Caterina Davinio is an Italian computer artist, writer, and curator. Born in Foggia in 1957, she was raised in Rome and received her degree in Italian Literature at Rome University La Sapienza, where she studied with Giulio Carlo Agan, Alberto Asor Rosa, and Walter Pedulla. In the 1990’s she began working with computer animated poetry and video poetry, and organizing festivals and events to link experimental poetry with electronic art. In 1998 she launched Karenina.it, a website described as the first Italian net-poetry project. With contributions from numerous writers, artists, critics, and curators, Karenina.it was simultaneously a web-zine, an open forum, and an experiment in communication as an art form in an avant-garde Fluxus tradition. She has presented her own work and curated exhibitions for the Venice Bienniale and collateral events, as well as numerous exhibitions and festivals worldwide, including the Biennale de Paris, Sydney Biennale, Athens Biennial, Liverpool Biennial.
Describing her Net-Based projects, she writes:
POETRY AS SOCIAL STRUCTURE, E-COMMUNICATION, REAL/VIRTUAL INTERACTION. E-COMMUNICATION AS NEW MATERIAL OF ART. HOW INTERNET BRINGS IN DISCUSSION THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST, HIS IDENTITY, AND HOW THE CONCEPTS OF IDENTITY, REALITY, NATURE, COPY, ORIGINAL, PRESENCE, PERFORMANCE, SPACE-TIME, ARE DISINTEGRATED BUT ALSO RECONSTRUCTED. DEVELOPING CONCRETE POETRY, PERFORMANCE POETRY, SITUATIONISM, FLUXUS.