Shmil Frankel is a unique character: he knows how to do many things, but does not sanctify virtuosity. On the contrary – he searches everywhere for the essence, the soul – the spirit hidden in the object.
That’s why he builds guitars, basses and everything in between (for example cello-guitars). Sometimes he invents instruments or changes their purpose: such as playing on an old electric heater or building an instrument similar to the hurdy- gurdy (a Hungarian ethnic stringed instrument) and attaching a motor so that his “Herdi Birdy” sings like a bird. He builds microphones, and deals in electronics, but only has one reel-to-reel tape that is sufficient for his needs. He plays well on bass and guitar but the playing serves him, and he is not enslaved to the instrument. He plays on a wooden board – a Toaca, used by Romanian monks to call to worship and to reach self-awareness. Recently he became interested in motors that create movement: the installation before us may look like “kinetic art” but the movement that the motors make in relation to the instruments is not superficial fun but a deliberate effort to make an entire hall, and those present in it, breathe together.
Yossi Mar Chaim