2009/10/11 Jim Andrews <[log in to unmask]>

The Brazilian artist Regina Célia Pinto has created a 2 DVD project on the
work of David Daniels, described below.



*DAVID DANIELS' 200+HUMAN BEINGÈD HYMN TO HUMANITY*

The* American poet David Daniels *(1933-2008) has always amazed me, not only
because of his kindness and wisdom but also the ingenuity with which he
crafted his shape poems with a computer program like "Word for Windows." It
is impressive to note the quality/innovation of the shapes he obtained with
his texts/poems/animations using software that was not designed for that
purpose. Not only that, but the ease with which he worked and played with
the language is enviable. Reading and observing his poems is always a
process of rediscovery, because they contain a dual semiotic system, one for
writings and the other for imagery.

I followed the creation of his 200 + Humans with a sense of enchantment,
thanks to the vast net that enables artists to exchange experiences in an
international context. This series is fascinating, not only because of its
undeniable artistic value but because of its anthropological aspect. Daniels
constructed his poems by asking many different kinds of people from
different countries some very simple questions. As a result, these poems
reveal similarities and differences, while demonstrating what humans are
like at the beginning of the 21st century. I can't help imagining what it
would be like if someone read these poems in the next century, and have fun
imagining that person's (?) response.

It is also interesting to underscore that, mixed in with the human beings
mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are some familiar famous figures,
such as Shakespeare, Edith Piaf, Mozart, Marx, Charles Dickens, Fernando
Pessoa, Kafka, Freud and even Jesus, all of whom are eternally human and
recreated through Daniels's imagination.

As a result, it is very moving to present the "Humans" series by David
Daniels, which I have produced in DVD format. This will be one more way of
attempting to preserve his Poems.

To know more browser at: http://arteonline.arq.br/humans/

*CONTENT:*

*DVD 1* - to be inserted in a computer's DVD drive.

The Humans series in PDF format, exactly as Daniels produced it.
The essay *Lift up Your Heads, O Ye Gates, An Appreciation of David

Daniels, *by British author and critic *Edward Picot (http://hyperex.co.uk/)
*.

The interview with *David Daniels *(http://thegatesofparadise.com) that*
Jorge

Luiz Antonio*   (http://www.vispo.com/misc/BrazilianDigitalPoetry.htm) and I
conducted in 2004.

*DVD 2* - to be viewed on any DVD player

A page for all the *humans* in the series, with sound and movement, a

festival of colors and unusual shapes.



For now the DVD boxes will be sent to new media art archives and to Daniel's
family. However, If you are interested or if you are a curator of a library
or university archive, send a message to [log in to unmask] and
I will contact you soon.

All the best,
Regina Célia Pinto