Associação Cultural Videobrasil

Rafael França In a short but intense and diversified career, Rafael França (1957-1991) has investigated media as distinct as urban interventions (with the group 3NÓS3), graphic arts, and finally video art. Ten years after the author’s death, Videobrasil pays a tribute to this visionary artist with a retrospective of his video work and the launching of a documentary – the second film of the Videobrasil Authors Collection. Resulting from an exhaustive research, emotional meetings with former collaborators and teachers, the documentary – directed by Alex Gabassi – follows the artistic path of Rafael França, whose production, courageous and rebellious, laid bare his very life. Such is the case of "Prelude to an Announced Death" of 1991, a video made in Chicago (where he had gone to live in 1982, thanks to a scholarship) in which he speaks of his approaching death – a consequence of Aids. The documentary brings to us valuable material, such as an interview given by American researcher Charles Nafus, as well as images provided by Video Data Bank of Chicago, where Rafael França studied and taught. Among the testimonials, are Regina Silveira’s (França’s teacher), theoretician Arlindo Machado’s, as well as statements by Mario Ramiro and Hudnilson Jr., colleagues in the 3NÓS3 group. The trio did urban interventions, such as the wrapping of statues in São Paulo, and cannily made use of the Press: action were only started after the journalists had arrived, in a game involving ideas such as visibility, manipulation and mass communication. Besides, the video tells a little about Rafael França’s little known study material, prospected at the University of São Paulo's Contemporary Art Museum by Cristina Abi of Videobrasil, responsible for the research. Thanks to the Museum’s collaboration, it was possible to gain access to 190 tapes of various formats, donated by the artist to the institution. These constitute the raw material to be used in installations, institutional material directed by the author, as well as television programmes and films used in his researches. Hugo França, Rafael’s brother, was a crucial collaborator for the video, contributing with ideas and material. Director Alex Gabassi emphasises the pioneer character of Rafael França in video art, at a moment when few Brazilian artists raised issues such as the narrative possibilities of this support. More than a documentary, the video, based on the book "Sem medo da vertigem" [Without Fear of Vertigo] by Helouise Costa, is a tribute to the artist: "those interviewed are like remembrance islands", states the director. With the retrospective exhibition and the documentary, Videobrasil brings to the public a valuable but little seen work by a transgressive artist, who has researched and experimented with video art as few have done in Brazil.

ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL VIDEOBRASIL, "13º Videobrasil": de 19 a 23 de setembro de 2001, pp. 124 and 125, São Paulo, SP, 2001.

DVD bonus + about the artists + about the directors Bonus "Rafael França: Work as Testament" includes a full version of "Prelude to an Announced Death" (5', 1991), the artist's final work, completed shortly before his demise. It is one of the rare moments in which França's work in video assumes a quasi-documentary character. Set against a dramatic rendition of "La Traviata" by Brazilian. The artist Born in 1957, Rafael França informed his parents of his decision to devote his life to painting at the age of nine. He left Porto Alegre for São Paulo in the 1970s and, encouraged by visual artist Regina Silveira, embarked upon intense research into forms, techniques, and supports. He soon shifted from painting and works on paper to performance and public interventions. The trio 3NÓS3, formed with Mario Ramiro and Hudnilson Jr., sought to mobilize the public by having the city awaken to find its monuments wrapped up in plastic. Works by Nam June Paik and Buky Schwarz set França along the path of video art. In 1982, the artist transferred to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he researched narrative forms that eschewed the documental and established bridges with other areas, such as literature. In addition to adaptations of works by Graciliano Ramos ("Insônia") and Marguerite Yourcenar ("Du vain combat"), his video work includes authorial pieces such as "Without Fear of Vertigo" (1987) and "Prelude to an Announced Death" (1991), his confrontation with his own demise. The directors Marco Del Fiol is a director, scriptwriter, and editor of documentaries and feature films. For the Videobrasil Authors Collection he has also codirected "Mau Wal: Translated Encounters" (2002). Other directorial projects include "Emoção Art.ficial 2.0" for Instituto Itaú Cultural in 2004 and "Marepe" for the Pompidou Centre in Paris in 2005. He is responsible for the editing and coordination of the DVDs "Nomadisms: A Tribute to Waly Salomão" (2003) and "Antologia Videobrasil de Performances" (2005), from Associação Cultural Videobrasil. He has collaborated with the NGO Cedac on videos for Programa Escola que Vale [School that's Worth It Program] run by the Vale do Rio Doce Foundation. He teaches editing and camera at the Miami Ad School in São Paulo. Producer and independent director, Alex Gabassi was assistant director and stage manager at the London-based physical theatre company Theâtre de Complicité. He has produced installations and an exhibition of the work of American artist Bill Viola for the Videobrasil International Electronic Art Festival (1992). He has also directed series and specials for MTV Brasil and made music videos for Marisa Monte, Caetano Veloso, David Byrne, and Carlinhos Brown. Also in the Videobrasil Authors Collection series, he has directed the documentaries "Certain Doubts of William Kentridge" (2000) and "Akram Zaatari: A Glimpse of One Man's Vision" (2004). He is the director of a documentary entitled "About a Name" (2001) and various advertising films.

Launches, exhibitions and archives - "Rafael França: Work as Testament" launches: 2001_ - 13th Videobrasil International Electronic Art Festival, SESC Pompéia, São Paulo - Bienal do Mercosul, Porto Alegre - 13th Videobrasil - Itinerant Program, Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte - Paço das Artes, São Paulo exhibitions: 2007_ - Videobrasil Coleção de Autores, IBRACO, Colombia 2006_ - 47º Festival dei Popoli, Firenze, Itália ("The Screen of Art", December 5th, 20h15) - Videobrasil Authors Collection Retrospective, Unidade Provisória SESC Avenida Paulista, São Paulo - 1º Dockanema - Festival do Filme Documentário, Maputo, Moçambique - Arte em vídeo: a expressão por imagens em movimento, Videoteca PUC-SP, São Paulo - Shoot Me Film Festival, Den Haag, Holland - VCA na Bahia, FUNCEB, Salvador - Videobrasil Colección de Autores, La Diferencia, Colombia 2005-2006_ - Video/economy – Distributions in Global Format, ZKM, Germany 2005_ - Le Plateau, Frac Ile-de-France, France 2003_ - Ciclo de Cortos, FUNCEB, Buenos Aires - X Festival Latinoamericano de Video - Rosario 2003 2002_ - Festival Corto Circuito 2002, Naples, Italy - Itinerância Videobrasil 2002, SESC São Paulo - Mostra Itinerante Bahia - 13º Festival Internacional de Arte Eletrônica Videobrasil, Teatro do ICBA, Salvador - Mostra Itinerante Videobrasil 2002, SESC Arsenal, Cuiabá - TechnoImage 2002, SENAC, São Paulo - Vídeo em Debate 2002 - Produção, Pesquisa e Circuitos, Museu Victor Meirelles, Florianópolis 2001_ - Quinta Bienal de Video y Nuevos Medios, Santiago-Chile - Sessão da Tarde - Retrospectiva Videobrasil no CCSP, São Paulo - TV Cultura, Programa Doc Brasil (10/20/2001) - 2º Prêmio Cultural Sergio Motta, São Paulo archives: - Associação de Amigos do Centro Universitário MariAntonia USP archive, São Paulo, Brazil - CCA - The Center for Contemporary Art archive, Tel Aviv, Israel - Hong Kong Arts Centre archive, Hong Kong - Instituto Arte na Escola - Projeto Arte na Escola media library, Fundação Iochpe, Brazil - International Short Film Festival Oberhausen archive, Germany - Le Plateau media library, Frac Ile-de-France, France - Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP library, São Paulo, Brazil - Public schools libraries: EE Madre Paulina, EMEF Antônio Carlos de Andrada e Silva, EE Condessa Filomena Matarazzo, Centro Municipal de Educação Adamastor, Diretoria de Ensino Leste 1, Coordenadoria de Educação Ermelino Matarazzo, Coordenadoria de Educação de São Miguel/Jardim Helena, Coordenadoria de Educação de São Miguel/Vila Jacuí, Coordenadoria de Educação de São Miguel/São Miguel Paulista, São Paulo - Videobrasil Archive in Paço das Artes, São Paulo (from 2001 to 2003), Brazil - Videobrasil Archive in PUC Minas, CEIS - Centro de Experimentação em Imagem e Som, Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil

bibliographical notes - press texts - "Rafael França: Work as Testament" - ALZUGARAY, Paula. "Videobrasil". "Isto É Gente". São Paulo, September 24, 2001. - CASTRO, Giovanna. "Imagens sem fronteiras". "Correio da Bahia". Salvador, March 17, 2002. Folha da Bahia, pp.5. - GIRALDI, Maurício. "Em cena, mostra internacional de vídeo". "O Estado". Florianópolis, September 1, 2001. - HIRSZMAN, Maria. "13º Videobrasil mostra a arte do novo século". "O Estado de S. Paulo". São Paulo, September 19, 2001. - NAVES, Paulo. "Festival apresenta arte eletrônica de 15 países". "Gazeta Mercantil". São Paulo, September 17, 2001. - NOGUEIRA, Fernanda. "Fusão de mídias na arena do Videobrasil". "Jornal da Tarde". São Paulo, September 19. 2001. - PINHO, Marcos. "Vídeo Brasil apresenta panorama da arte eletrônica no mundo". "Diário de São Paulo". São Paulo, September 25, 2001. - SANTOS, Gracie. "Arte em Movimento". "Estado de MInas". Belo Horizonte, September 19, 2001. - SANTOS, Gracie. "Imagens de uma vida". "Estado de Minas". Belo Horizonte, September 20, 2001. Caderno Cultura, pp. 5. - SÉ, Cinthia Sento. "Rafael França". In: "Panorama Eletrônico". "A Tarde". Salvador, March 18, 2002. Caderno 2, p.1.