6 February 2006

Videoart feature
Truth-Paradise Found
Carlo Sansolo
Erika Fraenkel

Today, 6 February, Laisle Entertainment! – a curatorial initiative by the Rio de Janeiro based artists couple Erika Fraenkel & Carlo Sansolo, is opening an video exhibition at Paco das Artes in Sao Paulo, including a wide range of artists videos, among others, also Wilfried’s video “Truth- Paradise Found” which was 2005 awarded as the best experimental video on Budapest Shortfilm Festival.

The video footage was recorded at the RILA monastery, the spiritual centre of Bulgaria. Wilfried is considering himself as a religious person, however without being connected with the big ideologies of Christianism, Judaism, Buddhism or Atheism. Grown up with the humanist ideas as the ancient Greek were propagating by following the courses of ancient Greek, and Latin at the high school, in Wilfried’s philosophical cosmos, human and social values always were the criterion for his actions, values which partially also the big religions share, but from a certain ideological, thus restricting point of view, while Wilfried is following the open system of tolerance without restrictions. So, also in these terms, Wilfried is and was always a wanderer between the worlds, which was marking his view on art and his specific artistic expression as an open system, as well. Especially his ideas defining his individual curating as his specific kind of artistic expression, is rooted on an internal system, which is open, as well as strong in a way which cannot be manipulated by others from outside – he is resting in himself.
When in 2005, Wilfried was attending FILE Electronic Language Festival in Sao Paulo in November, Wilfried made also a trip to Rio where Erika and Carlo were his hosts. Carlo had realized earlier in 2005 another Electronic Art Festival – Prog:ME, in which Wilfried had been participating, as well, so it was great to experience the living context of the nice and talented artists couple – and, of course, Rio is a most fascinating city.
This article would like to honour both not only for collaborating, but generally for their engagement for art. The art world needs such independent minds in order to progress. It is interesting, that such independent minds are existing in all parts on the globe, but they are very rare, nevertheless, because mostly they are lonesome wolves, and powerful structures always try to dominate, manipulate and eliminate. Actually, it was a great idea to establish in Rio a festival for new media, but also others had the same idea, FILE Festival Sao Paulo, it had more, also more financial power, so that FILE in the end was killing Carlos’ initiative, and Carlos’ festival had no 2nd edition later. What a pity!