Associação Cultural Videobrasil

Where Are the Heroes?

“A peripatetic tribute to the hero Waly Salomão”, this performance is a guided excursion to references to Salomão’s poetic and musical work and to the video “Heróis da Decadên(s)ia”, by Tadeu Jungle himself, a multimedia artist, director of video clips and advertising films, and exponent of the first generation of Brazilian video makers. Conducted by made-up media characters (the monitors, the clown-cameraman, the photographer, the leader of the excursion), the performance takes a group of visitors for a walk around several environments at SESC Pompéia, a former plant remodelled by architect Lina Bo Bardi and venue of Videobrasil, to the sound of Salomão’s poems and musics, with stops for various experiences and the exhibition of “Heróis”, which was the winner of the Grand Award in the 5th Videobrasil in 1987.

According to Jungle, the work revisited by the performance arose from the search for answers in the 1980’s. “There was an intense feeling that something vital was lacking. A direction. Answers. And, above all, questions. Right there, in the post-dictatorship, in the middle of the silence, of the ‘lost decade’. Without pose. Without compass. Believing. Gleaning the shards. From the hands of Waly, Leminski. Glauber, Chacrinha. Wesley, Zé Celso. Oswald, Oiticica. Piva, Augusto. Glued shards. Assembled fragments. Pound, Vertov. Edited scenes. Poetry phrases. Music making tracks. Gil, Caetano. Doors, Beatles. Ultraje, Satie. Looking at life as a film. Without heroes. (...) I stumbled. And it ended up in the video ‘Heróis da Decadensia’ (sic). We are going to watch it again almost 20 years later. Today, in a tribute to Waly Salomão. That guy who, even alone, was a band. A squadron of heroes.”

In a performing excursion, which begins at the entrance to SESC Pompéia, Jungle conducts a group of people by spaces where there are surprises, unexpected encounters and sensorial e creative experiences. At one of the stops, the participators draw on a Waly’s image projected from the roof on a blank screen. In the soundtrack that accompanies the excursion, video sounds mix with prerecorded noises and with Salomão’s musics.

Graduated in TV in São Paulo, with a master’s degree from the San Francisco State University, in California, Tadeu Jungle did poetic graffiti art, “mail-art” and graphic projects before beginning to work with images. With the TVDO, of the first generation of Brazilian independent production companies, created video installations and had experimental videos awarded in the first five editions of Videobrasil. In TV, co-directed with Nelson Motta the musical show “Mocidade Independente” (Bandeirantes), presented the musical show “Fábrica do Som” (Cultura), directed the variety show “TV MIX” (Gazeta), among other projects. Made video sculptures and video installations in Videobrasil and in the exhibition “A Trama do Gosto”.

Conception: Tadeu Jungle. Participation: made-up extras in the role of monitors, photographer, clown-cameraman, pri­ests. Scenic objects: posters, adhesive poems, brochures. E­qui­p­ment: portable sound systems, megaphone, digital cameras, projectors, screen. 

ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL VIDEOBRASIL, "14º Festival Internacional de Arte Eletrônica Videobrasil": de 22 de setembro de 2003 a 19 de outubro de 2003, p. 270, São Paulo, SP, 2003.