Ever dreamed of having your work seen by the international art elites at the prestigious Venice Biennale?  Here’s your chance. 

The Biennial Project, world-renowned artist collaborative is putting on a show.  And what a show.

Open to all artists world wide working in any medium, the first ever Boston Online Biennial will be a platform for participating artists to have their work seen and recignized by a large and varied internation audience.

All selected work will be displayed in our website gallery and in a blog posting that reaches an audience of 2,000.

Additionally  particpants work will be included in a digital art display to be shown at The Biennial Project's VIP opening reception for the 2011 Venice Bienniale.

Prizes will include cash awards, a solo gallery show on our website, and a solo blog posting of 15 pieces or his/her work to an audience of 2,000.

As a follower of The Exploits of The Biennial Project, you undoubtedly know that attendance at the Armory Shows in New York (held annually during the first week of March) is an important Rite of Spring for Members of the World Church of All Things Art. Everyone who’s anyone one is there - no matter that the week is also a major event in the calendar of the Church of All Things Money, and that not even the most deeply observant art lover would be capable of absorbing this much art in such a short time. Like all spiritual pilgrimages, the important thing is to try. So trying we were, all week, all around town. Here is our report on Day One of this Important Event -

OK, we probably stayed our a little too late with our entourage the night before, but still managed to be looking our best when we showed up early to pound the flesh and distribute our materials to the caterers and support people who were there as bright and early as we were.

   Then they decided to let us in, and the magic really started. They ushered us into the VIP Lounge to wait until the show officially opened, apparently thinking that we would be less likely to bother people there. Wrong! We chatted up Our Fellow VIP’S and made several new friends. THIS is OUR audience – people with Avant Guard Art Sensibilities able to understand a nuanced parody of art-world  hypocrisy, and pockets deep enough to pay for it. Amazingly, we were not thrown out.

At this point, the clock was striking on the hour of the actual opening, so we quickly joined forces with a Multi-Person Site-Specific Collective forming in the lobby to obtain entry tickets at the half price group rate (in so doing making a valuable statement on the mercantile nature of today’s art institutions and the value of collaboration in the face of nameless yet brutal economic forces.) Here’s a shout out to our new friends - making friends, for the world to see, let the people know, you got what you need!

Flush with our recent triumphs, we got down to the serious business of seeing and reflecting upon the vast amounts of Top-Flight International Art on site.

  And, as often happens, looking at all that art by other people got boring after awhile, so we decided instead to create……….

and create more…..

Excitingly, Our Efforts did not go unnoticed!  We scored a Private Photo Shoot with the Art in America staff (seriously!) -

Oh Armory Show, how do we love Thee, let us count the ways………….

With this post The Biennial Project is excited to unveil a regular new feature – reports from Biennial Project Special Correspondents  on interesting and important exhibits around the world. 

And where better to start than with a report from Berlin – the coolest art town ever!

We are incredibly fortunate to have as our Berlin Correspondent the internationally renowned artist and critic N. Ami.

Her future reviews will cover upcoming Berlin shows featuring the work of Nan Golden, Sigmar Polke and Robert Mapplethorpe,

but for her inaugural piece she sends us a thought-provoking review of a show that looks right into the heart of recent German history……

Hitler has new solo show in Berlin

Support documentary wins

Venice Biennial Gold Medal.

by N. Ami

[N. Ami is an American journalist living in Berlin, and a big fan of the Biennial Project.]

Hitler and the Germans: Nation and Crime.

Exhibition at the German Historical Museum, Berlin.

Autumn 2010 through February 2011

My German friends said I should probably go see this show. It had a long, extended run. I put it off as long as possible. OK, so I finally went.

I don’t like to think about Hitler. Nor does anyone I know, here in Berlin or in the States. Display of a swastika is forbidden in Germany (except in something like this museum show or a dramatization), and it is a punishable offense to deny the facts of the Holocaust.

This show was dead serious. World War II ended 66 years ago, and Hitler died 66 years ago. But people here still have to live with him.

Berlin has buildings everywhere, half-bombed-out from the war, not yet rebuilt. There is a special bomb squad trained only for dismantling the World War II -type U.S. and British bombs that are still often found in construction sites. 

Every German family has a story about what the parents or grandparents were doing under Hitler. In Berlin, and in many other German cities, there are bronze memorials set in the sidewalks noting where people were pulled out of their homes and killed. It’s hard not to see daily reminders of Hitler. But I’m glad I went to this show.

Massive Exhibition

The German Historical Museum is a huge complex. This exhibition was in the new part, designed by I.M. Pei. Most artifacts were from the collection of this museum. There were about 600 exhibits and over 400 posters and photos. Each separate exhibit often had as many as 20 items in it. There were thousands of objects and lots of text.

I saw more swastikas in one day than I had seen before in my entire lifetime. And I saw more depictions of Hitler than I could possibly bear.

There were photos and newsreel footage from the concentration camps. There was an example of every possible Nazi uniform and military decoration. There was every available type of Hitler artifact, sometimes diabolical propaganda, sometimes outright kitsch. There were Hitler lamps. Hitler radios. Maps. Charts. Speeches.

And importantly, whenever possible, evidence of resistance movements was included. 

Huge Turnout

The exhibition space had clean lines, and each separate section had plenty of room. But the route through it was maze-like. In an hour I felt like my head would explode. The place was jam-packed -- all nationalities, all ages.

There were many school groups, teenagers. I wondered what the young people thought. Their grandparents could have been in these photos. I wondered what the people in their 80s thought. They could have been young adults and soldier-age under Hitler.

Hitler and his Artists

I became aware that these sinister artifacts were often beautifully designed and crafted. Design does not happen by magic. Let’s say that Hitler somehow got a lot of artists and craftspeople on his side.

What were those artists thinking?

And let me just mention filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. Her1935 documentary “Triumph of the Will” was not screened during this show (it is 1hr 50 minutes), but was discussed in depth in the exhibition catalog. **

Biennial Gold Medal!

Lavishly funded by the Nazi Party, “Triumph of the Will” was, in a sick way, remarkable art. Some say it is the best propaganda film ever made. It won Venice Biennial, Gold Medal, 1936; German Film Prize, 1935; World Exhibition (Paris), Grand Prize, 1937. Biennial fans: be careful what you wish for.

Riefenstahl’s final shooting ratio was 1:42. She had 18 cinematographers along with their assistants, 16 newsreel camera people, 9 aerial photographers, and a full staff of 170 people.  It is said that her crew dressed in military uniforms to blend in with the crowds.

Due to the her huge “success” with Nazi propaganda, Riefelstahl went through a long period of disgrace after Hitler’s downfall. Then she somehow resurrected her career and went on to make more films. She became pals with folks like Siegfried and Roy, and Mick Jagger. She died in Germany recently (2003) at age 101.

If you haven’t seen this film, it’s worth doing once. To watch “Triumph of the Will” with subtitles (it’s mostly music with no dialog), see:

http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=721544746508320698#

Porsche and VolksWagen

Also regarding art and design, there were small-scale models of the earliest VolksWagen (“People’s Car”), designed by Ferdinand Porsche (yes, that Porsche) for Hitler. The first model was presented to Hitler by Porsche in 1938 on Hitler’s 49th birthday.

The original VW looked liked the early beetles we know, but were called the "KdF-Wagen" (“Kraft durch Freude“= strength through joy). They were designed to be easily built and affordable. However, car factories quickly turned to military production, and the first real VWs were not built until after the war.

The U.S. slowly wakes up

The only light moments in this show were supplied by Americans. The best were satirical images of Hitler from Hollywood films. A good example is Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” (1940), made before the U.S. declared war and before the extent of the Holocaust was known.  A continual screening of this film was included in the exhibition.

Chaplin later said that he never would have made the film, had he known the truth about Hitler’s crimes. But his satire is brilliant, at a time when the U.S. government was not yet ready to see the full threat of Hitler. See the “Globe Dance” scene from Chaplin’s film at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJOuoyoMhj8

And a real oddity was a New York Times article from October 1944 showing 7 photos of Hitler first circulated by the U.S. Secret Service. They were “retouched to show possible disguises,” should Hitler happen to sneak out of Germany (to New York City!?) – Hitler bald without moustache, Hitler with full beard and glasses, clean-shaven with wig and business suit, and so on. In a creepy way, he looked like any regular guy.

Why??

The exhibition curators asked the question – a question now 3 generations old – why were so many Germans willing to align with Hitler and support the Nazi dictatorship? Why could a basically uncharismatic nobody become one of the most powerful leaders of the modern world? Why could the German people let this happen?

Well, the question was not answered by this show. But at least it was once again officially asked. I, for one, left with more questions than I came with. I’ll keep wondering and writing and talking to Germans. Stay tuned for future reports.

For a 3-D trip through the exhibition, see:

http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/hitler-und-die-deutschen/panoramen.html

[footnote]

**Philipp Stiasny, “Vom Himmel Hoch: Adolph Hitler und die ‘Volksgemeinschaft’ in Triumph des Willens’, “ Hitler und die Deutschen (Exhibition Catalog), German Historical Museum, 2010.

Editors: would that our own country were up to the task of such an unflinching assessment of what has been done in our name.

Stay tuned for more.

The Biennial Project

Ok, last week we said we were going to lose the weight we need to lose for The Venice Biennale. After all, the packaging of an artists can be just as, if not more important, then the art itself. What we did not count on was our popularity at The Armory Show in New York City last week. We were invited to so many of the ‘right’ parties and the caloric intake quickly added up. Our pledge to you, our loyal fans, may have taken a backseat (and I mean our own growing backseats). Fame and recognition clouded our judgment and made us lose sight of what is really important in life. Eating at openings, no matter how prestigious or trendy the gallery, can result in what we refer to as ‘Cheese and Cracker Ass’. Our right ass cheek is named Cheese, our left ass check is named Cracker. The combination of these two growing life forces combined with many a glass of cheap red wine resulted in More of Us rather then Less of Us. In addition to sampling all the tasty tidbits offered around town, we had to make appearances at all the happening discotheques and important parties. Staying up all night leads to a lack of sleep that leads to bad food decisions. The empty pizza boxes and take out Chinese food containers piling up in our living room are evidence of this. So with The Armory Week behind us it is now the time to make good on our promise to you, our beloved fans, to look as hot as we can, naked, in Venice.

No goal can be executed without a good plan. Just saying we want to be thin has not worked out so well. In order for us to be as hot, naked, in bed for you all, we will spell out what we WILL DO to show you how much we care about you.

First we will throw out the piles of old take out boxes, empty vodka bottles and dirty Ben and Jerry containers from our living quarters. This may be motivated more due to the fact that cleaning lady is coming tomorrow, but nonetheless a clutter free home is a healthy home. We have even taken this purge a step further!! Instead of putting only one or two bottles or pizza boxes in our recycling bin a week (so the neighbors don’t know how bad we really are) we will throw everything in there at once. Let the whole city know how far we have fallen, and then demonstrate to them how far we will climb!!

Secondly we will go to the grocery store, and with a sound mind, buy mostly healthy options for consumption. Fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and lots of protein will make it into our carts. Some Snack Pack Vanilla Pudding somehow may make its way into our shopping bags but we promise to eat it right away. A planned diet is the key to unlock our chastity belts.

Third, its time to blow the dust off that gym membership card. Last year it cost us about $100.00 dollars each time we went to the gym. The membership was $300.00 and we made it there three whole times. We pledge to you, our fans, to get our money’s worth this year. The more we go the less we pay. Bargains are just as good of a motivator as the motivation of screwing the man.

Forth, In addition to eating well and hitting the weights, we will finally follow through on returning the emails to the lady trying to sell her exercise bike on Craigslist. Just enquiring if it is still for sale has not yielded the weight loss goals we had envisioned. From now on our home exercise equipment will never accumulate any of our coats or scarves. We will even find a more appropriate place to hang the dog leash. The aforementioned equipment will be used each week while watching ‘Biggest Loser’ and ‘America’s Next Top Model’. No more devouring an large extra cheese pizza while making fun of the extremely fat, sweaty people or the stick-thin, anorexics girls. From now on it will be a handful of nuts and putting the petals to the metal while watching the ‘Real Housewives of Wherever’ overspend their inattentive husband’s money.

We cannot do this alone!! We need your help. Please send us naked, hopefully inappropriate, photographs of yourself so we can see who will be getting naked with us in Venice. The motivation of sex, as well fame and money, will get us to the gym faster and will lead to a better, more confident, attractive Biennial Project. Any suggestions you have are welcome!! Share with us your place to get a really thorough colonic. Tell us what information you have on the newest, best legal or illegal liposuction procedures. Discuss which appetite suppression pills you use that cause the least amount of road rage, don’t prevent a rock hard boner, or at least do not cause heart failure. We want to make you, our fans, very, very satisfied but now the ball is in your court. It is now up to you how attractive we will be. After all it is you looking at us naked at all the orgies in Venice? We need your help to get the hottest sex out of us!!!

As loyal disciples of The Biennial Project you must have noticed that from time to time we like to fill you in on what is happening with biennials/biennales across our globe. We’ll let you know which biennials we deem hot or interesting, how to enter one or two of them and sometimes ‘who’ people are wearing to these festive, thought-provoking and popular events.

So as the saying goes, in like a Lion out like Lamb…………

Singapore is known for great shopping and a heavy-duty financial market. Now this country, made up of 63 islands, will also be known for The Singapore Biennale 2011. This event of all events opens up on March 13 and runs until May 15^th. Its theme is Open House. We, The Biennial Project love to go to Open Houses on Sunday afternoons (when we are not making epic pieces of art). We,The Biennial Project like to check out how other people live, and then judge how they live. Basically we, The Biennial Project enjoy being bitchy. The Biennial Project thinks that maybe The Singaporeans hope that the showing artists will look at the interpretation as people opening up their homes and hearts to friends and loved ones as in a party. We think judging other folk is more fun. No cleaning up after guests is involved. No red wine stains on the sofa. No trying to get your drunken friend of a friend into a cab so they don’t run over overweight, handicapped, American kids on the road.

You will see that the first thing you see when you open the website to http://www.singaporebiennale.org/ are advertisements for the Merlion Hotel. Hey, someone has to pay for all this.

Seriously now….this Biennale looks like it will be da bomb. Almost 50% of the artists are from Asia and 9 out of the 62 showing artists are from Singapore. 62 artists for 63 islands!!! Artistic Director Matthew Nguiwith leads the Curatorial Team with help from Russell Storer and Trevor Smith. The public (this means us for now) is invited to explore installations in sights all around the city such as the Old Kallang Airport, the Marina, A Shopping Center and, most interestingly, some sort of Orwellian Housing Project. (As well as, of course, the Merlion Hotel).

Art Rock stars and yummy, man-eye-candy Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset are exhibiting (WE still get hard thinking about them and their house installation at The Venice Biennale 2009 and The Prada Store outside Marfa, Texas). Ming Wong from Singapore Goto Design from Japan and Taiwan will have swag in their Singaporean steps as well. Ceal Floyer,Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Tatzu Nishi will be strutting from island to island as it should be.

This year, on your Middle Eastern winter vacation, plan on by-passing Dubai and Abu Dhabi and instead head straight north to the city of Shajah for the 10th Sharjah Biennial, 2011. Shariah is considered to be the cultural capital of the region and by looking at photos it has a kick ass Ferris Wheel to ride. The Biennial theme is ’Plot for a Biennial’ and will be held at sites all over the city including Shatjah’s Historic Cricket Stadium which is now an Avant Garde contemporary art space. The Biennial, which runs from March 16th until May16th, has too many artists to mention. Information can be found on

http://www.sharjahart.org/biennial/sharjah-biennial-10/welcome

Be Forewarned –

If getting piss ass high and hunting for one-night stands are your idea of great biennial experience (ranks high on our list), be warned that Sharjah is the only Emirate in which the sale, possession and consumption of alcohol is banned. The Emirate also maintains the strictest decency laws in the UAE with a conservative dress code required for both men and women. Mixing between unmarried men and women is illegal: "A man and a woman who are not in a legally acceptable relationship should not, according to the booklet, be alone in public places, or in suspicious times or circumstances”. So hiding a bottle of vodka under your burka is probably not a good idea.

Slightly more relaxed then U.A.E., The Commonwealth of Virginia’s Roanoke College is hosting their own little Biennial. Carter Foster who is currently a curator at THE WHITNEY judges this show!!! He will be giving a lecture there this Thursday evening at 6pm in Roanoke’s very own Olin Hall. We at The Biennial Project see this as an opportunity to kiss some major Whitney ass. The name ‘Carter Foster’ has sort of a porn star/soap opera ring to it. The Biennial Project likes to imagine that he is hot. Information can be found at http://www.marginalarts.com/2011/roanoke-college-juried-exhibition-lecture/

BIENNIAL CALL FOR ENTRIES

For those of us who like to have our art looked at more then we like to look at others (it is about us after all) here is your chance to hit the biennial hall of fame. We at The Biennial Project hope you will take advantage of some of these Call to Entries.

The Halpert Biennial ’11 in Boone, North Carolina has applications available at http://halpert.tcva.appstate.edu/. This is one of those fantastic Biennials that give you cold, hard cash if your art is better then the rest. If you win, we at The Biennial Project do not necessarily expect you to split your cash and prizes with us, but it would be nice. We promise we will be responsible with your contribution and will not spend all the money on drugs and prostitutes (unless you want us too, that would make us happy).

While we are highlighting the wonderful small towns of America, we wouldn’t want you to miss your chance to exhibit at The South Bend Museum of Art Biennial 26. Entries are due on April 1. Six years ago my teenage niece ran away from home to shack up with a guy she met on the Internet. After my sister located her it took a few days of bribing the kid to get her to come home for the Junior Prom. To kill time my sister actually went to The South Bend Museum of Art Biennial and said ‘it was pretty cool and was a nice distraction from all the life drama going on’’. Information can be found at http://southbendart.org/index.php?lt=1&p=see_exhibitionopportunities

Finally we want to give you the chance to put The Chelsea Biennial of Art 2011  on your C.V.s. The word Biennial carries lots of weight and so does the word Chelsea. If you make into this Biennial it will look as if you have FINALLY ARRIVED. We have no idea if this Biennial will be any good but really…who cares? It sounds great on your resume and isn’t that what really matters? For information go to

http://paulabarrchelsea.com/aboutus.html

Having your own Biennial or Biennale? Let us know. We are always happy to lend a hand and publicize your event. Look how big The Venice Biennale got after we went.

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