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Repository 206: Reader’s Digest Review of the Venice Biennale, Skulptur Projekte and Documenta
“Art forces people to respond, and if people were no longer discussing art and found themselves in complete agreement, then it ceases to have any relevance.” – Susanne Pfizer It’s taken me almost three weeks to digest what I consumed over the course of two weeks of art exploring, and will take the course of years to fully appreciate the line of inquiry proposed by the artists, curators and organizers of documenta 14, Skulptur Projekte Münster and the 57th Venice…
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Repository 160: The Art Olympics’ Theme Revealed | Enwezor’s Venice Biennale
Every two years the art Olympics takes place on the water soaked streets and alleys of Venice – a perfectly discombobulated city that has troubles with the environment (sinking), and is drenched in historic specificity and nostalgia. Venice is a caricature of the world right now indeed – environmental problems breathing heavy down our necks, and the pull of history and push of progress keeping us entirely confused about where our next steps should be. And Venice is gorgeous, it’s…
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Repository 73: The Doll’s Glass House
Adolescent doll by Martin Bartlett Dolls have thousands of years of history, I’ll venture to say that for humans dolls are essential. I’ll even go out on a limb to say that one of the oldest objects of art, The Venus of Willendorf (24,000 BC), is a doll. A doll is simply a talisman reminding us of what we feel but cannot see, and a vital tool that speaks for us when we can’t find the words. I’ve noticed a…
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Repository 59: Claire Bishop on the “Digital Revolution” and Why the Art Sky is Falling
Image of Sarah Sze installation courtesy of the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. A slightly belated reaction to Claire Bishop’s controversial article in Artforum’s 50th Anniversary issue. I have the issue, article was bookmarked, and now I’ve read it thanks to Frieze’s one-page missive this month reacting to her claims in the article. Which by the way were not to be taken lightly if you are a visual artist, and take theorist’s opinions seriously. Some of us don’t fall into…
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Repository 27: The Holy See Gains Pavillion in Venice Biennale
For the last rendition of the Venice Biennale there were 89 countries represented total and the curator Bice Curiger’s theme was “Illuminations”. While each pavilion had its own methods of choosing artists, the curator did pose this lofty notion of illumination, of spirituality to her choice of work in the main gallery and exhibition centers. There is no question there are major trends in contemporary art now that veer into the waters of spirituality – less the angels and monsters…
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