Associação Cultural Videobrasil

Associação Cultural Videobrasil sympathizes with the grief of the friends and family of Rodrigo Minelli, an artist, professor and curator who has contributed so much to the Brazilian video scene with his artwork and research. His sudden, early death last Sunday evening (11.17), followed by the abrupt passing of his father, is deeply saddening and moving to us.

Minelli was a firm believer and encourager of collective production and research with little to no financial aid, government support or sponsorship, driven solely by the will to do and to research. Such is the focus of his piece “Matéria dos sonhos” (The stuff of dreams), featured at the 14^th Festival competitive show, in 2003, where he relived the work of Emílio Belletti, who has driven so many artists, himself included, to seek out independent production forms. Minelli has featured in three different editions of the Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil, from 2001 to 2005, and won an honorable mention at the 15^th Festival for “Plano-(con)sequência.” He is one of the people honored at this 18^th edition of the Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil, with a recorded statement at the video installation that comprises the 30 Years show, currently on show at the Sesc Pompeia Warehouse.

VB regrets this irreparable loss and recognizes the legacy left behind by Minelli, who has so encouraged and influenced video production in Brazil. In this moment of grief, we give thanks and pay tribute to Rodrigo Minelli, who has also urged his students and artist peers to dream.

Solange Farkas
Curator and director of Associação Cultural Videobrasil

More on Rodrigo Minelli

Born in Belo Horizonte in 1964, Rodrigo Minelli held a master’s in Culture Sociology and was a professor of video and new technologies at the UFMG Social Communication Department. He conducted research and experiments in electronic art and served as curator, consultant and video director at organizations such as Rede Minas de Televisão, CRAV - Centro de Referência Audiovisual, and as a professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais since March 1997. He was also the cultural superintendent at the Rodrigo Mello Franco de Andrade Foundation, the Visual Arts/Media Art coordinator at the UFMG Festival Winter for several years, and one of the creators and curators of Festival Vivo arte.mov.

His first piece, Hard Teevee (1990), won a prize at I Forum Bhz Vídeo and featured in several shows of the Brazilian video art panorama. He featured in three competitive shows at Festival Videobrasil: in 2001, during the 13^th edition he presented the video 5, which was awarded the best national video prize at the Cinema Brazil Grand Prize – Year II, offered by the Ministry of Culture (2001); In 2003, during the 14^th edition, he presented Matéria dos Sonhos; and in 2005, during the 15^th edition, he featured with Plano-(con)sequência, which won an honorable mention.

Rodrigo Minelli passed away late Saturday evening after suffering a heart attack. His father, Luiz Gonzaga Campos Figueira, was found dead on Sunday morning, hours after learning of his son’s death. There is no information yet as to the cause of Luiz’s death.  Minelli is survived by a wife and son. His body was buried beside his father’s this Monday afternoon, at 4:30 pm, in Belo Horizonte’s Bonfim cemetery.