Francesco Misceo acts in the field of digital and performing arts by creating many forms of art, from stage performances to exhibitions combining real and virtual worlds. He creates timeless poetry through a visual language based on playing and enjoyment, which breeds imagination. Francesco’s work is acknowledged for his highly holistic artistic methodology with strong digital background, which considers not only physical elements as dance, but also optical, sonal, sensorial and, above all, spatiotemporal components as part of the choreography.
Nowadays, I would define myself as a multimedia artist working in the field of digital arts and performing arts. What I do is that I merge contemporary dance with digital art and nature. I’m originally from Italy, with a background in performing arts. I graduated from Peridance, a dance school in New York, and did hip hop and ballet. This is where it all started: with the love of performance.
I like the field of cinematography as well, and I knew that if I wanted to make it as an artist, I needed to explore and study multiple fields. It’s quite difficult to succeed as an artist in Italy: almost every significant opportunity or exhibition I’ve secured has originated from an international context rather than a local one. So when I started getting into digital art, I used to spend 24 hours a day in front of the PC, watching YouTube tutorials, experimenting… and here I am now.
The central element of my pieces is always the human body, that I put at the heart of technological and artistic challenges by experimenting with new technologies. That’s the beauty of new media artists: everyone’s technique is different, unique. The boundaries are not as clearly defined as in the past.
I get inspired by the location first. Then, I play some music and I improvise—I’ve never choreographed myself. I usually improvise on whatever I’m feeling at that moment, in those specific circumstances. I like to explore my body, and I’m really interested in the Gaga method, a contemporary dance movement where you improvise with the space.
I am based in Bologna, but it’s a big city and I don’t feel inspired by its urban energy. For instance, sometimes, I’ll go to the top of a mountain to work with the fog and the general atmosphere. Most of the time, though, my creative process is to go film in different countries. For the In the Sandstorm art piece, I was in New York, on the Rockaway beach, and there was a sandstorm which inspired my movements. I felt very fluid motions coming to me, not strong movements. If I’m in the city, on the other hand, it can lead to more acrobatic movements, closer to break dance.
Again, it’s very instinctive. I just go to the location and let it speak to me, I listen to my feelings, to how the surrounding elements make me feel.
My choice of visual effect is usually connected to the music I’m listening to. As I’m dancing and filming, I’m already imagining the result. When I work with more experimental or abstract sounds, I tend to use the particle system because it feels more organic and fluid. I use sensors to capture and track my movements, and then generate those particles in real time with Touchdesigner, through coding. I’ve done this so many times already that I can visualize the entire frame before even editing it. On the other hand, my other visual language is much more geometric, being composed of stripes and sharp lines. This aesthetic is more intense, so I pair it with music with clear beats and heavy rhythms. It’s more about the pulse of the music.
Sometimes, the music I listen to in the moment, as I’m dancing, is not the music I’m going to use afterwards in the work; it just helps me move in space and improvise. Otherwise, you’d just hear the birds, the noises of nature… But it’s not the same process, of course. You could listen to your heartbeat and move with it, but personally, I work with music.
I want the viewer to experience a sensation similar to soaring through the air: the body being released of gravity and tension. There is a specific beauty in seeing the human body disappear into its environment, almost merging with the landscape. The most important thing about my work is the connection between nature, the body, and digital art. Being barefoot is a way for me to stay grounded and connected to the environment I find myself in–I’m trying to explore that sensory link more deeply.
My work is about sharing the message of listening to nature in holistic terms, about finding that point where body and nature become one.