Complementary technical description
Presentation text 1998
Pincélulas
An eletronic approach to life and human development by the acclaimed duo of video artists based on Sandra Penna’s poetry
The performance by these two Brazilian creators incorporates different features including video, poetry and music, played live by the authors. The title Pincélulas derives from a combination of Portuguese words which convey the fundamental messages in this work: pincel (brush), the painting instrument; célula (cell), the basic unit of all living species and pincelada (stroke), the painter’s manifestation.
The performance’s objective is to tell the story of human development, from its physical inception to its emotional constitution, attempting to address each of the three stages of life: embryo, formation, birth and growth; intelect and senility.
To devlop this work the authors created a setting made up of varius elements. In the foreground, a set of aquariums serves as a liquid screen – an explicit referene to the aqueous medium of living cells. Pre recorded images, and other captured live, are projected on this screen mixing in with other ingredients in the performance, such as music, composed by Paulo do Santos and played lived with a group of five other musicians, and poems written by Sandra penna witch are also projecteed on the aquarium-screen as well as another screen at the back of the stage. The performance is divided in five chronological units, separately presented in 35-minute sets, each with its specifc theme: Cell, Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood and Old Age.
The production and execution of this work is the result of a lasting an integrated partnership which has already generated some outsanding works in eletronic videoart. Eder Santos has become a respected personality as a producer and video artist in the Brazilian and international videoart communities. Since 1989, he has been awarded three times at Videobrasil festivals, created inumerous installations and participated in international exhibitions. His videos has also been presented in various festivals and museums in Brazil, Europe and the United States. Eder Santos produces commercial work and videoclips with famous Brazilian musicians on a regular basis. Paulo Sérgio dos Santos, by the other hand, also born in Belo Horizonte, bring his vast experience as a musician to their cooperative work: he was a percussionist with the Minas Gerais Symphony Orchestra for nine years and has been part of the well-known UAKTI musical group since its inception 19 years ago. With a series of concerts throughout these years, UAKTI has been acclaimed and admired by an eclectic public in the United States, Canada, Japan and most of Europe. He has been the constant composer of music and soundtrack for Eder Santos’ videos and installations.
ASSOCIAÇÃO CULTURAL VIDEOBRASIL, "XII Videobrasil - Festival Internacional de Arte Eletrônica" [XII Videobrasil - International Electronic Art Festival]: from September 22 to October 11, 1998, pp. 81, São Paulo, SP, 1998.