Caterina Davinio

Infobox Writer
name = Caterina Davinio


caption = Caterina Davinio in 1990
birthdate = birth date|1957|11|25
birthplace = Foggia, Apulia, Italy
deathdate =
occupation = poet, writer, new media artist
movement = Postmodernism, Concrete poetry, Visual poetry, Digital art, Digital poetry, Net.art
notableworks =
influences = Fluxus, Dada, Futurism, Pop art
influenced =

Caterina Davinio (born in Foggia, Apulia, Italy, on November 25, 1957) is an Italian poet, novelist and new media artist. Author of digital art, net.art, video art. She was the creator of Net-poetry in 1998.

Biography

Born in Foggia, 1957, as a child she moved with her family to Rome, where she studied literature, art history and received a bachelor's degree in Italian Literature in 1981. In Rome she gets in contact and works with the international circuit of experimental poetry and art. Since 1997 living in Lombardy, Monza (MI) and Lecco (LC), working at international level.

Pioneer of Italian electronic poetry in the early 90s, in the experimental field among writing, visual, and new media, using computer, video, digital photography, Internet. Author of novels, poetry, essays, visual and sound poetry. She created also works with traditional techniques, such as painting. Her art has been presented world wide, several times in the Venice Biennale, where in 1997 she exhibited for the first time animated digital poetry, in VeneziaPoesia, Nanni Balestrini curator.

With a series of Davinio's curatorial initiatives in Italy since 1992 was created a bridge between experimental poetry and the circuit of video art and electronic art. We recall: "Centomilamodi di... Perdere la Testa" (itinerant exhibition, 1992-93), "Art Electronics and Other Writings" (itinerant festival, 1994), "Oltre le arti elettroniche: la nuova sperimentazione" (Beyond Electronic Art: The New Experimentation, Pecci Museum, April 1st 1995), - "Poevisioni elettroniche" (itinerant exhibition, 1996 - 2000), - "Parole Virtuali" (Virtual Words), in collaboration with Italian and international visual poets, such as Lamberto Pignotti, Eugenio Miccini, with the performers and sound poets Julien Blaine, Tomaso Binga (Bianca Menna), Massimo Mori, with artists as Luca Patella, Marco Nereo Rotelli, "poetronic" Gianni Toti, Agricola de Cologne, Philadelpho Menezes, and others.

Net-Poetry at the Venice Biennale

Net-poetry begun in Italy in 1998 with Davinio's web site "Karenina.it". In "Karenina.it" the limit among poetry, art, critic, information, is cancelled; performance poetry is in this case a movement of data and information in network: the web site as virtual place where the “action” is in the "gesture" to put in motion telematic communication, with images, digital sound, web ready made. Among the participants: Julien Blaine, Clemente Padin, Philadelpho Menezes, Mirella Bentivoglio, and many young artists working with new media art.

Net-poetry is for the first time in the Biennale di Venezia 2001 - Harald Szeemann curator - with the on line event "Parallel-Action-Bunker", created by Davinio in the context of "Bunker Poetico". Bunker Poetico was a collaborative installation realized in the Biennale by the artist Marco Nereo Rotelli, which involved 1400 international poets and artists. “Parallel-Action-Bunker" on line is coordinated and contemporaneous with real performances at Orsogrill delle Artiglierie in Venice. With this event is born a complex system of relations among multimedia, real and virtual poetry events, which complete and determine each other in a circulation of materials, data, communication, contacts. It is a new structure of poetry work, nearby happening, Fluxus, e-mail art, and relational art.

Other Net.art Works

Other Davinio’s net-poetry / net.art performances and events are based on the evolution of this structure, beyond the presence of the performer on stage: performance becomes a "collaborative", "decentralized", "multi-located" action, with passage from real to virtual net, and vice versa. They are:
*"Global Poetry", for UNESCO, 22-27 March 2002 (Rhizome Database NYC, USA); 122 involved artists. Contemporaneously in Brazil, Germany, Greek, Italy, Russia, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, and other countries.
*"Copia dal vero" ("Paint from Nature"), February (Giubbe Rosse, Florence, I) and June (Eglise Anglicaine, Ajaccio, F) 2002, about Twin Towers attac (Rhizome Database, NYC, USA);
*GATES (July 4th-December 31st 2003), dedicated to Pierre Restany, pubblished in "BlogWork - The ArtWork is The NetWork", on line project of the 50th Biennale di Venezia and ASAC. 150 international artists were involved. Countries: Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Greek, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, and others.
*In 2005 Davinio realized "Virtual Island", web site which is virtual mirror and part of "Isola della Poesia", installation by Marco Nereo Rotelli on San Secondo Island in Venice (Achille Bonito Oliva curator). "Isola della Poesia" and "Virtual Island" are a collateral exhibition in the context of the 51st Venice Biennale. "Virtual Island" involved 500 international poets, among them: Adonis, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alda Merini, Fernanda Pivano, many other established and emerging writers.

Net-Poetry Links

* [http://www.geocities.com/kareninarivista/ Parallel Action-Bunker] 2001 Venice Biennial
* [http://xoomer.alice.it/kareninazoom/ Global Poetry] UNESCO 2002
* [http://xoomer.virgilio.it/davinio/GATES/gatesartists.htm GATES] 2003 Venice Biennial / ASAC
* [http://it.geocities.com/isoladellapoesia/isola_virtuale.htm Virtual Island] 2005 Venice Biennial
* [http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Lights/7323/kareninarivista.html Karenina.it] (1998, Venice Biennial in 1999, 2001, others)
* [http://www.ontherundesign.com/Artists/Caterina_Davinio.html Karenina.it Review - en]

Digital Art and Video

*"Nude that Falls Down the Stairs - Tribute to Marcel Duchamp", digital animation, in "Doc(k)s", paper and CD, 1999, Ajaccio, F, ISSN Doc(k)s 0396/3004, commission paritaire 52 841
*"Caterina Davinio for Alan Bowman's Fried/Frozen Events 2003", digital video - performance. For a projec by Fluxus artist Alan Bowman. Published in "Doc(ks)", paper and CD, 2004, Ajaccio, F, ISSN Doc(k)s 0396/3004, commission paritaire 52 841
* "Centomilamodi di... Perdere la Testa", digital animation, Art Gallery Award, MC MIcrocomputer review, 1992
* "Dialogie al Metroquadro", digital animations, 1994-95
* "Eventi Metropolitani", digital animations, 1995
*"Videopoesie Terminali", video and computer poetry series, 1996-97
** "La casa-teatro di Sade" (De Sade Theatre-Home), 1996
** "Zinskij, l'ultima lettera" (Zinskij, the Last Letter), 1996
** "Natura contro natura" (Nature Against Nature), 1996
** "Il nemico" (The Enemy), 1997
* "U.F.O.P., Unidentified Flying Poetry Objects", digital animations, 1999
** "Tribute to Munch", 1999
** "Tribute to Magritte", 1999
** "Tribute to Duchamp", 1999
** "Tribute to Julien Blaine", 1999
** "Tribute to Bartolomé Ferrando", 1999
**"Self-Portrait of the Artist as Time", 1999
* "Fluxus Trilogy", 3 video works, for Charles Dreyfus' project, 2002
** "Movember 16th", 2002
** "Movenber 20th", 2002
** "Other Fluxes and Small Decadence", 2002
* "Caterina Davinio for Alan Bowman Fried/Frozen Events 2003", video-performance, 2003
* "Poem in Red" (Dedicated to Ferrari Modena Car), digital video, 2005
* "Milady Smiles. Dedicated to Jaguar E", digital video, 2007
* "Nature Obscure", digital photography and video series, 2007
**Knives, 2007
**Nature_Obscure, 2007

Video On Line

* [http://www.youtube.com/CaterinaDav Archaeo Computer Poetry on YouTube]

Exhibitions

*International exhibitions: "Biennales de Lyon", "Venice Biennale", "Athens Biennial", "Poliphonyx" (Barcelona and Paris), "ParmaPoesia", "VeneziaPoesia", "RomaPoesia" (Nanni Balestrini curator), "Biennale di arti elettroniche, cinema e televisione" of Rome (Marco Maria Gazzano curator), "Le tribù dell'Arte" ("Tribù del video e della performance", Roma, Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. Achille Bonito Oliva curator), "Artmedia" (Salerno University, I, Mario Costa curator).

Publications

*Caterina Davinio, "Còlor Còlor", novel, Campanotto Editore, Pasian di Prato - UD, 1998, ISBN 884560072-6
*Caterina Davinio, "Tecno-Poesia e realtà virtuali" / Techno-Poetry and Virtual Reality, essay (Italian / English). Preface by Eugenio Miccini. Collection: "Archivio della Poesia del 900", Mantova, Sometti Publisher (I) 2002, ISBN 8888091-85-8
*Caterina Davinio, "Davinio", Rome, Parametro, 1990
*Caterina Davinio, "Serial Phenomenologies", poems, in "Generatorpress12", 2002, Cleveland (OH) USA, John Byrum Editor. "Generatorpress12" is an on line review evolving from November 2002 through April 2004. In June, 2004, a CD version of Generator 12 is funded through a grant from the Ohio Arts Council.
*Caterina Davinio, "Paint from Nature", net-art performance dedicated to the Twin Tower attac. In "Doc(k)s", paper and CD, 2001, Ajaccio, F, ISSN Doc(k)s 0396/3004, commission paritaire 52 841
*Caterina Davinio, “Fenomenologie seriali”, poetry and digital images, in: "Tellus" 24-25, "Scritture Celesti" (S. Cassiano Valchiavenna - SO, I), Ed. Labos, 2003, ISSN 1124-1276
*Caterina Davinio, digital photo and poems from "Serial Phenomenologies", in: "BoXoN - TAPIN on line" (F), Julien D'Abrigeon Editor, 2002
*Caterina Davinio, "Performance in evoluzione. Dalla centralità del corpo alla realtà virtuale", in "Paese Sera" newspaper (I), 14 Luglio 1992.
*Caterina Davinio, In: "Tellus 26" "Vite con ribellioni rinomate e sconosciute", Labos, (I) NOVEMBRE 2004, ISSN 1124-1276.
*Caterina Davinio, "Scritture/Realtà virtuali", in "Atti del convegno Scritture Realtà", book of the meeting, Milano, Milanocosa, 2002. Published also in "Karenina.it" (on line); also in "Doc(k)s" (on line and CD ROM), and in other web sites.
*Caterina Davinio, "La poesia video-visiva tra arte elettronica e avanguardia letteraria", essay, in "Doc(K)s" review (F), 1999, ISSN Doc(k)s 0396/3004, commission paritaire 52 841.
*Caterina Davinio, "Net-Performance: Processes and Visible Form", in "Doc(k)s", 2004, Ajaccio, F, ISSN Doc(k)s 0396/3004, commission paritaire 52 841.

References - Bibliography

*AAVV, "La coscienza luccicante", Gangemi Editore, Roma 98, ISBN 88-7448-862-9
*AAVV, Un notre web, "Doc(K)s", serie 3 - Ajaccio F 1999
*AAVV, What's your War?, "Doc(k)s", serie 3 - Ajaccio F 2001
*AAVV, Action, "Docks", Ajaccio F 2004
*AAVV, Nature, "Docks", Ajaccio F 2005
*AAVV, "Scritture/Realtà", atti del convegno, Milano 2002
*AAVV, "La tentation du Silence", Ouvrage collectif. Coordinateurs : Khaldoun ZREIK, Rania SAMARA. ISBN 978-2-909285-39-1 - ©Europia, 2007
*AAVV, "Risvolti" "Marjnalia continjentia" (I), anthology, Edizioni Riccardi, Napoli 2002
*"D'Ars", review directed by Pierre Restany, anno 43, n. 175-176, Dic. 2003, Premio Oscar Signorini, illustrated interview, ISSN 0011-6726, Milano
*"Imaginarios de ruptura /Poéticas visuais", Instituto Piaget, Bairro Anchieta, Porto Alegre, RS-Brasil, ISBN 972-771-556-7 (2002)
*"Info Brésil", 15 nov. - 15 déc. 2003 ISSN 0980 (recensione saggio sulla technopoesia)
*"La Biennale di Venezia, 51ma esposizione internazionale d'arte, Partecipazioni nazionali" - Eventi nell'ambito, catalogo Marsilio, ISBN 88-317-8800-0
*"L'immagine leggera", catalogo, Palermo 97 (presentazione delle sezioni curate)
*"49ma Esposizione internazionale d'arte Platea dell'umanità La Biennale di Venezia", Electa 2001
*"Observatori 03", Valencia, Spain (Paper catalogue and CD)
*"Oreste At The 48th Venice Biennale", Ed Charta, Milano 1999. Catalogue of Oreste Project at the Venice Biennale 1999, Italian Pavilion. ISBN 88-8158-279-1
*Lamberto Pignotti, "Scritture convergenti. Letteratura e mass media", Pasian di Prato - UD, Campanotto, 2005 ISBN 88-456-0724-0
*Marco Nereo Rotelli, "Bunker Poetico. La poesia come opera". Porretta Terme - BO, I Quaderni del Battello Ebbro, 2001 ISBN 88-86861-49-4
*"Veneziapoesia 97", 47ma Biennale di Venezia, a cura di Nanni Balestrini, Edimedia, Venezia 97
*"Virtual Light. Nuove frontiere nella comunicazione e nell'arte", Multilink, Bari 96

References - Webliography

* [http://xoomer.alice.it/cprezi/caterinadav.html Artist’s Page (It, En)] (with links to all net-poetry projects, video, info, contacts) Books
* [http://www.arteonline.arq.br/museu/ensaios/davinio.htm Last chapter of the essay "Techno-Poetry"] (En)
* [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/6677/campanotto.html The novel "Color color": presentation by Italian critic Francesco Muzzioli] (It)
* [http://xoomer.alice.it/kareninazoom/daviniobook.htm Techno-Poetry book] (En) Interviews
* [http://www.adolgiso.it/enterprise/caterina_davinio.asp By A. Adolgiso (It)]
* [http://www.exibart.it/notizia.asp/IDNotizia/18472/IDCategoria/204 Radio interview: remembering] Gianni Toti
* [http://www.daemonmagazine.it/articoli/davinio.html Techno-Poetry (It)]
* [http://jip.javamuseum.org/jipblog/?page_id=44 Interview] by Agricola de Cologne (En)
* [http://www.thegatesofparadise.com/humans/CATERINA%20DAVINIO.pdf Creative inteview,] by David Daniels (En) Reviews
* [http://rccs.usfca.edu/bookinfo.asp?ReviewID=287&BookID=240 (En)]
* [http://www.escaner.cl/escaner51/invitado.html (Portuguese)]
* [http://www.geocities.com/a_fonte_2000/tecnopoesia.htm Techno-Poesia (Portuguese)]
* [http://www.ontherundesign.com/Artists/Caterina_Davinio.html (En)]
* [http://www.tellusfolio.it/stampa.php?iddoc=656&stampa=true Karenina.it] (It)
* [http://www.costis.org/x/donguy/numerique.htm (Fr)]
* [http://www.olats.org/livresetudes/basiques/litteraturenumerique/15_basiquesLN.php Biblio]

See also

* Video Art
* Visual Poetry
* Concrete Poetry
* Performance Poetry
* Performance Art
* Happening
* Fluxus
* Electronic Art
* Digital Poetry
* Net-poetry
* Net.art
* Mail Art
* Futurism