Yiannis Melanitis
38, Kynigon, 14564, N. Kifisia, Athens, Greece
tel: 6973 744737 , 210-8071365
email: melanitis@hotmail.com
URL: http://www.oocities.org/melanitis2001
Born 1967 in Athens. He lives and works in Athens.
Since 2002 he is teaching as collaborator of Sculpture Deptm.,
Athens School of Fine Arts. He is a Phd candidate (2005) at the School of Architecture, Athens.
1999 Postgraduate Degree in " Digital Forms of Art ", National School of Fine Art, Athens.
1996 National School of Fine Art,BA with Honors, sculpture, Athens, prof. G. Lappas.
1993 National School of Fine Art, painting, Athens .
Grands/Dinstinctions:
1. 1993 IKY Scholarship for sculpture, Athens School of Fine Arts, academic period 1992-93
2. 1st Greek Prize [EVGE Reward] for his catalogue Dans Le Jardin d¢ Epicure/ Les elements comme des metaphors, a catalogue for his personal exhibition at HUG, Geneva, Switzerland, March 2006
3. European Áward for his catalogue Dans Le Jardin d¢ Epicure/ Les elements comme des metaphors, a catalogue for his personal exhibition at HUG, Geneva,
Switzerland, March 2006
Exhibitions
2008 E31 Gallery,Ulysses as Faust, personal exhibition, sculptures, February 08.
2007 Dermatographies, group exhibition organized by Y. Melanitis and A. Karastergiou, A. Syggros Museum of Wax Moulages, Athens,
presenting The Land of Inactivity, performed by Aliki Germanou, (cat.English and Greek, 238 pages).
2007 Energy, group exhibition with the Energy Group, Lola Nikolaou Gallery, Thessaloniki.
2007 ART-ATHINA, RESTART, participating with E31 Gallery.
2007 UNFAIR, Imperial Hotel, Molly-Penelope-Bloom ( The Land of noman part4), performed by K.Papageorgiou
2006 Monaco Dance Forum, Touch Terrain multiuser interactive environment.
2006 A4, Codra project in Thessaloniki, organised by A.Potamianou, presenting Dog of my Enemy,
a ballpoint drawing on a Ulysses printout, September 06
2006 Scenic-costumes for The Touch of Zeus of director E. Pitta, based on Iannis¢ Xenakis Diatope music
«La Legende d¢ Eer, Eyrypidion Theater rematia, Chalandri, September 2006
2006. Zeugma, group exhibition, Rethymnon Museum of Modern Art, RCA, 2006
( cat. English-Greek),http://www.oocities.org/melanitis2004/zeugma.html
2006 Dans Le Jardin d¢ Epicure/ Les elements comme des metaphors, personal exhibition at the Psychiatric Hospital of Geneva,
(H?pitaux Universitaires de Gen?ve), Switzerland, March 2006, [catalogue in French and Greek, text by Y.Melanitis],
exhibition of twelve drawings on silkscreen paper and a video projection
2006 Light, curating the group exhibition and participating with the work 'Prometheus at the Athens Academy',
also with the curatorial text 'in the light of our times' , "Vosnia 2006
2005 Generative Art exhibition with the work The Garden,
also presenting the lecture Biological dynamics in performance space (bio-performance), Milano, December 2005
2005 ?Mostra SESC de Artes-Mediterr?neo? in the SESC Vila Mariana, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 18 ? 28 August., presenting Pleasure machine video
2005 group exhibition dedicated to Y. Halepas, presenting Anti-oedipus sculpture in plaster and a drawing in pen, July-September 05, Tinos, Greece
2005 personal exhibition ¡The Diffusion of the elements¢, project space D624, interactive performance (performed by F.Voutsina)
2005 Rebirth, Eugenidio Foundation, 4-15 June, presenting the Garden interactive performance (performed by the artist and I.Myrka
2005 Videoart, Athens School of Fine Arts, The Factory, video-screeinings 13-17/ 4 / 2005
2005, Photosynkyria, curated by T. Moutsopoulos, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art,
Thessaloniki, Greece , presenting a large -scale print [237.62 x 99 cm ] , simulation of 'The Garden' performance
2004, GENERATIVE ART CONFERENCE 13-14-15-16 December 2004, Politecnico di Milano University
2004, Machinista festival, presenting "Prometheus" performance with Samantha Mac Gregor, Glasgow
2004, An exhibition for Cyprus, Municipality of Athens, with the work "Political Twins"
(Installation with two dogs inside the exhibition space),
drawings and a video projection of the videowork ¡Political Twins', April 2004, Athens
2004, "ArtNow", group exhibition, presenting two sculptures," Oedipus_himself" and "yps", Athanassiadou Gallery, Thessaloniki
2003,"Antisoma" exhibition,curated by M.Fokidou,presenting ¡Prometheus/Hysterical Duet', an interactive performance
with the artist Marianna Ranis, including originally designed software (real time voice synthesis)
and a hexapod robot, Athens Academy, October 03
2003, "Sculpture you love", group exhibition,with the ceramic sculpture "Mutant Sphinx", Lab Gallery, Athens, February 03
2003, "Prometheus/Hysterical Duet", an interactive performance with the artist Dimitra Vantzou, including originally
designed software (real time voice synthesis) and a hexapod robot, Kourzoum Djami,Trikala, January 03
2002, MONACO DANCE FORUM, Dance and Technology Festival, presenting the interactive performance/ multi-user
choreographic environment "Pleasure Machine/Blind date", with the dancer Isabelle Valverde ,at Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, December 02
2002, Medi@terra 2002, 4th International Art and Technology Festival, New Platforms of Spectacle,
Communication and Resistance,
with the video-projection of the performance ¡Animal Accessories', 6-15 December 02
2002, European Cultural Centre of Delphi, for the 2nd International Conference
"Ecological Dynamics and Human Nature-The risk of a mass extinction of life on the planet", at the section
¡Progress and Developments in Physical Sciences, Technology and Biology', curated by Th. Moutsopoulos
with the sculpture ? Mutant Sphinx' and drawings with ballpoint pen on transparent paper, September 02, Delphi, Greece
2002, International Workshop for European Artists, Culture 2000 with the work "Political Twins"
Installation with two dogs inside the exhibition space), drawings and a video projection
of the video-work ¡Political Twins', August 2002, Larnaka, Cyprus.2002
2002, Regards Projetes, art video dans les Balkans, curated by Dodo Santorineos, (exhibition presented in France,
Greece, Bulgarie, Allemagne, Moldavie, Roumanie, Belgique.), cat.Apollonia, 90 pages,edited in Strasbourg
2002, 'Living inside', presenting the performance ?Animal Accessories? curating by Katerina.Gregos, Athens, March 02
2001, Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Interactive web-performance ?Terra Ingognita?(a telerobotic piece)
for the X International Festival of Performance Art: Life in Another Planet, Mexico City,curated by Karina Alvarado,October 01
2001, Media@Terra Festival, De-Globalizing / Re-Globalizing, presenting Bio-robotic symbiosis
installation at the International Book festival, Frankfurt Germany, October 01. The "micro Museum" travelled to:
September 14 - October 15, 2001, Lavrion & Athens, Greece/ Sofia & Plovdiv, Bulgaria/Maribor,
Slovenia/ Frankfurt, Germany. http://www.mediaterra.org and http://www.fournos-culture.gr
2001, Deste Foundation, " Images Beyond the Naked Eye", presenting the video-work "The artist as a bird", October 01. http://www.deste.gr
2001, presenting "Pleasure Machine" at the multimedia installation Blue Stage in the House of World Cultures,
Berlin,an installation treating the two main topics urbanism and Mediterranean culture,
August 18th, Berlin, Germany 2001. http://www.archi-me-des.de/blue-space/index.html
2001, Art Club, Cultural center of Contemporary Art, "Art against Leukaemia", Thessaloniki
2000, New York Digital Salon, "Pleasure Machine", November 00, N.York
The 8th New York Digital Salon in Madrid : 1/ Circulo de Bellas Artes (January 19 - February 6), 2/ Gijon (February 15 - March 19)
2000, Athens School of Fine Arts, Digital Art Lab, works 99-00, Athens
2000 Art +Technology at the Library of Athens School of Polytechnics, Athens
1999 Mediaterra Festival, interactive web performance "Pleasure Machine", Athens
1999 Richard Anderson Fine Arts, "Predictable Lab" , New York
1999 "Interface", Gazi, Athens, curated by Th.Moutsopoulos
1999 Do you want to see my room?, Ileana Tounta Center for Contemporary Art,Athens.(cat. Greek-English)
1999 Group exhibition of Greek Artists, Ileana Tounta Center for Contemporary Art,Athens
1999 Videoformes "Electronic Village",Clermont Ferrant , France.(cat. Turbulences Video/ Art actuel no 23)
Lectures/Conferences
2001, ART 3000, "The added soul", 4th edition of the General Assembly on Interactive Writing
23 and 24 November , France.
2001 International Science Fiction Conference "Biotechnological and Medical Items in Science Fiction",
presenting: "Biorobotic environments, interactions and hyperhumans: Interactive robotic performances
exploring the potentials of an unknown space towards the potential of a renewed anatomy. ",
Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, 18-21 October, 2001 [http://sun.enl.auth.gr/sfgr/]
2005 "Ritual and performance", lecture at the Deptm. of Theatrical Studies, School of Philosophy, Athens ,16 May
2005 Generative Art Conference, ¡Biological dynamics in performance space¢, Milano,15 December
2006 Bioart, Biological Dynamics in Art , Lecture at the Athens School of Fine Arts, February 06.
Articles / Journals
Texts written by Yiannis Melanitis:
"Ars Electronica-Lifescience", SEPE magazine, No11, June 00
"Stelarc, The Obsolete Body",interview in Greek,Futura magazine No7, spring 2001
"Bioart?", Artzine-journal.com, text in English and Greek, issue 2
"Eduardo Kac interview", Artzine-journal.com, text in English and Greek, issue 3
[http://www.artzine-journal.com/3rd_Issue/Source/intervgr.html]
Techniques of the influenced body / the body as an artistic oblect with political configurations.
Artzine-journal.com, text in Greek, issue 4. [http://www.artzine-journal.com]
E. Tzafestas,"Humans,Machines,Environments", interview in Greek, Futura magazine No7, spring 2001
Futura magazine No8, spring 2002.
-"The bio-informational body, from digital to bio-information"
-"There is no pure nature", interview with Joe Davis,
-"Ignorance is the danger ", interview with Marta Menezes
-"A modus operanti for the artist", by Melanitis Yiannis
Also translated in the same issue:
-"Bioinformatics & Biocapitalism in the Race to Map to the Human Genome" by Eugene Thacker
-"Romance, Supercodes, and the Milky Way DNA" by Joe Davis
-"GFP Bunny" by Eduardo Kac
-"Test tube Art" by Marta Menezes
Generative Art Conference paper proceedings, ¡Biological dynamics in performance space¢, Milano, December 2005
Texts for Yiannis Melanitis:
-Leonardo, special issue, Eighth New York Digital Salon, volume 33 No 5, 2000
-OZON magazine, No 8, April 2001
-¡XOROS¢,issue 046, September 2003,page 23
-Highlights magazine , November 2004, issue 13 on "Technology", interview with Christina Polychroniadis, entitled "Bio-performance"
-GAP magazine, October 2005, ?Yiannis Melanitis, The Diffusion of the Elements¢ by N. Adamou
Books
¡Art Tomorrow' by Edward Lucie-Smith, page 234 (Art and Science chapter) ,Pierre Terrail Editions, ISBN 2-87939-252-7, October 2002.
Art, Civilization, Globalization, including the text by Yiannis Melanitis, ¡Modernity as leap into the void¢, text in Greek, edit. Papazisi. Athens 2005
Screenings
2001 Digital Media Festival, The Corredor Gallery, College of Fine Arts, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines ,October 1 - 14, 2001
2001, Flinders University in Adelaide, Drama Department
________________________________
Internet references to Yiannis Melanitis works:
http://www.culturebase.net/artist.php?587
http://www.art-tounta.gr/expo/0099/
http://www.gratin.org/
http://imej.wfu.edu/articles/2002/1/02/index.asp
http://virtualart.hu-berlin.de/common/recentWork.do
http://people.brunel.ac.uk/bst/vol04/index.html
http://www.nydigitalsalon.org/salon_00/networkFrames.html
http://www.transhumanism.org/resources/arts.htm
http://www.acgart.gr/ACG-COLLECTION/ARTISTS/M/MelY/MelY-art.htm
http://www.d624.org/projects/06/
http://interaktionslabor.de/Team/Isabel.htm
http://www.machinista.org.uk/documents/images/28.html
http://www.art-omma.org/issue9/links.htm
http://www.cnca.gob.mx/cnca/nuevo/2001/diarias/oct/161001/performa.htm
http://digitalmedia.upd.edu.ph/dmf2001/
http://www.artzine-journal.com/
http://www.gratin.org/
http://www.nydigitalsalon.org/08/yiannis.htm
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~infoarts/links/wilson.artlinks2.html
http://www.generativeart.com/
http://www.virtual-residency.net
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Yiannis Melanitis is member of the Delphi Society.
Short biographical note:
Yiannis Melanitis, born 1967, Athens, Greece.
He holds degrees in Painting (prof.X.Botsoglou), Sculpture (prof. G.Lappas) and Masters degree in Digital Arts from Athens School of Fine Arts. His art refers to the body in relation to the epistemological (biological) context which defines it. He produced the term bio-performance based on the conception of the "analogical body" (as opposed to digital), in an attempt to re-establish the corporeal status of experience, de-depenting the body from the domination of simulations or virtual allusions. The notion of the body as soft and malleable unity, forming a "liquid space" formation within space is proposed as a neo-appearance of corporeality. In his recent works (The Garden, the Diffusion of the Elements), technology is not visibly apparent, forming a magical interaction between materials and the body.
He presents interactive performances (mostly web-based) using originally designed software, as well as sculptures and drawings related to them. Recent presentations include two group exhibitions at Ileana Tounta Center for Contemporary Art with sculptures and video-works(1999), an interactive performance ¡ Pleasure Machine¡ at the 8thNew York Digital Salon (2000) also presented at the Blue Stage in the House of World Cultures of Berlin, the video-work ¡The artist as a bird ¡ at Deste Foundation (exhibition ¡Toxic¢ 2001). Also at the Media@Terra Festival/ De-Globalizing/Re-Globalizing, presenting ¡ Bio-robotic symbiosis¢ interactive installation ?(Lavrion, Sofia,Maribor, Frankfurt, 2001). At Ex Teresa Arte Actual he presented the interactive web-performance ¡Terra Ingognita¡ (a telerobotic piece) for the X International Festival of Performance Art: Life in Another Planet, Mexico City, 2001. One of his most recent performances was ¡Animal Accessories¡ for the group exhibition ?Living inside?, Athens 2002, also the interactive performance «Prometheus» performed at the Kourzoum Djami and at the Athens Academy. At the International Science Fiction Conference ¡Biotechnological and Medical Items in Science Fiction¡ he presented the paper "Biorobotic environments, interactions and hyperhumans: Interactive robotic performances exploring the potentials of an unknown space towards the potential of a renewed anatomy ", Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki 2001. His latest interest concerns "biotechnology and control of the body", where he uses his term "bio-performance" as an advanced environment -in this situation, the control of the performance is led to machines controlled by biological algorithms. Other performances were presented in Monaco Dance Forum 2002 (interactive
performance ¡Blind Date¢), The Garden interactive performance at Eugenidio Foundation( Athens 2005), also the interactive performance ¡The Diffusion of the Elements¢ at the D624 project space (2005). He writes for artzine journal and Futura magazine. Since 2002 he is teaching as collaborator of Sculpture Deptm., Athens School of Fine Arts. Melanitis Yiannis is member of Delphi Society. He is a PhD Fellow (June 2005) at the School of Architecture, Athens.