Prof. Don Foresta - research artist and theoretician in art
Interests: science and art
Prof. Don Foresta is an artist engaged in research, known for his expertise in both the arts and sciences, particularly in leveraging high-capacity digital networks for artistic purposes. He is a specialist in art and science whose principal work in the field, “Mondes Multiples”, written in 1986 was published in 1990.
He was a professor at the Ecole Nationale Supèrieure des Arts Décortifs and the Ecole Nationale Supèrieure d’Arts - Paris/Cergy and a research fellow at the London School of Economics.
He has been working for over 40 years in developing the network as an artistic tool and is presently building a permanent high band-width network, MARCEL, for artistic, educational and cultural experimentation <www.mmmarcel.org>. He began MARCEL while invited artist/professor at the National Studio of Contemporary Art, Le Fresnoy, Lille France. His first on-line exchange in 1981 was between the Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT where he was a fellow and the American Center in Paris where he was director of the Media Art program. He was a commissioner to the 42nd Venice Biennial in 1986 where he built one of the first computer networks between artists.
Foresta holds a doctorate degree from the Sorbonne in Information Science. He has both US and French nationalities and was named “Chevalier” of the Order of Arts and Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. His work “Mondes Multiples" , published in French in 1990, is recognized as a landmark in the fields of art and science and art and technology .