In the twentieth century phonetic, and later on sound poetry, have embodied an act of resistance. Although these led to the abandonment of semantics, the avant-gardes made them the champions of their struggle against systems, beliefs and dogmas of the last century.
What remains as legacy to these heroic struggles today, of myths and legends? As times have changed, however, so have fighters. Utopias no longer are the same. New technologies have invaded the space of language today, for the better or for the worse. In the latter case, imposing a digital rationalisation of words and sounds.
Shakespeare’s English becomes that of Wall Street. For the better, offering language infinite sources and tools.
Since the ‘50s, technological progress has allowed phonetic poetry to become sound poetry. We do, however, get confused by the use of these tools as simple vectors, the absence of poetry behind technical process, or even worse, the fascination of their (cultural) power.
We get lost also because orality has made a great revival in art in recent years, and the inappropriate use of such word leads to further confusion. Sound poetry evolves with its times. A direct and immersive way to relate and engage with these artists who always use words and sounds as an exercise of emancipation. Poetry still allows us to put humanity at the heart of life and art. How to remain human when the world multiplies? How to affirm singularity?
The Bonotto Foundation was established in Molvena in north Italy (province of Vincenza) in order to promote the Luigi Bonotto Collection which has collected, since the early Seventies to the present, numerous testimonies: works, audio documents, videos, posters, books, magazines and editions of Fluxus artists from the late Fifties.
Cover: Henri Chopin, AUDIOPOEMS. Tangent Records, London, 1971. 12” vinyl record. Collection Luigi Bonotto
