Videocittà restarts by closing the sun in the Gasometer

(by Chiara Venuto) The sun is trapped in the Gasometer, the stages are all ready. Videocittà returns to enchant the roman nights with installations, video art, immersive experiences and not only. From 3 to 6 July - one day more than the previous editions - the Festival of Vision and Culture Digital "will demonstrate that there are places where thousands of people can meet, explore artistic experiences and discover new things": word of its creator, Francesco Rutelli. Given the premises, the presentation of Videocittà does not it could only be an experience within the experience. Rutelli, in the Cicero's role for the invited journalists, he meets us in front of the Church of San Francesco a Ripa. There, we visit the cell where St. Francis rested in Rome. "He came here on foot", explains the former mayor of the capital, "and he slept on a rock" again kept in the room. This first stage is not a coincidence. "We wanted to secularly link two moments of extraordinary creative vivacity", or the eight hundred years of the Canticle of the creatures and the eighth edition of Videocittà: "the beauty of the The sun gives us energy, light and also imagination." Precisely for this is the work that will illuminate the Gasometer - signed by Quayola - it's called Solar. To go and see it, we cross the Tiber on a dinghy of the Fire Brigade. We get off the boat and come led towards the revalued treasure of industrial archaeology. "This is the first work I've done exclusively with light. - Quayola reflects - I hope it works, there is no way to test on such a large scale", and laughs. Considering the scenic effect, the answer is: yes, it works. Inspired by the optical phenomenon of rays twilight, Solar reproduces an infinite cycle of dawns and digital sunsets through 200 spotlights that move in rhythm. "Inside the Gasometer there is a mechanical arm (like those of certain factories, ed.) which is used to direct and control motorized lights. The robot becomes a choreographer of the rays bright - says the author -. I try to put myself in the shoes of the impressionist painter who confronts nature. Solar is the documentation of my research on the perceptions of the sun". But Videocittà is not just this. "We have a great focus on artificial intelligence - says the creative director, Francesco Dobrovich - we will talk about it during the whole festival with debates to see what the evolutions will be technologies that will have the greatest impact on our culture." The Canticle of the Creatures will be reflected in the work of the artists involved, who will explore the relationship between sustainability, environment and digital innovation. I music audio visual show will involve from Max Cooper to Victoria, Caribou, okgiorgio, but also Dardust, Ela Minus and Noémi Büchi. In opening on July 3rd there will be the Italian preview of Onirica (), live performance by fuse* where performers and AI interact. And on the same day Eno will be shown, a generative documentary about Brian Eno who changes at every screening due to the effect of an AI. The video art review will start with the Chinese artist Lu Yang and its technologies that immerse visitors in a material world video game-like. The Ayahuasca virtual reality experience is not to be missed - Kosmic Journey by Jan Kounen: Eight people at a time will enter into the world of visions stimulated by the drink for 25 minutes. As for the talks, among the guests on the schedule there are Luca Ravenna, Caterina Guzzanti, Coolman Coffeedan, Paolo Crepet and Francesco De Carlo. Finally, there will be three thematic meetings: "Pinus pinea from a botanical point of view" with Gian Marco Mapelli, expert in forest ecology and biodiversity; "The Pinus pinea in the history of art" with Cristina Giopp, historian of art and curator of important international exhibitions; and "The Pinus pinea in Italian literature" with Edoardo Prati, on connection between nature and word in the literary tradition.