Syndicate: from MIFAV / Italy

[MIFAV@roma2.infn.it (by way of Andreas Broeckmann)]

Carlo Giovannella writes:

I subscribed as  MIFAV (Museo dell'Immagine Fotografica e delle Arti Visuali)
using the following e-mail address: MIFAV@ROMA2.INFN.IT.

b) about  the italian situation (briefly, of course)

Each one may have a different vision of the 'situation' and this is my personal
view on the italian one:
The Academia, and politicians, are basically ignorant respect to new media;
most
of them are still living in a 'Art-reality' made by paintings, sculpture,
and so
on - by the way our hystorical reality.
Consider that only during the last Quadriennale many art-operators discover the
modernity of the Photography !!!!!

The so called 'art-militants' put more attention in new media but, in my
opinion, they are not very reliable because they suffer the 'market-syndrome'.
There not exist any center to research on modern languages and communication (I
prefer not to talk of art, because I believe that art is basically
communication).
Concerning the WEB there is some work done with a certain continuity by Strano
Network in Florence that open a web server in 1995 (but that was working on the
net-instruments since before), by Carlo Buzzi with the project Margherita
opened
also in 1995 and by our center that open the server N-Euro-NET (former
Art&Science in sept. '94). Maybe you can add some more things done very
recently, starting with december '96, in Tourin by Ars-Lab.
The situation with CD's production is very 'smoggy', at least for me.
On the other hand there are plenty of 'video-artists' or, at least, of people
that during their artistic-way realized also videos.
There are, then, a certain number of people operating with electronic
installations.

In any case most of the people does not seem to have a 'European attidute', or
maybe it is more correct to say, an attidute to networking, to operate on the
communication media. This has been done in the past by several
mail-artists, but
their contacts with the new media seem to me quite hesitating.
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c) about the work done and under development at  the MIFAV (most of the
information can be found on our web-site: wwwas.roma2.infn.it

MIFAV was created at the end of 1992 to promote and preserve our culturale
heritage involving modern media; our first objective was Photography that
is the
first media of the modernity, and right now our collection preserve the
works of
more that 300 authors.

we created a quarterly magazine, F&D, devoted to photography and communication;

in sept. 1994 we opened one of the first web-site devoted to the subject and
started to experiments with this new creative and communication reality;
since the beginning we transferred our magazine on the web that since last
trimester is become basically an electronic one;

since jan. 1997 each 15 days we distribute an on-line information bulletin to
some hundreds of peoples

in 1995 we opened one of the first web-galleries devoted to internettian-works,
the 27th march art gallery - but frankly speaking it is quite difficult to
convince italian authors to operate on the web;

some of  the 'expositions' we organized served to investigate the
relanshionship
between image and new media:
"Fotografie per caso: a passeggio fra la mec-art ed il web"  - dic. '95
"Dalla Xerox al Baud" - apr. '96
"Arte del recupero: strategie eco-linguistiche a confronto" - apr. '97

in 1997 we have signed the EU Memorandum of Understanding on the use of
new-media to preserve our cultural heritage

Programmes:

we intend to rise the awareness of citizens on the potentialities of new media
(we have already offered for free courses on  how to navigate, create and
publish on Internet);

we intend to sensitize local Institutions about the need of an
Interdisciplinary
Center to reseacrh on new media and communication

we are beginning a census of people that are involved in the new-media
production inside the Rome-area (a similar initiative is under the way in
Miland)

we have start the development of a multilanguistic server

we are looking for partnerhips to develop transational projects at the EU level
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d) about my personal work

Well , I am a physicists and I am working at the University of Tor Vergata.
As a
j-obby I have founded the MIFAV and the magazine F&D. I will be  the curator of
the MIFAV for the next three years (of course it is not a full time job since I
have my personal  research job in physics and since it is not payed)
In the last few years I have been thinking and writing on many aspect of modern
communication and 'art'.
1996 we have created with some other authors a group called 'Plasticita'
Neuronale'  but right now the group it is not very active.
I have started to produce works for the web in the second half of 1994.
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e) abut our projects and possible collaboration

We are not interested very much in improving a 'limited' west-east connection
but rather to favour a global exchange at the least at European scale.

One of our next initiatives will be "Interfaccie" previewed for apr./may ' 98 :
we will appreciate your help to enlarge the partecipation to of European
authors
to this event, thought to debate over the role and the function of the
interfaces - if you are interested I will let you know about the reasons for
promoting the initiatives and the expected content.

we can act as italian mirror to your bulletin or to a part of  your web-site.

we are very interesting in some of the topics dealt with your report on the
Rotterdam  meeting:

- development of local centers with transnational content and/or connection

- education and rise of awareness on the possibilities offered by new media
(thus
in the activation of the seminar-bulletin)

- development of multilingual  servers and pubblications

- promotion of transnational events
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Hopefully I have given you  a flavour of our interests and activities and
hofefully built up a
bridge for significant collaborations.
Looking  forward your reaction, best regards
Carlo