Caterina Davinio

Last updated
Caterina Davinio
Caterina davinio 1990.JPG
Davinio in 1990
Born(1957-11-25)25 November 1957
Foggia, Apulia, Italy
Occupationpoet, writer, new media artist
Literary movement Postmodernism, Concrete poetry, Visual poetry, Digital art, Digital poetry, Net.art
Notable worksKarenina.it, Global Poetry, The First Poetry Shuttle Landing on Second Life

Caterina Davinio (born Maria Caterina Invidia; 25 November 1957, Foggia) is an Italian poet, novelist and new media artist. She is the author of works of digital art, net.art, video art and was the creator of Italian Net-poetry in 1998.

Contents

Biography

Born in Foggia, Davinio grew up in Rome since 1961. She studied literature and art history (student of Giulio Carlo Argan) at Rome University La Sapienza, where, in 1981, she received a MA degree in Italian Literature. Davinio began to write poetry when she was fourteen years old. [1] In Rome, she came in contact with the international circuit of experimental poetry and art, [2] resulting in a number of collaborations with renowned artists, critics and poets of the avant-garde. [3] [4] Since 1997, she has been living in Monza and Lecco, working at an international level.

From the early 1990s, Davinio was a pioneer of Italian electronic poetry, in the experimental field among writing, visual art, and new media, using computer, video, digital photography and the Internet. She was the first woman artist who utilized the computer and Internet in literature and poetry in Italy. [5] Author of visual and sound poetry, [6] she also created works using traditional techniques, such as painting and photography. [7] She is author of novels, books of poetry, essays, and has received literary awards and recognition in Italy and abroad. In 1997, she collaborated to netOper@, the first Italian interactive work for the web, by the composer Sergio Maltagliati. [8] She also initiated Net-poetry in Italy, in 1998, with the website and network Karenina.it. [9] [10] The participants included Julien Blaine, Clemente Padin, Philadelpho Menezes, Mirella Bentivoglio, Lamberto Pignotti, Eugenio Miccini, and many other new media artists, critics, and experimental poets. [11] [12]

Her art has been featured in more than three hundred international exhibitions and festivals, among them two editions of the Biennale de Lyon, the Biennale of Sydney (on-line events), the Athens Biennial, [13] E-Poetry (University SUNY Buffalo, NY, and Barcelona), [14] Polyphonix Festival (Barcelona and Paris), seven times in the Venice Biennale and collateral events, where she collaborated also as a curator. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

She exhibited animated digital poetry works - called "Terminal Videopoems" - in the 1997 Venice Biennale, in VeneziaPoesia, a project directed by the poet and writer Nanni Balestrini. [21] In 1999 she participated, as a poet and a video artist, at the events organized by "Progetto Oreste" at the 48th Venice Biennale, [22] where she also curated a video poetry exhibition. [23]

Davinio's net-poetry participated in the Venice Biennale also in 2001 - Harald Szeemann curator - in the context of Bunker Poetico, [24] [25] [26] which was a collaborative installation - involving 1000 international poets and artists - created by the architect Marco Nereo Rotelli in cooperation with Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici of Venice, Massimo Donà, I Quaderni del Battello Ebbro publisher, Caterina Davinio, Milanocosa cultural association, and others. [27] Davinio engaged in this project renown avant-garde poets and organized a virtual happening on-line called "Parallel Action-Bunker", simultaneous with real readings and performances at Orsogrill delle Artiglierie, a venue of the Venice Biennial. [28] [29]

In 2005, she created the net-poetry work "Virtual Island", a web site and poetry network, in the context of the 51st Venice Biennale. [30] Virtual Island involved 500 international poets, among them: Adunis, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alda Merini, Fernanda Pivano, and many other established writers. [31]

In 2009, she created the virtual installation The First Poetry Space Shuttle Landing on Second Life and other on-line happenings in the 53rd Venice Biennale Collateral Events, engaging more than 200 poets from around the world, to celebrate the centenary of Italian Futurism. [32] [33] In the same project she curated also the event Network Poetico Net-Poetry Reading in Webcam , a poetry reading in Skype videocall with poets from various continents and countries. [34] In the context of the 2009 Venice Biennale Davinio participated also in the exhibition Détournement Venise 2009. [35]

In 2014, she exhibited her net-poetry installation "Big Splash" in the "Master Section" [36] of the international festival OLE.01, dedicated to electronic literature, in the Doric Room of the Royal Palace of Naples; [37] [38] [39] The festival took place in many institutional spaces of Naples in October 2014 and involved some of the main international pioneers of electronic literature and experts and scholars in that field. [40] [41]

Among the literary critics who have written about Davinio's works of fiction and poetry: Francesco Muzzioli, [42] [43] Dante Maffia, [44] Ivano Mugnaini, [45] David W. Seaman; some of the critics who have been interested in her work of digital poetry and electronic art are: Eugenio Miccini, Lamberto Pignotti, [46] Jorge Luiz Antonio, [47] [48] [49] Christopher Thompson Funkhouser, [50] [51] Marco Maria Gazzano, and others.

Caterina Davinio in Bologna in 1981. Caterina Davinio 1981.jpg
Caterina Davinio in Bologna in 1981.

Karenina.it

Net-poetry project Karenina it (1998) [52] was the first art-poetry-communication project presented on the web in an Italian context; the website was not a simple cultural on-line journal, but a "space of aggregation", which hosted an ongoing discourse, involving emerging and established experimental artists, critics, and visual poets. The communication aspect was treated as an artistic medium that goes beyond the contents or the quality of the words: borders among art, critic, and communication, in Davinio's own concept, were cancelled. The flow of words and information became art in itself, transcending the necessity to view art in traditional terms of form. [53] The suffix ".it" present in Karenina.it title is a geographic locator for the origin of the website. The value of the site resides within the conceptual framework of the Fluxus art movement." [54] Karenina.it won MAD03 Award (section Net-Zin) in 2003, Madrid. [55]

Other Net.art works

Other Davinio’s net-poetry and net.art performances and events are based on the evolution of the multi-located structure experimented with Parallel Action-Bunker, mentioned before: beyond the simple presence of the performer on stage, performance is considered a collaborative, decentralized, multi-located action; poetry is conceived as "social structure, e-communication, real/virtual interaction", and "e-communication" is assumed as a new material for the artist. [56] [57] Among them:

Caterina Davinio, Self-Portrait, Munich 1979. Caterina Davinio 1979.jpg
Caterina Davinio, Self-Portrait, Munich 1979.

Exhibitions

Caterina Davinio participated in more than three hundred international art exhibitions in the world, among them: Biennale de Lyon (two editions), Poliphonyx (in Barcelona and in Paris), Liverpool Biennial (Independents, Online Venue), ParmaPoesia, VeneziaPoesia (Nanni Balestrini curator), RomaPoesia, Biennale di arti elettroniche, cinema e televisione of Rome (Marco Maria Gazzano curator), Le tribù dell'Arte, Tribù del video e della performance (Rome, Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Achille Bonito Oliva curator), [62] Artmedia VII (University of Salerno, Mario Costa curator), [63] E-Poetry Festival (University of Barcelona, University SUNY Buffalo, NY), [64] Interactiva, New Media Art Biennial, Merida, Mexico, Hong Kong Artists' Biennial, and many others.

Selected publications

Novels

Poetry books

Essays

Other publications

Personal life

Student at the Faculty of Humanities, University La Sapienza of Rome, in 1977, she participated in the Movement of 1977 and in the occupation of the faculty. [65] Davinio lived a turbulent young life marked by heroin addiction and abuse of drugs and alcohol; this experience emerges in many of her literary works, particularly in Il libro dell'oppio 1975 – 1990 (The Book of Opium 1975 – 1990). [66] [67] [68] [69] In 1980 she married the Turkish entrepreneur Levent Muharrem Sergün in Rome, moving to Munich and Istanbul; in 1982 their son Leonardo was born in Rome. After the divorce in 1984, Caterina married Claudio Preziosi in Romein 1986. [70]

Related Research Articles

Digital poetry is a form of electronic literature, displaying a wide range of approaches to poetry, with a prominent and crucial use of computers. Digital poetry can be available in form of CD-ROM, DVD, as installations in art galleries, in certain cases also recorded as digital video or films, as digital holograms, on the World Wide Web or Internet, and as mobile phone apps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaka Železnikar</span> Slovenian artist (born 1971)

Jaka Železnikar is a Slovenian artist known for his computational poetry and internet art. The base of his work is a nonlinear language-based expression combined with visual art. Since 1997 he has been part of the net art community, and since 2004 he has created several expressive add-ons for the Firefox browser.

Net-poetry is a type of electronic literature that is not only published on the internet but also directly engages with the concept of "network", openness, and interactivity. The genre was born in the context of net.art and digital art avant-garde in various countries in the early 90s.

Video poetry is poetry in video form. It is also known as videopoetry, video-visual poetry, poetronica, poetry video, media poetry, or Cin(E)-Poetry depending on the length and content of the video work and the techniques employed in its creation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelpho Menezes</span>

Philadelpho Menezes. Brazilian poet, visual poet, pioneer of new media poetry, professor in the Communication and Semiotics post-graduation program at the Pontifical University of São Paulo. He performed research for his post-graduate degree at the University of Bologna, in Italy (1990). With Brazilian artist Wilton Azevedo Philadepho Menezes created a pioneer intermedia-poetry CD-ROM: "InterPoesia. Poesia Hipermidia Interativa" (1998). In Italy he collaborated with the first net-poetry project: Karenina.it, by Italian artist Caterina Davinio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volpi Cup for Best Actress</span> Award

The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the festival. The 1st ceremony was held in 1932, when Helen Hayes received the Volpi Cup for the title role in The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)—this was the only time that the award was chosen by public voting. From 1942 to 1945, the festival was suspended because of World War II. The student protests in May 1968 opened a period of institutional changes, with no prizes were awarded from 1969 to 1979.

Eugenio Miccini was an Italian artist and writer, considered to be one of the fathers of Italian visual poetry.

Lamberto Pignotti is an Italian poet, writer and visual artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ettore Tito</span> Italian artist (1859-1941)

Ettore Tito was an Italian artist particularly known for his paintings of contemporary life and landscapes in Venice and the surrounding region. He trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice and from 1894 to 1927 was the Professor of Painting there. Tito exhibited widely and was awarded the Grand Prize in painting at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. In 1926 he was made a member of the Royal Academy of Italy. Tito was born in Castellammare di Stabia in the province of Naples and died in Venice, the city which was his home for most of his life.

Paolo Canevari is an Italian contemporary artist. He lives and works in New York City. Canevari presents highly recognizable, commonplace symbols in order to comment on such concept as religion, the urban myths of happiness or the major principles behind creation and destruction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timo Bortolotti</span> Italian sculptor (1889–1954)

Timo Bortolotti was an Italian sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pietro Fragiacomo</span> Italian painter (1856–1922)

Pietro Fragiacomo was an Italian painter, depicting sea and land-scapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donato Frisia</span> Italian painter

Donato Frisia was an Italian painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrigo Renato Marzola</span> Italian painter

Arrigo Renato Marzola (1889–1965) was an Italian painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cesare Monti (painter)</span> Italian painter (1891–1959)

Cesare Monti (1891–1959) was an Italian painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottone Rosai</span> Italian painter (1895–1957)

Ottone Rosai was an Italian painter born in Florence, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tivadar Zemplényi</span>

Tivadar Zemplényi was a Hungarian painter, noted for his realism. A medalist at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, he also exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle, as well as the Venice Biennales of 1901, 1905, and 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">18th Venice Biennale</span>

The 18th Venice Biennale, held in 1932, was an exhibition of international contemporary art, with 13 participating nations. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy.

The 32nd Venice Biennale, held in 1964, was an exhibition of international contemporary art, with 34 participating nations. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Winners of the Gran Premi included American painter Robert Rauschenberg, Swiss sculptor Zoltan Kemeny, German draughtsman Joseph Fassbender, and Italian sculptors Andrea Cascella, sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, and etcher Angelo Savelli.

Italo Zannier is an Italian art historian, photographer, academic and historian of photography.

References

  1. Interview, 2015 Accessed August 24, 2015
  2. (2007.) "Interview: Caterina Davinio." Archived 2018-04-29 at the Wayback Machine Archived 2018-04-29 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed August 24, 2015.
  3. Caterina Davinio, Tecno-Poesia e realtà virtuali (Techno-Poetry and Virtual Realities), essay with English translation. Preface by Eugenio Miccini. Collection: Archivio della Poesia del 900, Mantova, Sometti Publisher, 2002, pp. 239-270. ISBN   88-88091-85-8
  4. Electronìe d'arte e altre scritture, meeting, Museo Pecci, Prato, 1995. Accessed August 24, 2015
  5. "D'Ars", review directed by Pierre Restany, anno 43, n. 175-176, December 2003, Milano, ISSN   0011-6726. p. 98. See pp 89-98.
  6. "Artwaveradio.net - athens' online art radio". Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2008-11-23. Athens Biennial, 2007. Accessed August 24, 2015
  7. AAVV, Davinio, Roma, Parametro, 1990.
  8. netOper@ Accessed August 24, 2015
  9. Digital Visions, UBC Accessed August 24, 2015
  10. RCCS, review by Jorge Luiz Antonio Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine Accessed August 24, 2015
  11. Caterina Davinio, Tecno-Poesia e realtà virtuali (Techno-Poetry and Virtual Realities), essay with English translation. Preface by Eugenio Miccini. Collection: Archivio della Poesia del 900, Mantova, Sometti, 2002, ISBN   88-88091-85-8, pp 86-88.
  12. Karenina.it Experimental Accessed August 24, 2015
  13. Athen Biennial Artwaveradio Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine Accessed August 24, 2015
  14. E-Poetry 2011 Accessed August 24, 2015
  15. Tecno-Poesia e realtà virtuali, cited essay, ISBN   88-88091-85-8 pp. 244-247, 251-254.
  16. AAVV, VeneziaPoesia 97, catalogue of the exhibition, Edimedia, Venezia 1997.
  17. Oreste at the Venice Biennale, Charta, Milano 2000. Documentation of the events by Progetto Oreste at the 48th Venice Biennale, 1999. ISBN   88-8158-279-1
  18. 49ª Esposizione internazionale d'arte Platea dell'umanità La Biennale di Venezia, Electa 2001. Project: "Bunker Poetico", by Marco Nereo Rotelli.
  19. La Biennale di Venezia, 51ª esposizione internazionale d'arte, Partecipazioni nazionali - Eventi nell'ambito, catalogo Marsilio, ISBN   88-317-8800-0. Project: Isola della Poesia, by Marco Nereo Rotelli, Achille Bonito Oliva curator.
  20. 53ª Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte La Biennale di Venezia Fare Mondi Partecipazioni Nazionali Eventi collaterali, p. 254 ISBN   978-88-317-9803-7 Project: Mercury House One_Save the Poetry curated by Fondazione Mare Nostrum and Marco N. Rotelli.
  21. AAVV, VeneziaPoesia 97, catalogue of the exhibition, Edimedia, Venezia 1997.
  22. Oreste at the Venice Biennale, Charta, Milano 2000 ISBN   88-8158-279-1.
  23. Caterina Davinio, Tecno-Poesia e realtà virtuali, Collection: "Archivio della poesia del 900", Preface by Eugenio Miccini, Sometti, Mantova 2002, a book sponsored and supported by the city of Mantua ISBN   88-88091-85-8.
  24. See the catalogue of the 49ª Esposizione internazionale d'arte Platea dell'umanità La Biennale di Venezia, Electa 2001. Project: "Bunker Poetico", by Harald Szeemann and Marco Nereo Rotelli.
  25. Marco Nereo Rotelli, Bunker Poetico. La poesia come opera. Porretta Terme - BO, I Quaderni del Battello Ebbro, 2001 ISBN   88-86861-49-4, p. 81 and 245-246.
  26. "Parallel Action-Bunker, Davinio's event and web site for Bunker Poetico, 2001". Archived from the original on January 31, 2006. Retrieved 2010-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).
  27. 49ma Esposizione internazionale d'arte Platea dell'umanità La Biennale di Venezia, Electa 2001, p. 395.
  28. "Parallel Action-Bunker, June 7th, 2001, on-line event realized during the Opening of the Bunker Poetico of the 49th Venice Biennale". Archived from the original on April 6, 2004. Retrieved 2017-04-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).
  29. Tecno-poesia e realtà virtuali, cited essay, pp. 42-43, 253-254, 290-291.
  30. See the catalogue of La Biennale di Venezia, 51ª esposizione internazionale d'arte, Partecipazioni nazionali - Eventi nell'ambito, catalogo Marsilio, ISBN   88-317-8800-0. Project: Isola della Poesia, by Marco Nereo Rotelli, Achille Bonito Oliva Curator
  31. Isola Virtuale Accessed August 24, 2015
  32. In the project: Mercury House One_Save the Poetry by Fondazione Mare Nostrum and Marco N. Rotelli. See the catalogue of the 53rd Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte La Biennale di Venezia Fare Mondi Partecipazioni Nazionali Eventi collaterali, p. 254 ISBN   978-88-317-9803-7
  33. "VIRTUAL MERCURY POETRY SHUTTLE LANDS ON SL. First installation of poetry on SL". Way Back Machine archive: arskey magazine d'arte moderna e contemporanea. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25.
  34. Review Artxworld Archived 2015-11-28 at the Wayback Machine Accessed August 24, 2015
  35. Review Artxworld Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Accessed August 24, 2015
  36. OLE.01 Master Section Archived 2015-08-16 at archive.today Accessed August 16, 2015
  37. Review in the newspaper "Diario Partenopeo" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine . Accessed August 16, 2015
  38. Review in the newspaper La Repubblica September 18, 2014, accessed August 16, 2015
  39. La Repubblica accessed August 16, 2015
  40. OLE.01 Master Section Archived 2015-08-16 at archive.today accessed August 16, 2015.
  41. See the TV report on RAI 2 Italian national channel, accessed August 16, 2015.
  42. Poesia2punto0.com September 5 2012 accessed August 16, 2015.
  43. Poesia2punto0.com August 29 2012 accessed August 16, 2015.
  44. Fatti deprecabili. Poesie e performance dal 1971 al 1996, Poesia2punto0.com, January 4 2015 accessed August 16, 2015.
  45. Samgha.me May 21 2013, Il sofà sui binari di Caterina Davinio accessed August 16, 2015.
  46. Lamberto Pignotti, Scritture convergenti. Letteratura e mass media, Pasian di Prato (UD), Campanotto Publisher, 2005
  47. RCCS, review by Jorge Luiz Antonio Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine accessed August 23, 2015
  48. Jorge Luiz Antonio, Poesia digital, livro e dvd, Navegar Editora, ISBN   978-85-7926-015-5 Luna Bisonte Prods ISBN   1-892280-82-5
  49. Jorge Luiz Antonio, Poesia eletronica, livro e dvd, Veredas & Cenarios, ISBN   978-85-61508-02-9
  50. Christopher Thompson Funkhouser, Prehistoric Digital Poetry: An Archaeology of Forms, 1959-1995, University of Alabama Press, 24/giu/2007 ISBN   0-8173-1562-4 ISBN   9780817315627
  51. Christopher Thompson Funkhouser, New Directions in Digital Poetry, A&C Black, 19/gen/2012 ISBN   1-4411-1591-9 ISBN   9781441115911
  52. Karenina.it Experimental Accessed August 24, 2015
  53. "CommunicAction and Perspectives on Modern Web Literary Avant-Garde", by Enrico Gianfranchi, in Digital Visions Festival, Sylvia Borda director, University of British Columbia .
  54. Enrico Gianfranchi, in Digital Visions Festival, Sylvia Borda director, University British Columbia .
  55. AAVV, MAD 03, Secondo encuentro de arte experimental de Madrid, October 24 to November 16, 2003, catalogue published by AVAM, Artistas Visuales Asociados de Madrid, with the support of Ministerio de Cultura, Concejalia de las artes del ajuntamiento de Madrid, p. 97 and 102.
  56. definition from the artist's page. The artist expressed these concepts also in some interviews "JIP - JavaMuseum Interview Project » Interview: Caterina Davinio". Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-12-07. and in the essay Tecno-Poesia e realtà virtuali, Mantova, Sometti, 2002.
  57. About caterina Davinio's net-poetry and video work see also the book with dvd Virtual Mercury House Planetary and Interplanetary Events, Polìmata Publisher, Roma 2012 ISBN   978-88-96760-26-0
  58. "Caterina Davinio / Dettaglio evento". www.teknemedia.net. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2015.[ title missing ]
  59. "Caterina Davinio - Network Poetico. Net-Poetry Reading in Web Cam". www.exibart.com. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  60. http://www.diariopartenopeo.it/arriva-ole-01-festival-il-primo-in-italia-dedicato-alla-letteratura-elettronica/ Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine accessed August 24, 2015
  61. Caterina Davinio, Big Splash Network Poetico, Fermenti Publisher, Rome 2015 ISBN   978-88-97171-59-1
  62. La Repubblica September 11, 2001 Accessed August 16, 2015
  63. AAVV, Artmedia VII, a cura di Mario Costa, catalogo, Salerno 1999.
  64. E-Poetry 2011 Accessed August 16, 2016
  65. Fatti deprecabili. Poesie e performance dal 1971 al 1996, Serrungarina (PU), published by: ArteMuse divisione di David and Matthaus, 2015. ISBN   978-88-6984-038-8
  66. Interview, 2012
  67. Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine Review
  68. Review
  69. Poems from The Book of Opium
  70. Caterina Davinio in the Seventies and the Eighties Archived 2015-05-21 at the Wayback Machine Accessed August 24, 2015

Sources