Check Out Darren Mittermeier’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren Mittermeier.

Hi Darren, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Some people in my family think I carried on the creative force of my now passed grandmother Elsa. She was a traveling yodeler and show woman in southern Germany in the 40s and 50s. She could dance, sing, act, draw, and make clothing among other things. There is a long story about my parents meeting in Panama and immigrating to the US that also has shaped my life and outlook. Pursuing the “American dream” many immigrants chase, they encouraged me to pursue technical things or practical things mostly. I was never really forbidden to do anything though so it helped me have an open mind for myself. They were really surprised when I did anything artsy because they never showed me things like that! Art just kind of grew out of me.

When I turned thirteen I found myself, staring in plays, singing, drawing, playing music, and studying martial arts which would later transition me into dance as a young adult. Dad had a graphic design and photography studio so I grew up around him working with graphics, chemicals, and rigging big machines with rubber bands and luck to save money on parts. One day he came home with a computer for me that had recording software on it, music I had never heard before, and photoshop! I started making my own electronic music inspired by videogames, and designing my own album art. I got deep into electronic music for the next 14 years and even somehow had a band with my friend Chris while in college for engineering. Nobody really knew what electronic music was in my hometown Cookeville but they did know they needed DJ’s at parties and clubs so we were close enough! In the younger years of my 20s I spent my free time writing music, hanging with circus arts friends, and learning how to swing dance. Eventually, my attention turned to the 70s to learn about the origins of electronic music I liked and I became obsessed with the 70s and 80s. When I moved to Nashville I was able to connect with the dance scene and learn about break dance, house dance, and locking. I had incredible instructors who taught me for free because they loved those dances and wanted me to love them too. I got involved in the electronic music scene in 2015 and helped lead a group called NEMS. We put on monthly meetings, music festivals, and shows for local producers for about 10 years and still do. I am not as active with the Nashville Electronic Music and Synth group now but we have about 1400 members! For the last 6 years I have been more active as a digital media artist not leaning into AI too much. My art style is a combo of graphic design exploration and 3D modeling concept art. I draw inspiration often from Sci-fi and fantasy settings, graphic design of the 60s-80s and 90s-2000s CGI. Album art from these decades particularly inspires me! When you look at my art you will often see:

Limited color palette
Acentric scene balance rather than symmetry
Attention to subject form and direction
Letting scene elements go off the page
First glance hard impact.

I am currently using the artist name “Sequencer” and this year I hope to bring my art to a more public setting with an accordion display wall I built for exhibit of posters! I would like to have some 3d printed objects as well as laser engraved wooden trinkets to sell also. If anyone reads this and wants to help find me a venue I would love to hear from you!

If I could give two pieces of advice to other artists based on my journey thus far I would share this. Firstly, It is important to witness things in real life. Taking time to observe and lay hands on something that you are curious about could change your life. Secondly, value your imagination and never let anyone crush it.

Lastly, Just want to say Thank you to anyone who ever took the time to show me how to do anything. Time is the most valuable thing you can give someone.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I will speak on artistic challenges both specifically and generally.

Some people now think when they see my art that it was created via texts prompts in a few minutes, where in reality it took me 60 hours or years. I would say that tools for digital art or not well known outside of photoshop like a paint brush or pencil would be for traditional art and with AI now, it is hard to know when genuine intent was involved in my medium. When AI image generation got easier to use a friend told me that digital art was over… as if it was a novelty to do it or that it could not make money. Well, the making money part for the masses to consume might be stifled in the future, but that is where speed and use is concerned. He doesn’t understand art. Where expression is concerned, there are no limits. AI isn’t there yet where absolute intent is possible. We can describe what something is like… but AI can not interface with whim, emotions, experiences, or other human mysteries so effectively. Soon musicians will face AI song writers in the same way visual digital artists have struggled to be perceived. I do not believe creatives should ignore AI for utility based tasks.

Generally, bringing the nonvisible or unspoken sentiments of the mind, body, and soul to the physical world is hard.

Creatively, there have certainly been challenges on projects and bringing ideas to life… but I find sometimes now is not the time. We must be patient with our process. There were times I didn’t have the drive, the context, or the tools to do something that I later did when it was the right time. Sometimes putting a project down is best for now, especially if you know in your heart that art is a lifelong endeavor for you. It is helpful to acknowledge that art can be a struggle requiring deeper digging that could take years to develop. You don’t have to quit. I went 14 years only focused on music, not lifting a pencil or pixel and now I have been back at it with visual art for 6 years. Sometimes I don’t really feel like dancing much either, but I have come to realize if I don’t exert myself in some creative way I’ll probably explode.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My day job is that I am a Civil Engineer which is a construction based line of work. In school I studied to design buildings and structures as well as to do other science based things which had NOTHING to do with my creative callings. I still work in this field, and it allows me to not have to focus on marketing as an artist which I am terrible at! I do not really have a consistent theme with my creations and do not care about a message people will buy unless it is work for a client. I have always been a fairly balanced right and left brain user and I actually did take some of the technical drawing, programming, fabrication techniques, and 3d skills I learned from my industry into my hobbies.

I have been able to apply my technical art skills, music/audio skills, and dance in work related capacities throughout the years on paid projects, and I think there might even be room to grow in this area as a second or new career some day. For now it is most important for me just to do art that speaks to me or get involved in technical creative things.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite experience from my childhood would be waking up on Saturday morning to the smell of my Dad making crepes and bacon. He loves to cook for people. My mom would have put on a CD of some kind of international music that I would hear muffled through the wall. The music could have been Brazilian, Turkish, Jamaican, French, or anything. I would lay there a long while before coming down. She would yell for me eventually and I’d find her dancing around the room setting the table. My mom and I are both hyperactive.

Pricing:

• My posters sell for $15-$34
• Album art starts at $150 and up depending on complexity.
• 3D related work technical work depends on the scope

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sequencer.in
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sequencer1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nashvillesynth
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-m-m/
• Other: https://megasynth.bandcamp.com/album/party-patrol