George Drivas
The Biography of a Software
July 1 & 2 2024 / Starting time: 9 pm
“Pi” (Global Centre of Circular Economy and Culture, Delphi, Greece
Information – Tickets: www.allofgreeceoneculture.gr/event/viografia-enos-logismikou/
George Drivas and the cultural organization Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI), in the framework of the Ministry of Culture’s 2024 programme “All of Greece, One culture”, present on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July the multimedia work, titled The Biography of a Software. The event is offered free of charge by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
What happens when a person who has forgotten everything tries to remember their life with the help of a computer? What if that person hasn’t forgotten everything? What if that person doesn’t even react like a human being? The Biography of a Software is a multimedia action, inspired and realized by visual artist George Drivas in collaboration with the music composer Melina Paxinos, that explores and presents the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) programs through moving image, photography and music. The authorship of the creator and the hitherto assumed – exclusivity of their creativity is disrupted or enhanced through the potential of these programs to create from scratch after being initially fed by human cognition.
Paraphrasing Benjamin, “I wonder what happens to the work of art in the age of its mechanical creation?” Or in a more provocative interpretation, “What happens to man in the age of his mechanical creation?”, George Drivas presents The Biography of a Software, a film, based initially on his own writing and direction, in which artificial intelligence programs intervene in the script and become co-creators. It is in this context of exploring the relationship between man-creator and machine that Melina Paxinos’ musical soundscape is created. The musician and composer expands the dialogue and “views” of an intelligent software. Attempting possible conjunctions with her musical references, she creates the soundtrack of the work that she will present live on both days of the event with the collaboration of three musicians.
The event is hosted at “Pi” (Global Centre for Circular Economy and Culture) in Delphi, the recently restored by the cultural organisation Polygreen Culture & Art Initiative (PCAI) monument of modern architecture, designed by the leading Greek architect Dimitris Pikionis and his son, Petros, in the late 1950s.
Participating actors: Alexandra Zoe, Panis Kalofolias, Rena Kyprioti, Panagiotis Margetis
Participating musicians: Yannis Papadopoulos, Grigoris Theodoridis, Dimitris Klonis.
Campaign Image: George Drivas, The biography of a Software, UHD Video, 2024
Useful information
All events are offered free of charge by the Ministry of Culture. Pre-booking is compulsory. Detailed information, programme of all events and pre-booking are available on the official website of the institution: www.allofgreeceoneculture.gr
On the two days of the program there will be a free shuttle bus service from Athens (Syntagma Square) to Delphi with same-day return after the end of the event. Booking for each route is mandatory. Book your seats, here: https://forms.gle/PXMGLSX8mxFQ5Nbd9
Dates: Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July 2024
Arrival time: 8.30 pm
Starting time: 9 pm
Duration: 50’
Venue: pi, Global Centre of Circular Economy and Culture (former Pikionis pavilion), Delphi
Map: goo.gl/maps/4xhmefaS55xg3tyVA
Information: pcai.gr, info@pcai.gr and by phone +30 2104060088 (Monday-Friday, 9 am – 5 pm)
More about George Drivas
George Drivas is a visual artist and filmmaker. His work has been presented as a solo exhibition or tribute at the Annex of the Athens Concert Hall (2020), the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (EMST, 2018 and 2009), the National Museum of Modern Art in Rome (Galleria Nazionale d’ Arte Moderna, 2017), the Greek Film Archive (2014) as well as in more than 150 group exhibitions and festivals in Greece and internationally. With the video installation “Laboratory of Dilemmas” he represented Greece at the Venice Art Biennale in 2017. He has received numerous international awards and distinctions over the years. His works are part of the collection of the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens and the In Between Art Film Foundation (Rome, Italy).
More about Melina Paxinos
Melina Paxinos is a saxophonist and composer. She studied music production, composition and orchestration at the SRH Hochschule der populaeren Kuenste in Berlin. She has released four albums “Circle of Oddness” (2018), which is based on π = 3,14, “Athens” (2019) with guest Ross Daly, “Remixes EP” (2020) in collaboration with Lena Platonos, and “Time” (2022), with guest Andreas Polyzogopoulos on trumpet and flugelhorn. He has participated in various festivals and concerts abroad and in Greece such as Fabrik (Hamburg), Goldbekhaus (Hamburg), Athens Epidaurus Festival, B-flat Jazzclub (Berlin), Zig Zag Jazzclub (Berlin), Syros Jazz Festival, The Zoo (Athens), Music Showcase Greece (Thessaloniki), Red Bull Music (London), Costen Hall Athens, Half Note Jazz Club, Heraklion Jazz Festival and others. She has written the music for children’s novels and has been a finalist in the Greek International Women Awards (2022, 2023) and in the “Oticons Faculty International Film Music Competition 2021”.
The production is held in the framework of the programme 2024 of the Ministry of Culture’s institution, “All of Greece, One Culture”
Hospitality Partner
Activity aligned with Goals 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 16, 17
