By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Since Friday, April 13th, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, in Centro, has been hosting the International Electronic Language Festival. The event exhibits over 120 works by renowned artists from Brazil and abroad and blends arts and technology (it also includes games and interactive art installations).
The project began in São Paulo in 2000 from a motivation to establish Brazil as an important hub for discussing the electronic-digital universe. Today, the International Electronic Language Festival is the largest of its kind in Latin America.
The 18th edition of the festival will be taking place in Rio until June 4th. This edition’s theme is “art in the disruptive age,”this refers to the process of disruptive innovation and how it provokes the emergence of new societal paradigms.
“The International Electronic Language Festival always incorporates new trends that pop up. The result is the diversity in our exhibitions, which gives audiences the opportunity to see art pieces that express the aesthetics of contemporary society, enabling, thus, new behaviors within the exhibition environment itself,” said Ricardo Barreto and Paula Perissinotto, the festival’s creators.
With 85 artists participating, the exhibit aims to give viewers a unique sensorial experience by allowing them to interact with the artworks. Thus, the exhibition intends to break away from traditional ways of appreciating art, allowing viewers to immerse in the experience fully.
Among the most talked about works participating in the exhibit is the masterpiece, “Swing,” by Christian Marczinzik and Thi Binh Minh Nguyen (Germany). The piece consists of a swing set where the visitor can sit and wear 3D glasses. The swinging generates an animation which is shown through the glass lenses. A full virtual reality experience is guaranteed in this work.
Other highlights include, “Shrink 01996”, by Belgium artist Lawrence Malstaf, in which people experience the sensation of being inside a vacuum space; “KAGE-table”, by Japanese art collective Plaplax, in which the audiences’ shadows interact with computerized shadows; and Greek artist, Petros Vrellis’ “Starry Night”, a technologically animated version of Van Gogh’s iconic masterpiece.
What: FILE – (Electronic Language International Festival)
When: April 13th to June 4th – Wednesday to Monday – 9AM to 9PM.
Where: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil – Rua Primeiro de Março, 66 – Centro
Entrance: FREE