I believe visuals and music should speak for themselves. Everyone brings their own perspective to a work, and that freedom of interpretation is something I value deeply, so I tend to avoid over-explaining my pieces with text. Alongside this, I strongly believe in accessible, open knowledge sharing and in the fair treatment of artists’ rights, values that shape both how I work and how I engage with the community.
ARTIST BIO
Daniel Molnar (Function Store) is a Berlin-based artist working with sound, light, and real-time technology to craft immersive installations and live visuals. His work ranges from small experimental spaces and audiovisual performances to arena productions, blending technical precision with both musical and visual intuition. He is a co-founder of DEREAL Studio and an active educator who develops and shares tools for the creative-tech community.
- Web: https://www.functionstore.xyz/link-in-bio
- Instagram: function.str
- Tiktok: function.str
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/function_store
What Is one belief, insight, or idea that guides your creative process?
I believe visuals and music should speak for themselves. Everyone brings their own perspective to a work, and that freedom of interpretation is something I value deeply, so I tend to avoid over-explaining my pieces with text. Alongside this, I strongly believe in accessible, open knowledge sharing and in the fair treatment of artists’ rights — values that shape both how I work and how I engage with the community.
Can you tell us how you discovered Mixed art and what drew you into it?
I grew up with Windows Media Player and Winamp visualizers, and later discovered that the Winamp ones were editable and shader-based. That curiosity carried over when I started releasing music and looking for ways to create real-time visuals, which is how I found TouchDesigner — and fell deep into the rabbit hole.
What do you think defines your style or creative approach, and how did you arrive at that identity?
I’m driven by discovering new techniques, building tools, and combining existing ones in unexpected ways. I don’t want to put myself in a box and always try to be different — whether visually or musically. I enjoy being meticulous when designing systems, but I also value leaving space for intuition and letting creativity flow when it’s needed.
How does a project usually begin for you? Do you have a creative ritual or structure you follow?
I don’t have many fixed habits, except for one: keep creating. I maintain a long, ever-growing list of ideas that I hope I’ll never fully exhaust. There’s also a lot of music waiting to be released.
What tools or technologies do you use most, and how do they influence your visual language?
TouchDesigner day and night for visuals, Bitwig and guitar and bass for music! These provide all the flexibility and inspiration I want.
Do you feel there Is a strong generative art scene? What would you like to see evolve in it
For sure, even in the last 5 years since I started a ton has changed. I wish to see people coming up with new ideas and techniques, while also not reinventing the wheel and using existing tools! I hope to see more collaborative works as well.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start creating generative art but doesn’t know where to begin?
Learn from the ground up. Tutorials are great, but they’re just one possibility among infinitely many. What you really want is a deep understanding that unlocks anything your mind can come up with. That means looking past shiny visuals for a moment and focusing on the finer details of each operator and technique.
Which artists or creators do you think are doing remarkable work and deserve much more recognition?
Lake Heckaman does amazing visuals while creating tools with discipline and sharing knowledge with a lot of care and attention. TheTouchLab creates super fun and free tools! Just two who immediately popped into mind, but could probably list for days!
