STATE OF THE ART AWARDS FOUR ARTISTS

Artists Cao Guimarães (Brazil) and Graciela Taquini (Argentina), authors of “Concerto para Clorofila” and “Lo Sublime/Banal”, respectively, have shared the State of the Art Award, granted by the jury of the 15th Videobrasil International Electronic Art Festival. The Festival also granted Cao Guimarães the Videobrasil Gasworks Residency Award, a three-month scholarship in the London institution, including the production of an audiovisual work. The jury has also granted two honorable mentions, one to the video “Plano-(Con)Seqüência” (Brazil, 2004), by artist Rodrigo Minelli Figueira, and another to the CD-ROM “A Space of Time”, by Mexican Diego Bonilla.

In their statement, the jurors – Marcos Moraes, course coordinator for Plastic Arts at FAAP (Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado), Mexican artist Ximena Cuevas, and Argentine-Israeli curator Sergio Edelsztein – have explained the division of the prize between the works of Cao Guimarães and Graciela Taquini: “The pieces approach with different aspects of the diversity of experiences in the realm of electronic art. Cao Guimarães deals with the evocative power of image, sound, and motion, while Graciela Taquini tackles biographical, cultural and, above all, gastronomic issues. The choice of works has contemplated the sensitive, critical, and affirmative stance of the authors’ individual commitment towards the state of the art in the contemporary world”. Regarding the honorable mentions, the statement goes on to say: “Along the same line, and in keeping with the values identified in the awarded works, the Jury grants Honorable Mentions to “Plano (Con) Seqüência”, by Rodrigo Minelli, and to “A Space of Time”, by Diego Bonilla.

In another statement, the Festival’s Selection and Programming Committee, comprised of Solange Farkas, Christine Mello, Eduardo de Jesus, and André Brasil, justifies the choice of Cao Guimarães for the Videobrasil Gasworks Residency Award, which includes his participation in the renowned international residency program of the London studio and gallery complex, in addition to granting him access to Gasworks equipment, funding for the production of an art piece, and post production facilities. “The work of Cao Guimarães embodies the spirit of the “State of the Art” section of the Festival: it is an aesthetic contribution to electronic art, as well as a significant contribution to the state of contemporary art as a whole. His peculiar brand of art incorporates elements of photography, performance, literature, installation, music, experimental cinema, and documentary film into the electronic media.”

THE WINNERS

State of the Art Award
Videobrasil Gasworks Residency Award

Cao Guimarães (Brazil)
Cao Guimarães is a plastic artist, director and producer of videos and films, columnist, and writer; he studied philosophy at the Minas Gerais Federal University (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais), and Photographic Studies at the Westminster University, London. Guimarães is known for experimental short films such as “Otto, eu sou um outro” (1998), “Sopro” (2000), and “Word/World” (2001), among others. As a plastic artist, he participated in the 25th International Biennial of São Paulo (2002), and in the Triennial Barcelona Art Report (2001), among others. “Concerto Para Clorofila” (2004) is a poetic exercise in the shapes, colors, and rhythms of nature.

State of the Art Award

Graciela Taquini (Argentina)
An international curator, Taquini was a video production pioneer in Argentina, and is the author of a prolific body of experimental TV work. In “Lo Sublime/Banal” (Argentina, 2004), she prepares dessert with a friend, recalling the day in 1971 when they met writer Julio Cortázar in the back of a pizzeria in Paris.

Honorable Mention

Diego Bonilla (Mexico)
Holder of a Master’s Degree in Mass Communications and a Digital Media teacher at California State University, the artist combines various media into pieces that expose our relationship with information structures. The CD-ROM “A Space of Time” (Mexico/US, 2004) offers two different views of the history of an abandoned building. The ‘Stream of Consciousness’ mode shows the scenes in a random sequence. ‘Limbo’ mode activates a game that uses the building as its scenario.

Honorable Mention

Rodrigo Minelli (Brazil)
Holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology of Culture at PUC-SP and a Professor of Video and New Technologies at UFMG. Awarded the VItae Arts Scholarship (Bolsa Vitae de Artes) in 2002, Minelli has worked as a curator, consultant, professor, and video director in institutions such as Rede Minas de Televisão (Minas Television Network). He is one of the founders of the feitoamãos collective. “Plano-(Con)Seqüência” (Brazil, 2004) describes an imaginary conversation between poets Sylvia Plath and Vladimir Maiakovski.