This is my fifth or sixth, maybe eighth, Venice Biennale. I have been coming sporadically for decades, since I was in high school and spending my summers teaching swimming at Lake Garda as part of a camp counselor job I had for several summers.
I’m not sure that I “get” contemporary art. Well, maybe I understand a piece or two, but the empty sheetrock mud bucket hanging from the ceiling over a pile of cinderblocks still isn’t art to me.
On the other hand there is always something to see that is fascinating at the Biennale. I always come away with a new way to look at life. Recently, I have been experiencing more and more pieces of art that draw the observer in as a part of the art. Rather than standing back and looking at, or appreciating, art, I find myself participating in the artwork. Sometimes, I have no intention to be part of the work, but the artist finds ways to bring me into the art on the artist’s terms, not mine.
The best artwork of this Biennale for me is Christian Marclay’s “The Clock.” It is a 24-hour movie that focuses on clocks in movies. In a brilliant work of editing, Marclay has created a montage of time as it takes place in the cinema. He strings different movies together with scenes that feature clocks and the time of day. The movie is timed to coincide with the actual time where people are watching it.
This creation is wonderful and it finds a way to suck you into its focus on time. With hundreds of other artworks to be seen at the Biennale, you soon find yourself trying to figure out how much time you have to spend watching time take place in The Clock. There is a realtime tension. Should I leave and see other pieces? Or, should I stay, comfortably on a couch and enjoy this one?
The Clock is shown in the Arsenale section of the Biennale. This is the old shipyard section of Venice that is only open during the Biennale for most tourists. The buildings where ships were made together with all of the paraphernalia such as sails, oars and ropes were made as well are a treat and serve as a fantastic venue for this collection of art.
The Italian pavilion that is at the far end of the Arsenale section of the Biennale is a rush of art. It is almost overwhelming after the minimalist presentations that line the Corderie section of the Arsenale. Here, visitors an find a museum of the mafia, complete with gruesome newspaper photos detailing mafia history. Flags made of rags, churches made of pasta, giant photos, neon structures, wounded centaurs and more.
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, artists from every part of Italy have been invited to participate in this kaleidoscope of Italian contemporary art.
Some of my other favorites are in the U.S.A. pavilion in the Gardini section of the show. Here, when one uses an ATM to get cash, an organ plays some rich tunes. It is a brilliant and not-so-subtle play on the religion of money. And upside-down in front of the pavilion is a tank. Twice a day, a member of the U.S. track and field team climbs onto a treadmill astride on of the tank treads and begins to run. As he runs, the tank treads turn and clank away.
Another wonderful facet of the Biennale is the collection of centuries-old buildings that have been given over to art exhibitions. Many of the spectacular palaces and spaces would not be open to the public for other than special events, education seminars and corporate meetings.
The Palazzo Franchetti next to the Accademia Bridge houses an extraordinary collection of glass art created for the Biennale by a group of international artists who normally don’t work in glass. The glass work was done in Murano as an experiment in cross-artistic disciplines. In the Franchetti Palazzo garden, one of the few that faces the Grand Canal, a skinny house that elicits surprising comments from who venture inside, has been erected by Austrian artist, Edwin Wurm.
Across the Giudecca Canal, near the Zittele vaporetto stop, the Russians have set up a display of contemporary art in La Casa dei Tre Oci. Here, Modernikon, works by more than 30 artists are on display including an imposing installation of giant sculptures by Andrey Kuzkin called Levitation Heroes. The setting for these rustic figures sitting in a Venetian home is a wonderful juxtaposition of the contemporary with the past.
The next installation of my Biennale report will focus on five different in-town venues (most free) for the art show that allow visitors to peek into the soul of the old city by going into Venice’s palazzi and discovering a world from centuries ago.
Photos: By Charlie Leocha (Biennale Arsenale and Gardini) and Karen Cummings (Russian exhibit and Palazzo Franchetti Glasstress)
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
