Marcel·lí Antúnez Roca (born 13 December 1959, in

Moià Moià () (Spanish: Moyá) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Moianès, Catalonia, Spain. Since May 2015 it has been the capital of the new comarca of Moianès; previously it was in Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the central reg ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

) is an artist from Spain who uses digital technologies in the fields of

mechatronic Mechatronics engineering, also called mechatronics, is the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems employing mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering and computer engineering, and also ...

performance and

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...

Artistic career

La Fura dels Baus (1979–1989)

While pursuing his studies in

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

, Marcel•lí Antúnez co-founded the collective

La Fura dels Baus La Fura dels Baus () is a Spanish theatrical group founded in 1979 in Moià, Barcelona (Spain), known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan me ...

with

Carles Padrissa Carles () is a common Catalan given name of Germanic origin, which also appears as a surname. The English language equivalent is Charles. The name Carles can refer to: People *Carles (name) Places *Carles, Iloilo, a 2nd class municipality in th ...

Pere Tantinyà Pere may refer to: *Pere, Hungary, a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county *Pärtel-Peeter Pere (born 1985), Estonian entrepreneur, urban strategist, and politician * Rangimārie Te Turuki Arikirangi Rose Pere (1937–2020), Māori New Zealand e ...

Quico Palomar Quico or Quicos may refer to: People * Quico (footballer) (José Antonio Ruiz Palácios, born 1961), former Spanish soccer player * Quico Canseco (born 1949), American politician * Quico Chacón (born 1934), former professional footballer who p ...

, and

Teresa Puig Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or reap", or from θέ ...

. The works of La Fura dels Baus were primarily performed on the streets of Barcelona. Town councils in the city would arrange for the group to perform in parades. He was part of the collective from 1979 until 1989 as a performer, musician and artistic coordinator in the first three performances of the group: the trilogy ''Accions'' (1984), ''Suz /o /Suz'' (1985) and ''Tier Mon'' (1988).

Los Rinos (1985–1992)

With Sergi Caballero and Pau Nubiola, he founded the group

Los Rinos LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

, initially focusing on

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

. Later, his activity extended to painting, video action performances, concerts and wall installation, such as ''Rinodigestió'' (1987), a system of interconnected wooden and glass boxes containing decaying organic matter.

Solo career (1992– present)

Since 1992, Marcel•lí Antúnez has developed a series of works in various formats exploring

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, technology, society, and culture. Using drawing and painting as the basis of his work, he used techniques such as interactive sculpture of both organic and artificial materials, growing microorganisms, and interactive performance art incorporating cinematic elements such as animation, as well as multiple projection screens and sound systems.

Mechatronic performances and expanded cinema

*Epizoo (1994) *Afasia (1998) *POL (2002) *Transpermia (2003) *Protomembrana (2006) *Hipermembrana (2007) *Cotrone (2010) *Pseudo (2012)

Installations

*''JoAn, l'home de carn'' (1992) *''La vida sin amor no tiene sentido'' (1993) *''Agar'' (1999) *''Alfabeto'' (1999) *''Requiem'' (1999) *''Human Machine'' (2001) *''Metzina'' (2004) *''Tantal'' (2004) *''DMD Europa'' (2007) *''Metamembrana'' (2009)

Exhibitions

*''Epifania'' (1999) *''Interattività furiosa'' (2007) *''43 somni de la raó'' (2007) *''Outras peles'' (2008) *''Hibridum Bestiarium'' (2008) *''Salón de Juegos'' (2009)

Films

*''Retrats'' (1993) *''Frontón. El hombre navarro va a la Luna'' (1993) *''Satèl•lits Obscens'' (2000) *''El Dibuixant'' (2005
IMDB file
*''El Peix Sebastiano'' (2012

Terminology

Marcel•lí Antúnez has described his work using some unique neologism, terminology: Dreskeleton: an active scenic component using software created by the artist for the purpose of controlling the dynamics and interactions between the different elements of scene. Sistematurgia:

dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The role of a dramaturg in the field of modern dramaturgy is to help realize the multifaceted world of the play for a production u ...

of computer systems. Fembrana: costumes with range, position and touch sensors embedded in latex prosthetics.Antúnez Roca, Marcel•lí, "Membrana. Génesis, satélites y episodios". AAVV, ''Protomembrana, Metamembrana, Hipermembrana. Un proyecto de Marcel•lí Antúnez Roca'' (Exhibition Catalogue), Barcelona, ACTAR, 2009, p. 73.

Awards

*First prize in the Étrange festival (París, 1994), for ''Frontón'' *Best New Media en Nouveau Cinéma et Nouveaux Médias (Montreal, 1999), for ''Afasia'' *Max award to the alternative theatre (España, 2001), for ''Afasia'' *FAD award (Barcelona, 2001), for ''Afasia'' *Honorable Mention in Prix Ars Electronica (2003), for POL *Ciutat de Barcelona award in multimedia (2004), for ''Mondo Antúnez''

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

*Giannachi, Gabriella
Virtual Theatres: An Introduction

External links

Official artist website Artist videosAbout the documentary ''El Dibuixant''
(''Avui'' newspaper, in Catalan)
About ''Metamembrana''
(''Avui'' newspaper, in Catalan)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antunez Roca, Marcel li 1959 births Living people Artists from Catalonia Spanish installation artists Spanish performance artists Spanish contemporary artists