Alessandro De Francesco

Artist in Residence at The European Graduate School / EGS.

Biography

Alessandro De Francesco (b. 1981) is a poet, artist, and essayist, as well as the founder of the Language Art Studio. His work has been published, presented, and exhibited in multiple international contexts. In addition to being an artist in residence at The European Graduate School / EGS since 2008, he has held residencies at STEIM Amsterdam (2007 and 2009), at the Mulhouse Center for Contemporary Art (2012) and for the BeHave – Pubic Art Experience programme in Luxembourg (2015-2016). He also founded and directed the poetry writing atelier at the LILA Department of the École Normale Supérieure in Paris.

Born in Pisa, Alessandro De Francesco holds an MA summa cum laude in Philosophy from the University of Pisa and a PhD summa cum laude in Poetics and Literary Theory from the University of Paris-Sorbonne, which he defended under the direction of Professor Georges Molinié. He is currently based in Brussels and Basel. De Francesco also studied philosophy and comparative literature at the Écoles Normales Supérieures of Paris and Lyon, where he collaborated with the Centre d’études poétiques, directed by Jean-Marie Gleize, and at the Technische Universität Berlin. Trained as a musician as well, he plays bass professionally, has attended the Siena Jazz International Master Classes, and has studied composition and electronic music at IRCAM Paris, the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and the Centro Musica & Arte in Florence. Internationally regarded as a significant and ground-breaking poet, artist, and theoretician, Alessandro De Francesco has taught creative writing at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and the University of Paris-Est Créteil, as well as literary theory at the Universities of Paris-Sorbonne and Basel, and Italian contemporary poetry at the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon. He currently teaches at the Basel Academy of Art & Design, the Bern University of the Arts, the Ecole de Recherche Graphique and La Cambre Visual Arts, both in Brussels. His work as an artist, which he describes as “Language Art” and “poetry as artistic practice,” focuses on the interaction between poetry, sound art, installation, digital writing, and page design.

Since his very first works, Alessandro De Francesco has sought to deconstruct the borders dividing poetry and contemporary art on the one hand, and lyrical and experimental approaches to writing on the other hand. He has done so through a permanent redefinition of a series of key themes: non-linear and multidimensional narratives, perception, emotion, childhood, possibility and events, information and media, and technology. His poetry and artistic work are haunted by questions relating to the unspeakable and the unknown. Under the aegis of Language Art, Alessandro De Francesco conceived the innovative practices that he calls “reading environments” and “augmented writing” (www.augmentedwriting.com). These practices, spanning genres ranging from poetry to the sonic, visual, and conceptual arts, describe De Francesco’s critical use of technology and digital media within his poetic and artistic work. A sort of iconoclastic double of augmented and virtual realities, his “reading environments” and “augmented writing” consist of sonic and visual enhancements of multiple textual materials by means of reading digital voice processing and writing design software.

Alessandro De Francesco is a unique artist because he bases all of his work on the elaboration of language. He creates volumes of phrases and architectures with words on paper, constructions of virtual writing resonating in space through voice processing. His oeuvre is radical because the text, written or spoken, is the sole medium. His work is often based on repetitions of poetical forms that he processes in multiple languages, exploring the inscription of the work of art in culture, time, and space, thus reacting against the hyper-presence of the image in contemporary societies.

Alessandro De Francesco has published the following books: Lo spostamento degli oggetti (2008); da 1000m (2009); Redéfinition (2010); Ridefinizione (2011); Augmented Writing (2013); La vision à distance (in 2015); Continuum. Writings on Poetry as Artistic Practice (2015); Remote Vision. Poetry 1999-2015 (2016); Three Poetic Engines (2016); La visione a distanza (2018), ((( (2020). His poetry has been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, and Swedish and has been published in poetry journals worldwide. He is also very active as a theoretician and translator and has published several articles focusing on Western poetry, aesthetics, and conceptual writing from the 19th century until today, as well as translations from Italian, French, German, and English poetry and theory.

Alessandro participated in several shows including the Biennale Gherdeina VI, 2018 (curator: Adam Budak); Poetry as Artistic Practice (solo, Anima Ludens, Brussels, curators: François de Coninck and Gregory Lang), 2017-2018; Modus Operandi, Société, Brussels (curators: LabAu and Gregory Lang), 2017; Art Contest, Brussels Museum of Art & Design ADAM, 2016-17 (curator: Valérie Boucher); Xerox, Société, Brussels, 2016 (curators: LabAu and Gregory Lang); BeHave, Belval, Luxembourg, 2016 (curators: Delcroix & Pinsky); Regionale 16, Kunst Raum Riehen, Switzerland, 2015-16 (curator: Kiki Seiler-Michalitsi); Indent, Société, Brussels, 2015 (curators: LabAu), TU35, Pecci Centre for Contemporary Art, Prato, 2015 (curator: Chiara Ruberti); Art by Telephone…Recalled, La Panacée – centre de création contemporaine, Montpellier, 2014 (curators: Sébastien Pluot & Fabien Vallos); Chrématistique, CNEAI – Centre national de l’estampe et de l’art imprimé, Chatou, 2014 (curators: Fabien Vallos & Jérémie Gaulin). As of 2020, he is currently preparing two new solo shows and a performance project at the Kunstmuseum Basel.

Alessandro De Francesco has lectured and performed all over Europe and North America, including The Berlin University of the Arts (2006, 2007), Ausland (Berlin, 2007), the E-Media Centre (Tallinn, 2007), The European Graduate School (2008, 2012-2015), La poésie/nuit (Lyon, 2008), Casa delle Letterature (Rome, 2008), Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris, 2009, 2010), San Francisco State University (2009), Outpost for Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, 2009), La scène poétique (Lyon, 2009), Foundry (London, 2009), Galerie Martine Aboucaya (Paris, 2012), The Kelly Writers House at U-Penn (Philadelphia, 2013), CUNY Graduate College (New York, 2013), Gaîté Lyrique (Paris, 2013), La Panacée (Montpellier, 2013), Actoral (Marseille, 2014), Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris, 2014), Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (2015), Personal Structures, Venice Biennale (2015), Kunsthalle Basel (2016), Fondation Lafayette Anticipation (2016), Brussels Museum of Art & Design (2016), CNEAI (2017), Basel Poetry Festival (2018), LUMA Foundation Arles (2018), Maison des arts de Schaerbeek (2019), etc.

Works

Books

Continuum. Writings on Poetry as Artistic Practice, Francesco, Alessandro De. Continuum. Writings on Poetry as Artistic Practice. The Hague / Tirana: Uitgeverij, 2015. ISBN: 9789491914065

Ridefinizione, De Francesco, Alessandro. Ridefinizione. La Camera Verde, 2011.

Redéfinition, De Francesco, Alessandro. Redéfinition. Translated by Doriane Bier, Laurent Prost, Noura Wedell, and Caroline Zekri. Mix, 2010.

da 1000m / dès 1000m / from 1000m, De Francesco, Alessandro. da 1000m / dès 1000m / from 1000m. Gammm, 2009.

Lo Spostamento Degli Oggetti, De Francesco, Alessandro. Lo Spostamento Degli Oggetti. Introduction by Flavio Ermini. Cierre Grafica – Anterem, 2008.

Translations

Remote Vision

Francesco, Alessandro De, trans. Remote Vision. New York: Punctum Books. 2016.

La vision a` distance

Francesco, Alessandro De, trans. La vision a` distance.Paris: Mix. 2016

Quadranti / Cadrans

De Francesco, Alessandro, trans. Quadranti / Cadrans, by G. Marzaioli. Mix, 2010.

Berlin. (UN)gleichzeitiges / BerliNO Allo Stesso Tempo

De Francesco, Alessandro, trans. Berlin. (UN)gleichzeitiges / BerliNO Allo Stesso Tempo, by A. Sanmann. La Camera Verde, 2009.

Odd Directions / Direzioni Dispari
De Francesco, Alessandro, trans. Odd Directions / Direzioni Dispari, by N. Wedell. Cierre Grafica, 2009.

Wie Zungen Sich Halten / Stavano Attaccati Come Lingue

De Francesco, Alessandro, trans. Wie Zungen Sich Halten / Stavano Attaccati Come Lingue, by C. Gabler. Cierre Grafica. 2008.

Articles

Éviter l’obstacle cognitif : changements de paradigme et écriture augmentée

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Éviter l’obstacle cognitif : changements de paradigme et écriture augmentée.” , January 19, 2014.

Ridefinizione – Herdefinitie

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Herdefinitie.” Translated by Vincent W.J. Van Gerven Oei. Year 20, No. 4, January (2012).

The End (An Agenda)

De Francesco, Alessandro, “The End (An Agenda).” Translated by Belle Cushing. December (2011).

Assente obliqua – Absente oblique

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Assente obliqua – Absente oblique.” Translated by Caroline Zekri. privatephotoreview.com, May 2011.

Su e per Théorie des prépositions di Claude Royet-Journoud

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Su e per di Claude Royet-Journoud.” www.puntocritico.eu, 2011.

Covering an enhanced real : transcrire, traduire et écrire sur Jean-Marie Gleize

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Covering an enhanced real : transcrire, traduire et écrire sur Jean-Marie Gleize.” 26-27 (2010).

Gräf, De Francesco, Gleize e la post-poesia

De Francesco, Alessandro, Jean-Marie Gleize, and Dieter M. Gräf. “Gräf, De Francesco, Gleize e la post-poesia.” 40 (2010).

Ostacoli, ipotesi, complessità. Su Ridefinizione e sul mio lavoro poetico

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ostacoli, ipotesi, complessità. Su Ridefinizione e sul mio lavoro poetico.” 5 (2010).

In assenza del corpo. Sulla poesia di Giulio Marzaioli

De Francesco, Alessandro. “In assenza del corpo. Sulla poesia di Giulio Marzaioli.” 13 (2010).

“Ridefinizione”

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione.” 15, Fall (2010).

Redefinition

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Redefinition.” Translated by Noura Wedell. . Wave Three, August (2010).

Porta all’esterno e al presente

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Porta all’esterno e al presente.” 41 (2009).

Ridefinizione

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione.” , November 6, 2009.

Ridefinizione – Redefinition

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Redefinition.” Translated by Noura Wedell. Vol. 12, No. 2 (2009).

Moltiplicare le labbra: per Antonio Porta

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Moltiplicare le labbra: per Antonio Porta.” 12 (2009).

l’

De Francesco, Alessandro. ” l’ .” May 2009.

Ridefinizione – Redefinition

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Redefinition.” Translated by Noura Wedell. April 2009.

Ridefinizione – Redefinition

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Redefinition.” Translated by Noura Wedell. 35-36 (2009).

Ridefinizione

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione.” 39 (2009).

Ridefinizione – Redéfinition

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Redéfinition.” Translated by Doriane Bier, Laurent Prost, Noura Wedell, and Caroline Zekri. January 2009.

Ridefinizione

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione.” 77 (2008).

Lo spostamento degli oggetti – Förflyttandet av Objekten

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Lo spostamento degli oggetti – Förflyttandet av Objekten,” and “Ridefinizione – Redefinition.” Translated by Gustav Sjöberg. 39-41 (2008).

Lo spostamento degli oggetti – Le déplacement des objets

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Lo spostamento degli oggetti – Le déplacement des objets.” , November 2008.

Ridefinizione – Redéfinition

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Redéfinition.” Translated by Doriane Bier, Laurent Prost, Noura Wedell, and Caroline Zekri. 4 (2008).

Ridefinizione – Neubestimmung

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione – Neubestimmung.” Translated by Angela Sanmann. 5 (2008).

Ridefinizione

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Ridefinizione.” 37 (2008).

Lyrik-Diskurs

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Lyrik-Diskurs.” Translated by Dieter M. Gräf. . 2008.

Interlocution et réalité entre Vocativo et La Beltà. Je et Tu dans la poésie de Andrea Zanzotto

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Interlocution et réalité entre . Je et Tu dans la poésie de Andrea Zanzotto.” 4 (2008).

“Lo spostamento degli oggetti – Die Verschiebung der Objekte” and “Ridefinizione – Neubestimmung.”

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Lo spostamento degli oggetti – Die Verschiebung der Objekte” and “Ridefinizione – Neubestimmung.” Translated by Angela Sanmann. January 2008.

Anche noi

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Anche noi.” 13 (2007).

Lo spostamento degli oggetti

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Lo spostamento degli oggetti.” 75 (2007).

La luce pomeridiana e altre poesie

De Francesco, Alessandro. “La luce pomeridiana e altre poesie.” Vol. IV, No. 7 (2007).

Sosta nel sottopasso, in dormiveglia

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Sosta nel sottopasso, in dormiveglia.” 45 (2007).

Alcune riflessioni di poetica

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Alcune riflessioni di poetica.” 8 (2007).

Lo spostamento degli oggetti

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Lo spostamento degli oggetti.” , January 2007.

la condivisione

De Francesco, Alessandro. “la condivisione.” (2005).

Gli epigrammi di Rottluff

De Francesco, Alessandro. “Gli epigrammi di Rottluff.” No. 1, Vol. VI (2001).

Lectures

Alessandro De Francesco

Remote Vision and (((

25.10.2015
Alessandro De Francesco

Augmented Writing

15.10.2013
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Multidimensionality, and Remote Vision

07.09.2012
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 9/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 8/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 6/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 5/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 4/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 3/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 2/9

29.08.2007
Alessandro De Francesco

Poetry, Age and Politics 1/9

29.08.2007