Greece

Visual poetry (Technopaegnia)

The Greek Pattern Poems are six texts transmitted by the Greek Anthology (AP XV 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27) and the Corpus Bucolicorum, ascribed to Simias of Rhodes [Σιμμίας Θηβανός] ("Wings", "Axe" and "Egg"), Theocritus [Θεόκριτος ὁ Συρακούσιος] ("Syrinx"/"The Shepherd's Pipe"/"Σύριγγα"), Dosiadas [Δωσιάδης ῾Ρόδιος] ("'Doric' Altar"/"The First Altar"/"Βωμό"), and Besantinus [Βησαντίνος] ("'Ionian' Altar"/"The Second Altar"/"Βωμό"). They are composed in the "bucolic" tradition with verses forming and being formed by a specific shape (such as a pipe, egg, axe, wings, altar) and with complimentary theme. The earliest of them were written by Simias in c325 BCE.

By the 17th century they were established as τεχνοπαίγνια [technopaegnia] (among others by Johann Heinrich Ansted in his Encyclopaedia septem tomis distincta, 1630), δείγμα, or camina figurata, later to become classics in surveys of pattern, concrete and visual poetry.

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  Simias of Rhodes, Wings [Πτέρυγες Ερωτος], 4th c. BCE.

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  Simias of Rhodes, Axe [Πέλεκυν], 4th c. BCE.

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  Simias of Rhodes, Egg [Ωόν], 4th c. BCE.

Translations

• "The Pattern Poems", in The Greek Bucolic Poets, trans. J.M. Edmonds, London: Heinemann, and New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1912, pp 485-511, IA, PDF, HTML & JPGs.

Literature

• Carl Haeberlin, Carmina figurata graeca. Ad fidem potissimum codicis Palatini, Hannover: Hahn, 1887, IA. (in Latin)
• Carolus Gallavotti (ed.), Theocritus quique feruntur bucolici Graeci, Rome: Typis, 1946; 1993, pp 372-380. (in Latin)
• Dick Higgins, "Pattern Poems by Language and Literature: Greek", in Pattern Poetry: Guide to an Unknown Literature, SUNY Press, 1987, pp 19-24, Log.
• Ulrich Ernst, Carmen Figuratum. Geschichte des Figurengedichts von den antiken Ursprüngen bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters, Cologne, Weimar and Vienna: Böhlau, 1991, pp 54-57. (German)
• Silvia Strodel, Zur Überlieferung und zum Verständnis der hellenistischen Technopaignien, Peter Lang, 2002. (German)
• Luis Arturo Guichard, "Simias' Pattern Poems: The Margins of the Canon", in Beyond the Canon, eds. Harder, Regtuit, and Wakker, Peeters, 2006, pp 83-104, PDF.
• Παντελη Μπουκαλα, "Ελληνιστικά τεχνοπαίγνια: σχήμα και νόημα", Kathimerini, 1 Jul 2008, HTML.
• Klaus Peter Dencker, "Technopägnien", in Dencker, Optische Poesie, Walter de Gruyter, 2011, pp 568-571. [5]. (German)
• Alexandra Pappas, "Alphabetic Images in Ancient Greece: The Hellenistic Technopaegnia", 2012, PDF.

Early cinema

The Avdella-born cineasts and photographers Ianachia and Manakia Manakis shot a number of short documentaries in Bitola from 1905 onwards.

Fragment from a 1905 shot by the Manaki brothers.

Futurism

Marinetti's Futurist manifesto was published in Greek within two weeks after it appeared in Le Figaro. First printed in dailies and magazines in the major cultural centres of the diaspora (Constantinople, Alexandria, Smyrna) and then in Athens. Russian Futurism found its way to Greece only indirectly through the translations of revolutionary Turkish poet Nâzım Hikmet, a student of Mayakovsky. Among the few manifestations of futurism [Φουτουρισμός] in literature are the poems by Demetrios Karachalios, Spyros Mousouris and Nicolas Calas, all published under pseudonyms. Although acclaimed, among others, by poet of the older generation, Kostes Palamas, futurist ideas had only a small, if any impact outside the literary circles in the 1910s, and as such were mostly ridiculed in press as well as in variety shows. By the 1930s, especially after Marinetti's visit in January 1933 in Athens where he delivered four lectures, it was widely denounced for its growing affiliation to fascism.

Mafarka, "Sto phterougisma tou Moutouse: Remvasmos", 1913, PDF.

Literary works

• Mafarka [Ο Μαφάρκα, possibly pseud. of Soph. Pharmakides], "Sto phterougisma tou Moutouse: Remvasmos" [Στο φτερούγισµα του Μουτούση: Ρεµβασµός; To Moutouses's Flying: Reverie], Grammata [Γράμματα] 17-20 (1913), Alexandria, pp 212-218, PDF. The poem refers indirectly to what the First Balkan War (1912-13). The protagonist Moutouses, and actual pilot of the newly created (1911) Greek Air Force, is the inspiration for a poetic reverie in which futurist motifs (such as the war, the aeroplane, heroism and force) and political commentary are interwoven in a modernist, complex text, with many affinities, in form and content, to Marinetti's Le monoplan du Pape (1912). (Kargiotis 2013:170)
• Amphion [pseud. of Lampros Asteres (Λάµπρου Αστέρη), that a pseud. of Demetrios Karachalios (∆ηµήτρη Καραχάλιου)], "Odes: Phoutouristika poiemata" [Ωδές: Φουτουριστικά ποιήµατα]: "Hode prote", Harmonia [Αρµονία] 4 (25 Mar 1916), pp 4-5; "Hode deutera", Harmonia 5 (1 Apr 1916), pp 4-5; "Hode trite", "Hode tetarte", Harmonia 6 (8 Apr 1916), pp 9-11, PDF. "An extensive poetic composition" about "the war, composed in verses of unequal number of syllables, often consisting of a word which rhymes with its corresponding one, two verses later." Reportedly, these poems "were inspired by the WWI, and [..] instead of rhyming at the end of the verse, they had their rhymes in the beginning, that is, the first word of each verse." The publication of the poems gave rise to a critical upheaval, but the review refused to reveal the real name of the writer, who reappeared in the following issues (7 and 8), among other things in order to claim that despite the title he had given his texts he never really thought he had composed futurist poems. (Kargiotis 2013:169)
• Photos Giophylles (Φώτος Γιοφύλλης) [pseud. of Spyros Mousouris, Σπύρου Μουσούρη], "Ta Chaphteia" [Τα Χαφτεία] and "S.A.P." [Σ.Α.Π.], Harmonia [Αρµονία] 9 (29 Apr 1916), p 5, HTML, HTML. Two poems; "Ta Chaphteia" is the name of an area in the centre of Athens, near Omonia Square; "S.A.P." is the acronym for the Athens metro, as it used to be called at the time. The poems were preceded by a supertitle that read "futuristic exercises" as well as a caricature and the signature of Marinetti. Repr. in Giophylles, Poiēsē misou aiōna, 1906-1956 [Ποίηση μισού αιώνα, 1906-1956], Athens: To hellēniko biblio [Το ελληνικό βιβλίο], 1964, pp 103-104. (Kargiotis 2013:169)
• Nikitas Randos (Νικήτας Ράντος) [pseud. of Nicolas Calas (Νικόλας Κάλας)], Ποιήµατα, 1933 (printed 1932); new ed., exp., in Γραφή και φως, Ikaros (Ίκαρος), 1983. A collection of poems, including "Στρογγυλή συµφωνία" (part of the chapter "Βοή") [6] [7].

Miscellanea

• Alkiviades Giannopoulos (Αλκιβιάδης Γιαννόπουλος), Greek-born writer of partly Italian origins published (under the name Alk Gian) Futurist poetry, prose and short polemical essays in Italian reviews, such as La nuova gazzetta letteraria, Procellaria and Freccia futurista (as editor), between 1916 and 1924, when he moved from Italy back to Greece. (Kargiotis 2013:174-5)
• Giorgos V. Makres (Γιώργος Μακρής), co-founder of Association of Aesthetic Saboteurs of Antiquities [Σύνδεσμος Αισθητικών Σαμποτέρ Αρχαιοτήτων] published the "Proclamation No. 1" [Σ.Α.Σ.Α. να ανατινάξουμε την ακρόπολη ! Προκήρυξη Αριθ. 1], 18 Nov 1944, HTML. In it, he called for the bombing and destruction of the Parthenon. This was an idea allegedly discussed in Greek avant-garde circles from the 1930s on, but it was only in the proclamation that it became concretely articulated for the first time. Denouncing the "temporal and historical assertion" of works of art, Makres maintained that the mortality of form is an organic part of life. Beginning with the Parthenon, "which has literally suffocated us", all ancient monuments should consequently be destroyed if they are to be liberatd from the pathetic tourist industry and achieve, ultimately, "real immortality". (Kargiotis 2013:175)

Transmission of Italian futurism into Greek

• Achilleas Kaleuras (Αχιλλέας Καλεύρας), "He apotheosis tou ekkentrismou" [Η αποθέωσις του εκκεντρισµού], Neon Pneuma 20 [Νέον Πνεύμα] (5 or 8? Mar 1909), Constantinople, pp 322-323. Translates major excerpts from Marinetti's Futurist manifesto published in Le Figaro on 20 Feb into Greek, and presents the new movement in a negative way. (Kargiotis 2013:168)
• Demetres Chrusanthes (Δημήτρης Χρυσάνθης), "Sto perithorio tes Poesia", Serapion, Alexandria, Sep 1909. A different translation of the Manifesto into Greek, also with negative commentary. In subsequent issues the review continued with a series of short pieces about futurism. (Kargiotis 2013:168)
• Stilpon Pittakes (Στίλπων Πιττακής), "Ho Mellontismos", Kosmos [Κόσμος], Smyrna, 15 May 1910. Gives a fairly positive account of the movement, asserting that "futurism will contribute to the renewal of art." (Kargiotis 2013:168)
• Kostes Palamas (Κωστής Παλαμάς), "Mellontismos" [Μελλοντισμός], Noumas [Νουμάς], Athens, 30 Jan 1911. Palamas, a dominant literary personality in Greece, concedes that he belongs to a different generation and thus may not fully understand what is at stake with futurism; nevertheless, he recognises the need for progress and expresses a positive attitude, exclaiming "Zeto tou mellontismou!" [Long live futurism!]. In a note Palamas writes that this is a letter sent to Marinetti. (Kargiotis 2013:168)
• The Smyrna review Neotes [Νεότης] ran a series of articles between August 1912 and 1913, commentaries on futurism as well as translations of futurist works, among which were excerpts from Marinetti's Le monoplan du Pape and Mafarka il futurista (trans. Θεόδωρος Έξαρχος, 1912; Πάνος Πετρίδης, 1913). (Kargiotis 2013:168, [8])
• S. Daphnes, "Ho Mellontismos", Athenai (27, 28, 29 Mar 1916).
• SER [G. Serenios], "Ti einai ho Phoutourismos" [Τι είναι χο Φουτουρισμος], Nea Hemera (4 Apr 1916).
• K. Ouranes, "Mellontistikon theatron" [Μελλοντιστικών θεάτρων], Nea Hellas (16 Apr 1916).
• Antrea Zevga (Αντρέα Ζευγά) [pseud. of Aimilios Hourmouzios (Αιμίλιος Χουρμούζιος)], Ο φουτουρισμός στο φως του Μαρξισμού, [1933?] 1944. Criticises the inclination of Italian futurists towards fascism. [9]

Literature

(in Greek unless noted)

• Photos Giophylles (Φώτος Γιοφύλλης) [pseud. of Spyros Mousouris, Σπύρου Μουσούρη], "Ho phoutourismos sten Hellada (1910-1960)" [O φουτουρισµός στην Ελλάδα, 1910-1960], Neo Hestia 792 (1960), pp 846-853. A retrospective account of the futurist movement in Greece. The author mentions that his own first futurist composition, in 1910, was title "Hedone tes mechanes" [Pleasure of the Machine]. He allegedly composed it whle in a printing laboratory and was inspired by the sound of the printing machines. It was "the first hymn of the futuristic machinery in Greece" and it contributed to him being bestowed, among the circles of the literati, with the title of the "futurist". According to the author, he later composed "more modernist, more revolutionary poems", such as those in Kainourgies Tertsines (1917) and the poem "Agonia tou starempora" [The Anxiety of the Wheat Merchant] (1921). (Giophylles 1960:850, Kargiotis 2013:170)
• Ph. K. Mpoumpoulides, Apecheseis tou phoutourismou sten neohellenike grammateia, Athens, 1980.
• A. Katsigianne (Κατσιγιάννη), "Hellenikos phoutourismos", Kathemerine (17 Jun 1982, 24 Jun 1982, 1 Jul 1982).
• D. Plakas (Πλάκας), "Ho phoutourismos sten Hellada", Diavazo 141 (1986), pp 14-20.
• V. Orsina, "Traduzione e ripercussioni in Grecia del manifesto di fondazione del Futurismo", in Testi letterari italiani tradotti in greco: dal '500 ad oggi, ed. Mario Vitti, Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino, 1994, pp 291-301. (Italian)
• Florencia Kyprianou (Φλωρεντία Κυπριανού), Ο φουτουρισμός ως κίνημα πρωτοπορίας και ως σύστημα στην κριτική του ελληνικού μεσοπολέμου (1909-1933). Η εικόνα της μηχανής στο φουτουρισμό και στην ιδεολογική σκέψη Τρότσκι-Χουρμούζιου, Thessaloniki, 2008, 109 pp, PDF. Dissertation.
• Elisavet Novotná, Futuristická tvorba Nikitase Randose, Brno: Masaryk University, 2012, PDF, TXT. Bachelor's thesis. (Czech)
• Dimitrios Kargiotis, "Internationality and Greek Modernism. On the Particularities of the Greek Avant-Garde", in Transnationality, Internationalism and Nationhood: European Avant-garde in the First Half of the Twentieth Century, eds. Huber Van Den Berg and Lidia Gluchowska, Leuven: Peeters, 2013, pp 165-182, PDF. (English)

Surrealist literature

Coming soon.

Modernist painting, sculpture, architecture and theatre

Works

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  Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, Ousia kai skia [Ουσία και σκιά; Essence and Shadow], 1938. Casein colors on wood panel, 30x45cm.

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  Nikos Engonopoulos, Poietis kai Mousa [Ποιητής και μούσα; Poet and Muse], 1938. Oil on canvas, 120x100cm.

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  Yannis Hainis, Eleutheria [Ελευθερία; Freedom].

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  Yannis Hainis, Choris Titlo [Χωρίς τίτλο; Untitled], 1969. 200x200cm.

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  Opy Zouni.

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  Michalis Tompros, Maska [Μάσκα; Mask], c1928.

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  Georgios Zongolopoulos, Cor-ten, 1966. H 17m nickel-plated iron, International Fair North Gate, Thessaloniki.

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  Georgios Zongolopoulos, Spirals in Circle, 1976. H 3,10m stainless metal, Campo Pisani, Venice.

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  Giorgos Kontoleon, holiday house in Kavouri [εξοχικής κατοικίας στο Καβούρι], model, c1937, never built. [1]

Artists, architects, directors

Art Group A debate, Keratsini, 1963. [2]

Painting: cubist Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas (Νίκου Χατζηκυριάκου-Γκίκα, 1906-94) [10] [11], surrealist painter, poet and art critic Nikos Engonopoulos (Νίκοσ Εγγονόπουλοσ, 1907-75) [12], pioneer of abstraction in Greece and art theorist Yannis Hainis (Γιάννης Χαΐνης, 1930) [13], op and geometric abstract artist Opy Zouni (Όπυ Ζούνη, 1941-2008) [14] [15].

Sculpture: Michalis Tompros (Μιχάλης Τόμπρος, 1889-1974) [16], Georgios Zongolopoulos (Γιώργος Ζογγολόπουλος, 1903-2004) [17].

Groups: Art Group A (Ομάδα Τέχνης α, founded 1961 by Klouvatos, Kokkinidis, Maltezos, K. Xenakis, Sarafianos, Freris, Hainis, a.o.)

Architecture: Dimitris Pikionis (Δημήτρης Πικιώνης, 1887-1968) [18], Giorgos Kontoleon (Γεώργιος Κοντολέων, 1896-1952) [19] [20], architect, poet, editor, and author Stamo Papadaki (1906-92) [21] [22] [23] [24], Patroklos Karantinos (Πάτροκλος Καραντινός, 1903-76) [25] [26], Vasilis Tsoyras (Βασίλης Τσούρας) [27].

Theatre: Karolos Koun (Κάρολος Κουν, 1908-87), theatre director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays including political comedies of Aristophanes such as The Birds; in 1942, he founded the experimental Theatron Technis [Art Theater] and its drama school; introduced Genet, Lorca and Ionesco to Greek audiences. Video interview, Wikipedia, NYT obituary.

Initiatives

• Contemporary Greek Art Institute.
• National Museum of Contemporary Art.
• The Thessaloniki State Museum of Contemporary Art holds the renowned Costakis Collection consisting of more than 1,200 works of the Russian avant-garde. (See Russian avant-garde bibliography for a number of references.)

Literature

I ekriktiki eikosaetia, 1949-1967, 2002, PDF. Proceedings from the symposium held in Nov 2000. [3]

• Ν. Δασκαλοθανάσης, Α. Κωτίδης, Ελληνικές Εικαστικές Τέχνες, Νεότερη και Σύγχρονη Τέχνη, Patras: Hellenic Open University, 2000. (Greek)
• Yannis Hainis (Γιάννης Χαΐνης), "Ομάδα Τέχνης Α΄", in Η εκρηκτική εικοσαετία 1949-1967, ed. Ουρανία Καϊάφα, Athens: Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Παιδείας, 2002, pp 349-362, PDF. (Greek)
• Νικηφόρος Παπανδρέου, "Απόπειρες εναλλακτικού θεάτρου", in Η εκρηκτική εικοσαετία 1949-1967, ed. Ουρανία Καϊάφα, Athens: Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Παιδείας, 2002, pp 177-190, PDF. (Greek)
• Evgénios D. Matthiópoulos (Ευγένιος Δ. Ματθιόπουλος), "Ιδεολογία και τεχνοκριτική τα χρόνια 1949-1967: Ελληνοκεντρισμός, σοσιαλιστικός ρεαλισμός, μοντερνισμός", in Η εκρηκτική εικοσαετία 1949-1967, ed. Ουρανία Καϊάφα, Athens: Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Παιδείας, 2002, pp 363-400, PDF. (Greek)
• Spyridon Moschonas (Σπυρίδων Μοσχονάς), Καλλιτεχνικά σωματεία και ομάδες τέχνης στην Ελλάδα κατά το α' μισό του 20ου αιώνα: η σημασία και η προσφορά τους [Artistic unions and groups in Greece during the first half of the twentiesth century: their significance and contribution], Athens: University of Athens, 2010, 261 pp, Online. Dissertation. (Greek)
• Maria Poulou (Μαρίας Πούλου), "Ο διάλογος Χαΐνη – Κόττου για την τεχνοκριτική και η «Ομάδα τέχνης α΄»", Enthemata, 22 Sep 2013, HTML. (Greek)

Avant-garde and electronic music

Scores

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  Iannis Xenakis, Metastaseis B (excerpt), 1953-54, PDF.

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  Anestis Logothetis, Textur-Struktur-Spiegel-Spiel, 1959.

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  Anestis Logothetis, Polymeron, 1960.

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  Anestis Logothetis, Ichnologia, 1964.

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  Anestis Logothetis, Dispersion, 1964.

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  Jani Christou, Enantiodromia (excerpt), 1965/68, PDF.

Skalkottas in Athens, c1938. [4]

Composers

• Nikos Skalkottas (Nίκος Σκαλκώτας, 1904-49), a member of the Second Viennese School; 1927-32 studied with Schoenberg. 1921-33 lived in Berlin, then returned to Greece. Composed a number of 12-tone pieces. IMSLP, Wikipedia, Book chapter on Skalkottas (2009), Preview of a book on his 12-tone music (2011, Introduction), Dissertation on Skalkottas and his 12-tone music (1999), Dissertation on his 12-tone music (2002).

• Yannis Papaioannou (Ιωάννης Παπαιωάννου, 1910-89). Studied with Laspopoulou, Kontis and Riadis. Between 1953 and 1966 he composed 12-note pieces; among the first musicians to systematically teach atonal, 12-note and serial techniques; his students included Adamis, Antoniou, Aperghis, Kounadis and Terzakis. Served as the first president of both the Greek section of the ISCM (1964-75) and the Hellenic Association for Contemporary Music (1965-75). Wikipedia, Papers on Papaioannou: [28], [29] (2010).

Anestis Logothetis, Zeichen als Aggregatzustand der Musik, 1974, JPGs.

• Yorgos Sicilianos (Γιώργος Σισιλιάνος, 1920-2005). Studied with Sfakianakis, Varvoglis, Sklavos and abroad; from 1956 lived again in Greece. Between 1954 and 1980 worked with the 12-tone technique (first in Concerto for Orchestra, op. 12, 1954), serialism, post-serialist techniques and electronic music. Biography, Paper on Sicilianos (2010).

• Dimitris Dragakatis (1914-2001). Paper on Dragakatis (2010), +.

• Anestis Logothetis (Ανέστης Λογοθέτης, 1921-94), born in Burgas, 1934 moved to Thessaloniki, from 1942 lived in Vienna. Studied with Uhl, Ratz, Schwermann and Swarowsky; participated several times in Darmstadt seminars (between 1955 and 1965). Affiliated with Viennese Actionism; came to music through painting, exhibiting "polymorphic graphs" in galleries; soon, in the 1950s, among the first to introduce visual symbols into a musical notation, to produce "polymorphic music": "I came to the conclusion that appropriate graphic representations of sound can be used as psychological associations between the visual impression and its rendering in sound. Such graphs then become catalysts that release multiple transformations and combinations of actual sounds, providing a stimulus to performers to produce music." As early as 1957 he started experimenting on sound in the WDR Studio of Gottfried Michael Koenig in Cologne, which resulted in the first electroacoustic composition in Austria, Fantasmata. In 1981 he composed the work Wellenformen with a computer in the EMS studio in Stockholm. Zeichen als Aggregatzustand der Musik (1974, book in German), Klangbild und Bildklang (excerpt) (1998, book in German), Tribute page (.gr), Tribute page (.at), Biography, 2008 paper on his graphical scores, [30], Discogs, Conference on Logothetis (2012).

Philips pavilion at Expo 58.

Iannis Xenakis, Formalized Music, 1963/71, Log.

• Iannis Xenakis (Ιάννης Ξενάκης, 1922-2001). Composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. Studied engineering in Athens; upon graduation, he joined the studio of Le Corbusier in Paris, and worked with him on architectural projects for 12 years, most importantly the Sainte Marie de La Tourette, on which the two architects collaborated, and the Philips Pavilion at Expo 58, which Xenakis designed alone. It was not until he was nearly 30 that he undertook serious musical studies; enrolled in the class of Messiaen, and also took lessons with Honegger and Milhaud. Bypassing Schoenbergian dodecaphony and Webernian serialism, he began writing music according to the mathematical theories of sets and calculus of probability. In 1962 Xenakis wrote two pieces for the IBM 7090 computer, Morsima-Amorsima (ST/4–2, 030762) [Stochastic Music for 4 Performers, No. 1] and ST/10–1, 080262 (FLAC, analysis); programmed the music specifying duration and density of "sound events", leaving the parameters of pitch, velocity, and dynamics to the computer; both pieces were performed at the Technological Institute of Athens on 16 December 1962, sponsored by Hatzidakis (see below) and conducted by Lukas Foss. Among his important works are Metastaseis (1953-54, score) for orchestra, which introduced independent parts for every musician of the orchestra; percussion works such as Psappha (1975) and Pléïades (1979); and compositions that introduced spatialization by dispersing musicians among the audience, such as Terretektorh (1966). In 1979, he perfected the Polyagogic Method (UPIC), through which computer graphic images converted into musical structures. In Polytopes, a work whose title refers to Euclidean geometry, music is combined with visual stimuli in space (video). His theoretical writings include the book Formalized Music (1963). Tribute page, Sound works on UbuWeb, 6 electronic music pieces (FLAC, torrent), Films on UbuWeb, Special issue of L'Arc, 51 (1972, in French), Kéleütha: écrits, collected writings (1994, in French), Book collecting his architectural projects (2008), Exhibition on Xenakis & Catalogue of his drawings (2010), Book on Xenakis (2004), Dissertation on his work GENDY3 (2009).

• Manos Hatzidakis (Μάνος Χατζιδάκις, 1925-94), along with serious music also composed popular music and film scores, such as for Makavejev's Sweet Movie (1974). During 1966-72 was living in exile in the US. Wikipedia.

• Jani Christou (Γιάννης Χρήστου, 1926-70). Studied philosophy with Wittgenstein and Russell in Cambridge, music with Redlich and orchestration with Lavagnino. Introduced the concepts of meta-music [μεταμουσικά], praxis [πράξης] (music action belonging to a particular rationale), meta-praxis [μεταπράξη] (action that opposes this logic or surpasses it) into music theory. Formulated three forms of his music notation: synthetic, proportionate and measured. Collaborated with the National Theatre of Greece and Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre; composed music for ancient drama theatre performances [31]. His major works include Enantiodromia for orchester (1965/68, 1969 text, audio, Fusinato's 2007 reworking of the score), a scenic Oratorio on ancient Egyptian sacred texts, for narrator, three mixed choirs, orchestra, tape and actors, Mysterion (1965/68, audio), and the Jung-inspired experimental music theatre play The Strychnine Lady [Η Κυρία με τη Στρυχνίνη] (1967, press article, video). Jani Christou Archive, Excerpt from a documentary (10 min, 2011), +, Wikipedia, Thesis on Christou (2010), Thesis on Christou (2009, in Greek), Biography, Biography (Greek), Conference on Christou at Goldsmiths (2013).

• Michalis Adamis (Μιχάλης Αδάμης, 1929-2013). Studied theology and western, Byzantine and electronic music. Founded Greece’s first electronic music laboratory in 1965. In his almost 300 works he has merged the Byzantine and Greek traditional music tradition with the contemporary style of the 20th century. EA works, 1964-77, Tribute page, 2010 paper on Adamis, Discogs.

• Nikos Mamangakis (Νίκος Μαμαγκάκης, 1929-2013). Studied at conservatory in Athens and with Orff and Genzmer in Munich. Worked at Siemens-Studio für elektronische Musik. For his works in the 1960s he was adopting numerical sets as thematic complexes which determine the parameters of the entire composition. Wikipedia (DE), Discogs, FB.

• George Tsouyopoulos (1930). Studied with Hindemith in Zurich; in 1957 settled in Munich. Attempted to achieve a total organization of serializable elements, eg. in Music for Percussion (1959).

• Stefanos Vassiliadis (Στέφανος Βασιλειάδης, 1933-2004). Biography (Greek), Discogs.

• George Leotsakos (Γιώργος Λεωτσάκος, 1935), studied oriental languages, and became interested in expressing the poetic brevity of Japanese Haiku verses in atonal music. His cycle of songs to the texts of Haiku poems, each of which has three lines and 17 syllables, is written in dissonant counterpoint, but the melorhythmic outline is as precise as the Japanese form itself. (Slonimsky 2005:83)

• Dimitri Terzakis (Δημήτρης Τερζάκης, 1938). Studied with Papaioannou in Athens and Zimmermann in Cologne. Composed several electronically amplified and tape music works [32]. Lives in Leipzig and Nauplia, GR. Home page, Discogs.

• Michel Christodoulidès. Worked with Francisco Semprun during the 1970s. "They mostly composed for film soundtracks and theatre, including several Ionesco plays, as well as music for dance and mime theater, or physical exercise known in France as expression corporelle, with several LP releases (Métamorphoses, 1974, Espaces Dynamiques, 1976, and Choréo-Rythmes, 1985) on the French Unidisc label. As a daily job, they improvised during dance and theatre workshops." Lives in Paris. Continuo Docs, Discography (1970-75), Discogs.

• Haris Xanthoudakis (Χάρης Ξανθουδάκης, 1950). Studied with Barvogli, Papaioannou, Michalis and Xenakis. In 1979-85 lived in France, there studied in CEMAM and GRM. Since the early 1970s composes serial and electronic music. Biography (Greek), Wikipedia.

• Lena Platonos (Λένα Πλάτωνος, 1951). [33], Wikipedia (GR), [34], [35] [36], [37], [38].

• Dimossioypalliliko Retire (Δημοσιοϋπαλληλικό Ρετιρέ), trio of Danis Tragopoulos, Thanasis Chondros and Alexandra Katsiani. The band started organizing performances in Thessaloniki’s art galleries and self releasing cassettes and LPs in 1983. Their happenings were art events including sculptures and specific outfits, with costumes designed by Alexandra Katsiani, the latter sometimes sewing on stage. [39]

Compilations

• 20th Century Greek Avant-Garde Music; a Cross Section; 5 CDs The "New Greek School" (NGS) and its Spectacular Achievements, Athens: ETEBA / National Bank of Greece Group, 1998. 5 CDs and 141 pp booklet. [40]
• Ελληνική Ηλεκτρονική Μουσική, 1 / Greek Electronic Music, 1, Odeon, 1974. [41]
• Thanos Mikroutsikos, Iván Patachich, Charis Xanthoudakis, Mladen Milićević, Works Of Electronic Music, LP, Εταιρία Νέας Μουσικής, 1986. [42]

Studios and initiatives

• Studio für Neue Musik, founded by the Athens Goethe Institute in 1962 under Günther Becker and Yiannis Papaioannou.
• Hellenic Association for Contemporary Music, est. 1965.
• The Greek section of the ISCM organized five Hellenic Weeks of Contemporary Music (1966-68, 1971, 1976).
• Electronic Music Lab, 1975
• Contemporary Music Research Centre, Athens, set up by Iannis Xenakis, 1979. He began developing his Polyagogic (UPIC) system there. [43]
• Institute for Research on Music and Acoustics (IEMA), Athens, est. 1989. Booklet, IEMA 1989-2009 (PDF).

Resources

• Greek Music Portal, created by IEMA.

Literature

• Nicolas Slonimsky, "New Music in Greece", Musical Quarterly 51 (Jan 1965), pp 225-235, [44]; repr. in Slonimsky, Writings on Music, Routledge, 2005, pp 73-84, PDF.
• Katy Romanou, "Η μουσική 1949-1974. Α΄. Η ελληνική πρωτοπορία", in Ιστορία του Νέου Ελληνισμού 1700-2000, τόμος 9, ed. V. Panagiotopoulos (Βασίλης Παναγιωτόπουλος), Athens: Ελληνικά Γράμματα, 2003, pp 259-268, PDF. (Greek)
• G. Zervos (Γ. Ζερβός), "Προβλήματα Μορφής και Περιεχομένου στη Σύγχρονη Έντεχνη Ελληνική Μουσική Δημιουργία" [Problems of Form and Content in Modern Greek Art Music Creation], in Προβλήματα και Προοπτικές της Ελληνικής Μουσικής [Problems and Perspectives of Greek Music], Athens: Papagrēgoriou-Nakas [Παπαγρηγορίου-Νάκας], 1999, pp 133-158. (Greek)
• Στέφανος Βασιλειάδης, "Μια εποχή άνοιξης και καρποφορίας στην ελληνική πρωτοποριακή μουσική", in Η εκρηκτική εικοσαετία 1949-1967, ed. Ουρανία Καϊάφα, Athens: Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Παιδείας, 2002, pp 101-124, PDF. (Greek)
• Βασίλης Αγγελικόπουλος, "Το όραμα του Μάνου Χατζιδάκι και του Μίκη Θεοδωράκη για την νεοελληνική μουσική – ως το 1967", in Η εκρηκτική εικοσαετία 1949-1967, ed. Ουρανία Καϊάφα, Athens: Εταιρεία Σπουδών Νεοελληνικού Πολιτισμού και Παιδείας, 2002, pp 125-137, PDF. (Greek)
• Nick Poulakis, "Chrēstou, Adamēs, Koukos: Greek Avant-Garde Music During the Second Half of the 20th Century", in Serbian and Greek Art Music: A Patch to Western Music History, ed. Katy Romanou, Intellect Books, 2009, pp 187-203, PDF.
• Γιώργος Βλαστός (ed.), Πρακτικά Συνεδρίου, Athens, 2009, PDF. Conference proceedings. (Greek)
• Costas Tsougras, Danae Stefanou, Kostas Chardas (eds.), Beyond the Centres: Musical Avant-Gardes Since 1950. In Memoriam Yannis Andreou Papaioannou (1910-1989), Thessaloniki, 2010, PDFs. Proceedings from the conference held on 1-5 Jul 2010.
• G. Leotsakos, "Music of Modern Greece: From 1945 to the present", ed. Kostas Moschos, Musicportal.gr, undated, HTML.

Electromagnetism, Kineticism, Computer art

Works

• 

  Takis, Electro-Magnetic I, 1962.

• 

  Pantelis Xagoraris, Choris titlo [Χωρίς τίτλο; Untitled], 1973.

• 

  Pantelis Xagoraris, Choris titlo [Χωρίς τίτλο; Untitled], 1973. Computer-generated ink drawing, 31x27 cm.

• 

  Bia Davou, Kykloma [Κύκλωμα; Circuit], 1974.

• 

  Bia Davou, Choris titlo [Χωρίς τίτλο; Untitled], late 1970s.

Artists

• Takis (Τάκις, Panayiotis Vasilakis, Παναγιώτης Βασιλάκης, 1925). Moved to Paris in 1954. In 1955, influenced by the invention of radar and the technological landscape of the station at Calais, he constructed his first Signaux [Signals], soon turned kinetic and resembling radio antennas and serving in his street happenings. In 1958 he learnt about electromagnetism which became the basis of his oeuvre: kinetic and sound-generating electromagnetic sculptures. In 1993, he founded the Research Centre for Art and Science in the Gerovouno area near Athens. His installation The Music of the Spheres (2004), comprised of kinetic and musical sculptures, is inspired by the Greek ancient belief that every planet emits its own sound frequency in the solar system, a fact that nowadays has been proved scientifically. [45]
• Pantelis Xagoraris (Παντελής Ξαγοράρης, 1929-2000), mathematician, painter and researcher at the Centre for Advanced Visual Studies in MIT. After returning to Greece, he became a professor at the National Technical University of Athens. In 1963, he created the first kinetic artworks in Greece. Later, he began employing the computer in his work. Biography, Works.
• Bia Davou (Μπία Ντάβου, 1932-96). Studied painting with Iliadis; in the 1960s moved towards abstraction, in the late 1960s abandoned the canvas for 3D constructions and environments. In the mid-1970s she became preoccupied with communication art, and got acquainted with mathematics and computing; basing her compositions (Serial Structures) on the binary system and the Fibonacci sequence. She was a member of the art group Processes-Systems, founded by Emmanuel Mavromatis. Catalogue (2008, in Greek), Catalogue (chronology) (2008, in Greek), Biography and works, TV documentary, Wikipedia (GR), [46].
• Nestoras Papanikolopoulos (Νεστορας Παπανικολοπουλος). 1983-86 taught at the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASFA). He was introduced to computer art at the exhibition “Electra” in Paris, 1984, learnt to program Basic and Pascal and wrote programs to create digital geometric forms. [47]

Literature

• Melissa Warak, Made to Music: Interactions of Music and Art, 1955–1969, University of Texas at Austin, 2013. PhD dissertation.

Experimental film

Filmmakers

• Costas Sfikas (Κώστας Σφήκας, 1927-2009).
• Gregory Markopoulos (1928-92), born in the US to Greek immigrant parents; moved to Europe in 1967 (first Germany, then Zürich). Once ensconced in self-imposed exile, Markopoulos withdrew his films from circulation, refused any interviews, and insisted that a chapter about him be removed from the second edition of Sitney's Visionary Film. While he continued to make films, his work went largely unseen for almost 30 years. Films on UbuWeb, Biography.
• Stavros Tornes (Σταυρός Τορνές, 1932-1988). Karkaloy on Youtube (82 min, 1984), Fan page on FB.
• Thanasis Rentzis (Θανάσης Ρεντζής, 1947). Biography.
• Antouanetta Angelidi (Αντουανέττα Αγγελίδη). Biography, Biography (Greek), Page on FB.
• Maria Klonaris (Mαρία Kλωνάρη, 1948-2014) and Katerina Thomadaki (Kατερίνα Θωμαδάκη) moved to Paris in 1975. Their practice focused on "Cinema of the Body" and video. Home page, Wikipedia (FR), Video portrait of Thomadaki by Courant (4 min, 1978), [48] [49]

Literature

• Thanasis Rentzis (Θανάσης Ρεντζής), Οι Πρωτοπορίες στον κινηματογράφο, Athens: Kastaniotis [Καστανιώτης], 1978, 31 pp. (Greek)
• Rea Walldén, "The Cinema File: The Avant-Garde, in Cinema, in Greece", 22 (May 2012).

Video and telecommunications

Artists

• Mit Mitropoulos worked with various systems of communication - modems, telephones, faxes, radio, television, satellite networks and teleconferencing - since the 1980s. Point-to-point cable TV work Face-to-Face 1 (1986). [50].
• Leda Papaconstantinou (Λήδα Παπακωνσταντίνου, 1945). [51]
• Kostas Tsoklis (Κώστας Τσόκλης, 1930). In the works The Harpooned Fish and Portraits he combined painting and video. Represented Greece at the 42nd Venice Biennale with a video work (1986).
• Marianne Strapatsakis (Μαριάννα Στραπατσάκη, 1947) shown her first video in Greece in 1985. Home page, [52].
• Manthos Santorineos (Μάνθος Σαντοριναίος, 1954), multimedia artist since the mid-1980s. He founded the Lab “Ikona” [Image], collaborated with Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre, and he is the founder of “Fournos” Centre for Digital Culture and the Media@terra Festival. [53]
• Nikos Navridis (Νίκος Ναυρίδης, 1958) has made a number of video installations.
• Giorgos Gyparakis (Γιώργος Γυπαράκης, 1962), most known work: Luna Deducere. Home page.

Venues

• The city planner Nikos Papadakis created, under adverse circumstances, a specially designed video art space in Polyplano, Athens. [54]
• In February 1980, a Lab for Video Art was launched and the Art Space Polyplano presented video art projections.

Literature

• Into The Pill, Vol. 1: Greek Contemporary Video Art, Futura: Athens, 2009, Scribd. (in English/Greek)

New media art, Media culture

Cities

Athens, Thessaloniki.

Literature

• Areti Adamopoulou, "Greek Artists and Technology", 2005.
• Anna Hatziyannaki, "Media art in Greece", Goethe-Institut, 2012.

See also

Other Greece-related content on Monoskop includes Chris Marker's documentary TV series The Owl's Legacy (1989), and transmission histories of Aristotle's Poetics and Plato's Republic.

For more resources see OpenArchives.gr, a repository of Greek scientific and cultural digital content, National Archive of PhD Theses, other archives and collections, BiblioNet, a bibliographic resource of Greek books in print (incl. arts, literature, history, 1914-74), and Digital Educational Platform, a repository of interactive textbooks.

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