONCLUSION
The project demonstrates how classical music, immersive design, and AI can converge to expand artistic collaboration while keeping the audience’s sensory experience at the center.