La voix libérée - Poésie sonore

22 March - 12 May 2019 / Palais de Tokyo, Paris

Opening night on 21 March 2019 on World Poetry day

Fondazione Bonotto presents a new exhibition project in collaboration with Palais de Tokyo.
As the result of research lasting over a year, the exhibition has been conceived as a non- exhaustive journey through sound poetry, from the end of the Second World War until contemporary developments. Intentionally trans-historical and international, representing over thirty countries covering all five continents, this project has been conceived as a place to be listened in, a transmitter creating a frequency that passes outside the walls of Palais de Tokyo thanks to an application providing an open, free-of-charge download of the exhibition’s sound programme, as well as a multitude of sites, radio stations or reviews which will extend this experience of sound poetry during the entire spring of 2019.

In the 20th century, phonetic and then sound poetry always stood as an act of emancipation. Sometimes ready to abandon semantics, the avant-garde turned it into a spearhead of a struggle against systems, beliefs and dogmas. What is now left of their heroic combats? Myths and legends. But times have changed. Combats too. Utopias no longer have the same look.

New technologies have now invaded the space of language, for the better or the worst. For the worst, by imposing a digital rationalisation of words and sounds. For the best, by providing language with an infinity of sources and tools. Since the 1950s, technological progress has allowed phonetic poetry to become sound poetry.

The exhibition La voix libérée - Poésie sonore curated by Eric Mangion and Patrizio Peterlini with artistic contribution by Anette Lenz, in co-production with Palais de Tokyo offers, without any nostalgia, a journey with from voices of the past to the present. It plunges us directly and deeply into these artists who still use words and sounds as an exercise in freedom.

Poetry continues to place mankind at the heart of life and art. How to remain human when the world is becoming increasingly multiple? How to affirm your singularity?

As the result of research lasting over a year, the exhibition has been conceived as a non- exhaustive journey through sound poetry, from the end of the Second World War until contemporary developments. Intentionally trans-historical and international, representing over thirty countries covering all five continents, this project has been conceived as a place to be listened in, a transmitter creating a frequency that passes outside the walls of Palais de Tokyo thanks to an application providing an open, free-of-charge download of the exhibition’s sound programme, as well as a multitude of sites, radio stations or reviews which will extend this experience of sound poetry during the entire spring of 2019.

During spring 2019, a series of sites, radio stations and reviews will thus be presenting sound poetry events or publications: the Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard, the Maison de la poésie, France Culture, *DUUU Radio, Vizir Radio, Les écritures bougées (Paris/France), Babel Heureuse (Toulouse/France), Montévidéo et Radio Grenouille (Marseille/France), the Villa Arson (Nice/ France), Beton7Art Radio and Metadeftero Radio (Athens/Greece), RAM Radio Arte Mobile and NOW Radio (Rome/Italy), RUC Radio Universidade (Coimbra/Portugal) + LabSynthE, Laboratory for Synthetic and Experimental Poetry, University of Texas (Dallas/ USA), CMMAS (Guanajuato/ Mexico) etc.

On April 27th 2019 a day dedicated to performances will be organized from 14.30 to 20.00 at the Palais de Tokyo with the original productions of six of the most dynamic contemporary poets on the international scene:

Tomomi Adachi (Japan)
Giovanni Fontana (Italy)
Zuzana Husàrovà (Slovakia)
Katalin Ladik (Hungary)
Violaine Lochu (France)
Joerg Piringer (Austria)

The performances will be preceded by a meeting with the curators who will present the history and contemporary developments of sound poetry.

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Curators: Eric Mangion et Patrizio Peterlini
Curatorial coordination: Claire Moulène

Sound pieces by: Tomomi Adachi, Arcand Pierre André, Atlanta Poets Group, Martin Bakero, Gary Barwin, Caroline Bergvall, Julien Blaine, Jaap Blonk, Luis Bravo, Anne-James Chaton, Henri Chopin, Carlfiredrich Claus, Bob Cobbing, Felipe Cussen, Augusto De Campos, Paul De Vree, François Dufrêne, Eduard Escoffet, Robert Filliou, Giovanni Fontana, The Four Horsemen, Steven J. Fowler, Jérôme Game, Ilse Garnier, Pierre Garnier, John Giorno, Klaus Groh, Brion Gysin, Sten Hanson, Ian Hatcher, Bernard Heidsieck, Dick Higgins, Ake Hodell, Zuzana Husárová, Isidore Isou, Juan Angel Italiano, Ernst Jandl, Maja Jantar, Bengt Emil Johnson, Evgenji Kharitonov, Ferdinand Kriwet, Nobuo Kubota, Katalin La- dik, Anne Le Troter, Franck Leibovici, Weronika M. Lewandowska, Violaine Lochu, Arrigo Lora Totino, Ghérasim Luca, Jackson MacLow, Kgafela oa Magogodi, Michèle Métail, Enzo Minarelli, Franz Mon, Maurizio Nannucci, Seiichi Niikuni, Ladislav Novak, Clemente Padin, Arthur Petronio, Anat Pick, Decio Pignatari, Jörg Piringer, Mimmo Rotella, Gerhard Rühm, Rike Scheffler, Carolee Schneemann, Adriano Spatola, Amanda Stewart, Demetrio Stratos, Kinga Toth, Jaromír Typlt, Louise Vanardois, Emmett Williams, Gil J. Wolman, Misako Yarita.

Production: Chloé Fricout
Artistic creation and graphic design: Anette Lenz assisted by Emilie Excoffier
Exhibition manager: Célia Grégot
Audio-visual supervisor: Jord le Dortz
Audio-visual production: Piero Matarrese
Tapestries production: Bonotto
Responsable for performative arts: Manon Klein
Press release (Italy): Studio Mun

A project promoted and supported by: Fondazione Bonotto (Molvena, Italy) and Palais de Tokyo (Paris, France)