Abstract

Penelope is a combinatory sonnet generator film based on Homer’s The Odyssey that addresses themes of longing, mass extinction, and migration, which are not simply relegated to the past. [1] Re-combinations of lines of the poem, video clips, and musical compositions produce a different version of the project on each run. Penelope was co-produced by Alejandro Albornoz (Sound), Roderick Coover (Video), and Scott Rettberg (Text and Code). Other contributors to the project include Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra oboist Marion Walker, voice actress Heather Morgan, and actors Helen Amourgi, Kostas Annikas Deftereos, and Sophia Kagadis in non-speaking roles. The video and the text were developed by Coover and Rettberg during 2017 residencies at the Ionian Center for Arts and Culture in Kefalonia, Greece. Kefalonia is reputedly the historic home of Homer.