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MediaartinGreece

Whenpeopleinteract,whenmindsinterpenetrate,a
proliferationofideasisgenerated.Whensensibilitiesfrom
diverseculturesfromallpartsoftheglobeinterweave,
collaborate,conjoin,andbecomerestructured,new
culturalformsemergenewpotentialsformeaningand
experiencearebroughtforth.Thisisthescopeand
ambitionofnetworking.Thisistospeakof
superconnectivity,theproductionofamultilayered
culture,planetaryculture,andaholisticworldart.Itis
nottobeconfusedwithhomogenisation,orneutralisation
ofcultural,regional,orindividualdifference.Whatthis
offersineffectisnotonlytheopportunityforusto
constructnewrealitiesbuttoenterintotherealitiesof
others,theinterpenetrationofparalleluniversesof
discourse.RoyAscott,1989,1999.[1]

Author
AnnaHatziyannaki

AbouttheAuthor

PoliticalHistoryandContemporaryGreekArt
DuringtheInterwarperiod,theartsinGreecedeveloped
throughdifferenthistoricalpathsandcircumstancesfromthose
intheUSAandWesternEurope,whereatthesametimenew
movementsandtrendsinModernArtwereconstantly
emerging.TheendoftheSecondWorldWarmarkedinGreece
thebeginningoftheCivilWar(19461949),whichwasalsothe
firstactoftheColdWar(19471989).Someoftheyoung
artists,whotookpartintheResistance,wereforcedtofleeto
France.ItwasduringthattimewhenyoungGreekartistsfirst
discoveredtheinternationalavantgardeinFranceandlater,in
othercountries.TheworldofModernismwascomprisedofthe
ArtCapitalsandtheperiphery.Greekartistslivedinthe
periphery.Fromthoseartistswhostudiedinthecapitalcities,
somesettledthere,suchasthepioneercomposer,theoristand
architectIannisXenakis(19222001),whousedmathematical
andarchitecturalconceptsinhismusicalstructures[2],andthe
othersreturnedtoAthens.
Inthe1960s,thecontemporaryGreekartscenestartedto
resonatewiththeEuropeanrhythmsanddevelopedsignificant
andprofessionalinfrastructuresinthefieldofartandits
exchange.Thedistinctionbetweenthecentreandtheperiphery

AnnaHatziyiannakiisanarthistorian
(DEAParisI&DEAParisVIII)
workinginthefieldofmediaartsince
1994,directoroftheNGOArtopos,
cofounderofwww.artopos.organd
electedC ouncilorforC ulturalaffairs
intheMunicipalityofAthens(2011).

Translation
KaterinaGkoutziouli

C opyright
GoetheInstitut

Feedback
Anyquestionsaboutthisarticle?
Pleasewritetous!
artup@ankara.goethe.org

wasinevitableandstillremainedafactorimpedingprogress.
However,ontheotherhand,thetroubledanddegradedpolitical
andeconomicsituationagainforcedtheyoungartiststomove
toWesterncapitalcities.AnotablecasewasPantelisXagoraris
(19292000)[3],amathematician,painterandresearcherat
theCentreforAdvancedVisualStudiesinMIT.Whenhe
returnedtoGreece,hebecameaprofessorattheNational
TechnicalUniversityofAthens.In1963,hecreatedthefirst
kineticartworksinGreece,justthreeyearsafterthe
introductionofthetermintheinternationalartterminology.
Later,heusedthecomputerinhisworkwhileatthesametime
hisresearchwaspublishedinspecialisedjournals.Themain
figureintheartsceneandmentortomanyofthefirstGreek
mediaartistswasNestorasPapanikolopoulos(1928)[4],who
introducedComputerArtintoGreece.
In1967,thebookTheSocietyoftheSpectaclebyGuy
DebordwasreleasedinPariswhileinAthensthearmytanks
occupiedthecity.DuringthesevenyearsoftheGreekmilitary
junta,theintellectualswhodidnotfleeabroadreactedpassively
bynotparticipatinginanyactivityorresistedtheregimein
everypossibleway.In1974,democracyreturnedtoAthensand
theselfexilesbegantoreturntoGreece.Thefollowingyear,
theAmericanmarketscepticallyreleasedonitsshelvesthefirst
technologyforamateurs,beingthefirstPC,theAltair8800.In
1976AppleComputerInc.,wasfoundedandin1978thefirst
testtubebabywasborninGreatBritain.Historyitselfseemed
toberebootedinthescientificlabs.Inthelastyearsofthe
20thcentury,thereweremomentousculturalupheavalsdueto
thegeopoliticalrestructuringofbordersandpopulations,but
alsoduetotheDigitalandbiotechnologicalrevolutionthat
overturnedthestatusquoofcenturies.

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[1]Ascott,Roy(1989):Gesamtdatenwerk.C onnectivity,Transformationand
Transcendence,inDruckey,Timothey(1999)(Hg.):ArsElectronica:Facingthe
Future.MITPress.Pp.8689.Availableon:
http://epc.buffalo.edu/584/docs/ascott.html(:12/08/2012).Roy
Ascott:http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/artist/ascott/biography/(Accessedon:
12/08/2012)
[2]IannisXenakis:Thearchitectofreflectivemusic.Tenyearsafterhis
deathinGreek:http://www.tovima.gr/society/article/?aid=375687
[3]PantelisXagoraris:http://www.nationalgallery.gr/site/content.php?
artist_id=4592&sel=352(Accessedon11/07/2012)
[4]NESTORAS.MUSIC IENDEL'IMAGEbyAngulikiGaridisinFrench:
http://www.artmag.com/techno/nestoras/nestor1.html(Accessedon

12/08/2012)

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