Art, athletics and technology merge

Sculptor Aggelika Korovessi speaks to her computer. And it answers her with inspiration.

In celebration of this summer’s Olympics in Athens, Korovessi used a computer to transform spoken words such as “shotput” and “peace” into graphs that inspired sculptures.

To begin one piece, Korovessi said “alma” -- the Greek word for high jump -- slowly and distinctly into the machine. The computer came up with a wavelike graph representing the tone, volume and emphasis of her voice. The shape reminded her of a bird’s wing. The result: a twisted bronze figure of a winged athlete, hurtling across the bar.

A two-week show of her works in wood, bronze, stainless steel and other metals opens today at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The sculptures are accompanied by her oil paintings of ideal athletes.

Korovessi’s show is part of the Greek government’s $104-million effort to revive something akin to the ancient Olympics, when not just athletes but also playwrights, orators, poets and artists won prizes.

First shown in Cologne, Germany, it will travel to Los Angeles, Paris, Madrid, The Hague, Brussels, London and Athens, ending up in Beijing.

Korovessi, 52, began her career by reconstructing prehistoric, human-like remains from an archeological dig, for a scientific conference. Since then she has won prizes and commissions for public statues in Greece, Italy and Spain.

She represented Greece in an exhibit of sculpture from countries of the European Union at the Kennedy Center in 2001. Her new show is her first exclusive exhibit in the United States.

For the 2004 Olympics, Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos launched a “Cultural Olympiad” with a four-year, $104-million budget.