Wham! Bam! Thank you, ma'am!

Wham! Bam! Thank you, ma'am!

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Renowned practically-British artist (and Director of The Biennial Project Film Institute) Tom Estes agreed to create a documentary with the aim of recording a discrete and tasteful experiment in art making - only to find much more than he bargained for!

Trapped in a no-man's land of depravity and subjected to a relentless cast of "the weird and the pathetic, the ugly, the obscene and the beautiful" this delightfully dubious low budget documentary frequently pushes the limits of the format.

After the glamour of the 2012 Whitney Biennial and the double-whammy of collateral events one might think it was time to go home, put your feet up and have a nice cup a tea... but no!

Boston Socialite, Art World Insider and Windsor- Whitney Biennial curator- Anna Salmeron, pitches herself, body and soul, into the squalid decadence of the New York art scene in an attempt to pep up her flagging art career. But can she escape this secret life she has chosen, or will it destroy her forever?

This short excerpt, offers an instant soft-core art classic - an erotically-charged trip through a virtual alphabet of deviant sexual pleasure, and a who's who of insider art world dealings.


Bonus Features: Also stars one of the the depraved minds behind The Biennial Project and fellow Windsor - Whitney Biennial curator - Eric Hess, who seems to get what he wants by wielding some sort of odd control over his more normal looking co-workers. Hess works his demented way through the back alleys of the big cities to the savage cruelty of the suburbs- gorging himself in an ultra-sleazy, full-frontal journey.


Pre-orders are available now at www.TomEstes.info


WARNING This video clip includes relentless nudity, socio-cultural blathering and interpretive dance that some viewers may find offensive!

the newspaper said what ya doing in bed?

XXOO, Sir Tom Estes,

Director of The Biennial Project Film Institute

More on Tom Estes at the 2012 Windsor Whitney Biennial

Global Biennial Digest Feb. 2012

Lets face it. We love The Venice Biennale and The Whitney Biennial but as you all know they are not the only biennials on our planet. Yes the folks in The Vento and on The Upper East Side think that they are end all and be all in the art biennial world but we, meaning us here at The Biennial Project, and you, our loyal and creative fans, know that all the really cool shit goes down right in our own backyards. Fame and fortune, we are not above them, but sometimes we simply just want to show our art. Presented here is the on- going series brought to you by The Biennial Project called The Global Biennial Digest and here we will look at some of the other biennials going on globally.

    • First off, there is The 2012 Inaugural Windsor-Whitney Biennial, an Online Survey of American and International Art!! This event is brought to you by none other then us, The Biennial Project. Here is your chance to show off YOUR WORK to our global biennial community. All you have to do is enter by this Sunday, February 19, 2012, by midnight (maybe by the next morning if you are a last minute late night procrastinator). To submit work, please go to http://windsorwhitneybiennial.com/biennial2.aspx whitneybestcard

The Biennial Project is honored to have the Renowned Artist and Star of Bravo TV Network's Runaway Hit Show "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist" Morgan The Sucklord Phillips as our Celebrity Guest Juror! The Windsor Whitney Biennial Grand Prize Winner will attend (as a guest of The Biennial Project!) the February 29th VIP Reception of the other notable biennial opening in New York that week - yes, The Whitney Biennial (a $250 Value!).

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Art World Cognoscente may wonder, “”Does the World need yet another Biennial?” if not “Why the heck haven’t I been included in The Whitney Biennial?” The provocative artist collective known as The Biennial Project relishes sinking their creative teeth into such charged questions. Their goal is to explore the nature of and understand the perception of biennials within the art world. In the words of renowned art critic Clea Sahroli “the Project provides a metaphorical vehicle to explore the underlying dynamics of who gets validation from the art world apparatus and why, at the same time addressing the artist’s internal dialectic between expected and achieved success in external and personal universes.”

The Windsor Whitney Biennial will explore art biennials…and all the aspiration and greed, sublime insight and cheap self-aggrandizement, profundity and narcissism that biennials have come to represent. If artists have ever looked with envy at the burgeoning biennial activity around them, attended a venerable Biennale and said to themselves, “I can do better than that,” …this bi’s for you!

For more information contact  windsorwhitneybiennial@gmail.com.

To submit work, please go to http://windsorwhitneybiennial.com/biennial2.aspx

 

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Another biennial you may want to check out (only looking, too late to show) is Colombo Art Biennale 2012, which is taking place now in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo adjacent to the capital city of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. This is the last and only weekend to see this so hurry your ass over to Sri Lanka. The Colombo Art Biennale 2012 aims to strengthen the platform and enhance awareness of Sri Lankan Contemporary Art and culture both within Sri Lanka and around the globe. The Colombo Art Biennale this year is adopting the theme of “Becoming”, which will be reflected by the astonishing variety of the best of the best contemporary art on show. Some of the showing artists include artists Aaron Burton, Anoli Perera ,Anomaa Rajakaruna ,Anura Krishantha, Bandu Manamperi and Chandraguptha Thenuwara(of course). Undoubtedly the most popular sport in Sri Lanka is cricket. The country emerged as champions of the 1996 Cricket World Cup and became runners up in 2007 and 2011. Colombo has the distinction of being the only city in the world to have 4 cricket Test venues in the past: Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo Cricket Club Ground and Ranasinghe Premadasa Stadium. This Saturday night The Biennial will host the ‘Becoming One Party’, which is a mix of art, performance, musicians and djs!!!!!! Early birds pay only 2,000 rupees from box offices or else its 2,500 at the door. The party will be covered by MTV, HI Magazine and YES FM Radio. http://colomboartbiennale.com/

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If you miss The Biennial in Columbo then make sure you put The Adelaide Biennial on your calendar. This Biennial will be held from March 2, 2012 until March 18th. An experiential proposition inspired by art, cinema and literature, the 2012 Adelaide Biennial explores the ways in which ideas emerge, converge and re-form through time. This year’s theme is Parallel Collisions. Across four physical platforms, Parallel Collisions presents 21 commissioned works by some of Australia’s leading artists, 21 original texts, a designer, an architect, two curators and an institution, forming a connective tissue that attempts to understand our subjective experience of time. The curators are Natasha Bullock and Alexie Glass-Kantor and artists include Pat Foster & Jen Berean, Marco Fusinato, Shaun Gladwell, Susan Jacobs, Jonathan Jones and Yvonne Koolmatrie. The first Australian Idol winner, Guy Sebastian, hails from Adelaide’s northeastern suburb of Golden Grove. American musician Ben Folds used to base himself in Adelaide when he was married to Australian Frally Hynes. http://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/

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For those of you who like to show art more then they like to look at it, The Bellevue Arts Museum located in Bellevue Washington is holding The BAM Biennial 2012: High Fiber Diet. This is being held from October 25, 2012 - February 24, 2013. Artists are encouraged to take a creative approach to the fiber medium, considering both traditional expressions of fiber art and the fringes of the medium, where concepts of art and craft merge. The exhibition is intended to recognize the innovative and extraordinary work being produced by contemporary Northwest makers, and to celebrate the region's distinctive character. For details on how to enter go to http://www.bellevuearts.org/exhibitions/upcoming/bam_biennial_2012/index.html

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To round out our coverage of Pacific Biennials that are going on this month we were going to talk about The Yayasan Biennale Yogyakarta. This biennial is hard to understand. Either a language thing or we are just too tired from putting together THE WINDSOR WHITNRY BIENNIAL for you. We LOVE our many fans in Indonesia!! They are some of our most loyal. Check out our ipiellegence map on our website and look how many people from Jakarta are following us. http://www.biennialproject.com/GlobalReach.aspx

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It might be also known as The Equator: Biennale Jogja XI 2011. I’d say look out for it in 2013 if you want to go. Just be happy that you know it exists and we applaud the artists of India and Indonesia even if we can’t read their website. http://www.biennalejogja.org/

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We only found this statement and we think its sounds neato!!

Starting in 2011, the Biennale Jogja XI, which takes place in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, will work its way around the equator, a zone designated as the area between the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23°27′ north) and the Tropic of Capricorn (latitude 23°27′ south). Biennale Jogja will look further towards the future, open up new perspectives and develop confrontations that engage convention and the establishment by examining similar situations all over the world. The discourse of contemporary art has become very dynamic, but we still notice that the dichotomy of center and periphery remains very strong. There is the need to identify new opportunities and seek out more valuable meaning in a biennale event.

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Be a Part of the Windsor Whitney Biennial!

The Biennial Project is proud to announce

The 2012 Inaugural Windsor-Whitney Biennial

an Online Survey of American and International Art

and YOU CAN PARTICIPATE!

Wowza, now wouldn't that look good on your resume?

The Biennial Project is honored to have the Renowned Artist and Star of Bravo Television Network's Runaway Hit Show "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist" Morgan The Sucklord Phillips as our Celebrity Guest Juror! (For more about The Sucklord, check out his website: http://www.suckadelic.com/, or this recent article in the Village Voice: http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-09-28/news/sucklord-bravo-work-of-art-bootlegger/)

All work selected for this prestigious Biennial will be displayed in The Biennial Project's Website Gallery and in a dedicated blog posting that reaches an audience of over 2,000 - and will be included in a digital art display at The Biennial Project's Windsor-Whitney New York City Glittering Champagne Opening Reception to be held the night of March 2nd, 2012 at the Art Connects New York /Spattered Columns Gallery in SoHo.

Prizes will include a solo gallery show on our website, and a solo blog posting to an audience of over 2,000 art lovers! In addition, The Grand Prize Golden Saharoli Winner will attend (as a guest of The Biennial Project!) the February 29th VIP Reception of the other notable biennial opening in New York that week - yes, The Whitney Biennial (a $250 Value!).

This is a fantastic chance to get your work seen and admired by a huge audience, including movers and shakers in the art world. But don't delay, opportunities like this don't come along often, and you don't want to be left off of The-Biennial-Project-Direct-Shot-to-Fame-Express!

ENTER NOW!

Email Deadline: 12pm EST February 19th, 2012

BIENNIAL PROJECT WEBSITE

BIENNIAL PROJECT ON FACEBOOK
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‘Less of Us’ accomplished at The Venice Biennale 54

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When we arrived at The Venice Biennale Opening Week we were not looking like the emaciated, malnourished, fabulous artists we felt we were on the inside. We all know that 'skinny artist’ equals ‘famous artist' and ‘fat artist’ equals a ‘plein-aire-artist-taking-classes-at-a-local-mid-western-community-college’. I swear, The Biennial Project are the skeletal, chain smoking, debilitated dilettantes waiting to get out of our American, processed-food-built-up, flabby shells. Well, without having shed the necessary kilos, we had no choice but to simply show up to The Biennale with our chins held high (both of them). We would employ our dazzling personalities and surround ourselves with our well-connected friends to cover up our shame. Miss a moment of fun - NEVER!! Also there are always plenty of attention-seeking curators to place in front of our bloated bodies while the cameras of the international press followed our every move.

 

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After a few days of appearing at all our friends’ events, we started to notice that we were able to button the snaps on our pants. The indentations on our skin from our too tight undergarments were not as red, deep or long lasting when we undressed. Could it be that were shedding kilos in the mist of The Venice Biennale? We were!!
Here, at the Venice Biennale, The Biennial Project was finally emerging as the gaunt, twiggy phenomenon you all know us to be.  Below are a few thoughts on how you, too, can champion the bony, lanky appearance of a famous artist at the Venice Biennale.

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When hungry, stop in the first restaurant you see with a free table. Chances are pretty good that the food will be uneatable and over-priced. It seems to us that no matter where you find yourself noshing in Venice you will get the same meals, made with no love, for five times the cost of what you would spend at home. We have a theory that there is one central kitchen located way beneath the island that sends the same microwaved meals to all the restaurants via conveyor belt. After a few days of grazing like this, the sight of another over-priced, over-microwaved, frozen pizza will make your stomach turn and you will start to notice yourself skipping meals.

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While in the Giardini forget eating at all!! There are only two places to buy food and they each seem to be understaffed. You have to decide if you want to remain famished and possibly look at some art or if you want to wait in line for hours either in the stuffy, over-stimulating café or wait outside in the hot, Italian sun. We had the very special privilege of waiting in the pouring rain for hours only to get yet another over-microwaved frozen pizza for twice as many Euros then we would have paid outside the gate. The Powers-That-Be will not even let you leave the Giardini to scrounge for food outside of the gates without having to pay entrance again (for those of you who have to pay entrance).

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The moment we landed in Venice we started to burn more calories than we normally do sitting on the couch watching The Biggest Loser. As most everybody around the world knows, there was a vaporetto strike during the opening week. Upon landing in Venice we learned that the only way to get to our fabulous Villa was by huffing through the byways of Venice dragging our luggage behind us. The first Bridge coming from the bus Station, the newest bridge in Venice, Ponte della Constituzione  (but nearly everyone in Venice calls it the Ponte di Calatrava) seemed to be designed to punish the out of shape, over-packed, American tourists. The tiny, little steps built into the Ponte di Calatrava made it extra hard to drag a rollaway suitcase. After crossing the bridge you have to pay attention to every bitty sign or risk getting lost in the labyrinth of itsy-bitsy, little streets. It took one of our crew 8 hours to get from the train station to the villa, pulling their bags in the hot, hot Italian sun. It is like a Boot Camp workout. Hence, thinner us.

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Another calorie burner is finding the National Pavilions or Collateral events located outside of the Arsenale or Giardini. Those of us who are fortunate enough to partake in The Biennale year after year know some of the most fantastic art is located in satellite venues all over Venice. Finding these diamonds in the rough can sometimes lead to hour upon hour of walking in circles trying to navigate the tiny often-unmarked streets of Venice. This is a fantastic way to see Venice but not so fantastic on your already swollen, blistered extremities. Some countries like Latvia for instance put arrows on the ground to guide you in the direction of the exhibitions. This is great unless some prankster turns one of the arrows around to face you in the wrong direction or a well-meaning friend decides to bring you the arrow from your country of origin as a souvenir. Such actions make finding the art very difficult.

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The New Zealand Pavilion location appeared pretty straightforward. Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore is located right on The Grand Canal near the southern entrance of the Academic Bridge. When we traversed over the prominent interchange, we started to follow the well-intended arrows until they sort of just stopped. Jokesters or nationalists were at hand. We were also flustered by a lollygag of lingering, gorgeous Italian High School students on break who aroused us by the erotic smell of Italian teenage pheromones blended with cheap perfume. Venice holds so much for us!! Being as confused and distracted as we were at this point, turning around when lost was not an option. After all Michael Parekowhai, who represents New Zealand, always shows up for our shit. Plus we heard great things about his intricately-carved red Steinway concert grand piano and two concert grands fabricated in bronze supporting two cast bronze bulls entitled On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer. Furthermore, we adore New Zealand wine (especially free New Zealand wine). After trolling around the dead-end alleys of the Dorsodoro neighborhood for an hour or so we finally managed our way into the Palazzo. Our persistence burned off thousands of calories and we were also treated to some live piano music.

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Another calorie-burner was finding our new friends who were showing at the Central Asia Pavilion in their exhibit entitled Lingua Franca. The Biennial Project has always had a special camaraderie with the former Soviet Asian Nations like Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan or any of the other 'stans’. We love all the stan countries. We knew exactly the location of this pavilion being positioned near The Palazzo Grazzi and the pavilions of Iran, Estonia, and Slovenia. We partied hard with the Slovenian accordion players our first night in town. Even if we knew where to find them we did not know that The Central Asian Pavilion was located on the very top floor of the Palazzo Maipiero on San Marco 3199-3201. Climbing the narrow stairs to see the work of our friends Natalia Andrianova or Artyom Ernst reminded us of our hike up Zailisky Alatau Mountain overlooking the beaches of Lake Issyk-Kul. outside of Almaty, Kazakhstan. We took that excursion last April with the artists Said ATABEKOV, Galim MADANOV and Zauresh TEREKBAY. I guess they were getting us ready for 160 stories ascent to see their work at the Biennale. None-the-less, this climb yielded us firmer, perkier, European-style asses that promote the important work of The Biennial Project.

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Being squeezed into small spaces will make you thin as well. You know how they say that fish grow to the size of their bowls; well, The Biennial Project resides in the huge open expanses of America. Knowing it is wasteful to take up as much space as we do in our giant McMansions with bathrooms the size of whole neighborhoods in Kolkata, our bodies none-the-less adapt. American asses spread out all over our so-called wide-open plains. When in Venice we really feel our girth the first time when we step into a shower or sleep in a small bed. This makes us feel uncomfortable and….well, FAT. Subconsciously, I think we eat less simply because there is no room for us behind the tiny, little tables, in the tiny, little cafes. When someone guesses that we are American on the overcrowded vaporetto, we say to ourselves it is because of our distinctly American shoes(sneakers). Really? In truth we know the Europeans recognize us because we are huge. They are really thinking that we are taking up way too much space on the vaporetto and they hope against hope that we will spread our weight out evenly around the boat to avoid capsizing. This, in turn, makes us feel shame and we react by eating less.

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So yes, The Venice Biennale is a great place to get thin. In Venice you can walk your asses off, starve, smoke and loosen your bowels by drinking too much. You actually never have to take a solid shit ever again!! The crappy, over-priced food looks especially unappetizing after a night of free vino. After skipping a few meals your body adapts and you eventually don’t feel hunger anymore. You actually start to enjoy the high you get from the out-of-wacky-glucose-levels reinforced by the terrific compliments you get. Nicotine speeds up your metabolism as well so smoke away. The more you inhale, the thinner you get!! Who needs The Biggest Loser Ranch in Fitness Ridge, Utah????  Simply spend your money on a trip to the Venice Biennale and smoke and drink too much. You, too, can come home undernourished, bony and ashen like a true successful international artist.

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November Fan of the Month….REVEALED!!!!

As all of the Biennial Project Fan Faithful know, The Biennial Project has made a career of Unapologetic-Shameless-Self-Serving-Promotion to get to the place where we are today! We have climbed and clawed ourselves over the backs of any artist, any art-viewing-poser and of course and above all else any critic or naysayer who deemed it appropriate to stand in our way!! And voila! Here we stand—poised to climb atop the heap that is the pinnacle of the art world.

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But, it is now November….and whether or not it is due to being bombarded by turkey and dressing ads and commercials since before Labor Day (after all, we must always serve our staying-current-with-all-things media-bound muse at the end of the day ) we, The Biennial Project, must join Regis and Kelly, Kathy Lee and Hoda and of course The Ladies of the View to give pause and be thankful!!

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For every now and then…once in the bluest of blue blue moons you have the great fortune to cross paths with a really remarkable person…..

Someone who you just CLICK with….

Someone who laughs at your jokes (yes, ALL of them!!!)….

Someone who (CORRECTLY) thinks that you are brilliant….

You know, someone who just GETS you….

And this person fires on all of the above cylinders without monetary or sexual remuneration !!!

In The Biennial Project’s case we have had the blessing of experiencing this type of relationship with not one but TWO remarkable persons at the same time!!!

Both are multi-faceted artists in their own rights….

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He, according to reknowned Blues Blogger Georgetown Fats, wears many hats-- journalist, columnist, vocalist, guitarist, southern gentleman-- in order to keep his music going. He is probably best recognized as the frontman for his band, Scissormen though in the past year he can add “movie star” to the list since starring in the well-received latest indie documentary by Robert Mugge--“BigShoes: Walking and Talking the Blues.”

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She is an accomplished musician and photographer but most recently devotes her noteworthy artistic energies to being CEO, President, and Creative Head Honcho of Pets Rules Jewels—a kick-ass-fun-and-funky custom jewelry company that specializes in creating one of-a-kind pieces featuring images of your own very special best furry friends!! Pets Rule Jewels also has contributed to such wonderful causes as Greyhound and other canine rescue efforts.

BOTH of these individuals have been known to worship REGULARLY at The Temple of The Biennial Project (and let’s face it, that alone is something to get ANYONE some requisite Fan Of The Month brownie points!!!)

He, after reading one of our many blog posts/Constant Contact blasts, was known to remark:

“ I love reading these. The tone is taught and funny, the art world humor great, the take on aesthetics and modern culture is spot on. You guys rock!”

No WONDER we think he is AWESOME!!!

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She hand-makes every AMAZING pair of Biennial Project earrings that you see featured all throughout our photography and video oeuvre…..and oh, by the way, YOU TOO can own a pair of these ROCKING ART ROCK STAR EARRINGS!!!! Just contact her!

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They are the parents of the rescued and much-loved Dolly the Dog and are just in general SUPER COOL.

So it is with MUCH FANFARE (cue major drum rolls) and ADMIRATION that we tip our collective Biennial Project Hats to the November Fans of the Month…..

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TED DROZDOWSKI AND LAURIE HOFFMA!!!

 

Catch the Red Hot Smokin’ Guitar String Shreddin’ ScissormenTHIS THURSDAY!!! November 17……

The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA to headline the “Regent Roots ‘n’ Blues Revue.”

Anybody who buys an advance reserved seating ticket gets a free copy of the live concert CD cut in Switzerland last year. The band will be available in the lobby and after the show to autograph 'em. The show also includes some great artists who are all good friends and fantastic entertainers: the Peter Parcek 3 (whose debut album Ted produced), the Ten Foot Polecats and the Powerhouse Berklee Band. Plus the concert will culminate in an all-star grand finale jam.

Stay up to date with all of the band’s high jinx at http://scissormen.com

CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!!!

XOXOX

The Biennial Project

The 2011 Gwangju Biennial: Challenging Notions of Design

by Dee Mason for The Biennial Project

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The definition of design, according to Merriam-Webster is “to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to a plan”. Design biennials, massive arts events that showcase the design prowess of particular cities or regions, have appeared at a rapid rate since the 80s. There are more than one hundred events occurring each year around the globe, primarily during the September design “season”, with the Biennial Foundation in Athens, serving as the non-profit overseer for many of them. In the sea of biennials, the Gwangju Biennial in Gwangju, South Korea, has emerged as a biennial to watch. With a reputation for showcasing innovation, and a markedly less commercial feel, the Gwangju Biennial is attracting worldwide attention.

Purposes and Goals

If you are in Southeast Asia this fall, or have the funds available to take some Tripbase flights to the region, make the time to visit the Gwangju Biennial to view the thought provoking, intelligent works on display.

Launched in 1995, the purpose of the Biennial was two-fold. The goal of the event was to both showcase Asian design, with a focus on South Korean designers, and to attempt to somewhat mitigate Gwangju’s reputation as an intolerant, militaristic stronghold. The site of the 1980’s massacre of hundreds of pro-democracy students, Korea’s sixth largest city has been struggling to redefine its image ever since. The 2011 Gwangju Biennial, which began September 2nd and runs until October 23rd is co-curated by Ai Weiwei, a dissident Chinese artist who was freed from prison in August after worldwide outcry, and award-winning Korean architect Seung H-Sang. Unlike some of the more commercially focused Biennials, like those in Venice or London, the Gwangju Biennial is more directly invested in art that pushes boundaries, either politically or aesthetically. This year’s theme is “design is design is not design”. A rather existential theme compared to festivals in Europe or the US, the Gwanju Biennial’s focus has resulted in a number of challenging works that clearly reflect both Ai Weiwei’s interest in politically motivated art and Seung H-Sang’s eye for form.

Exhibitions

The Biennial is divided into four separate exhibitions. The “Named” exhibition showcases works that are a reflection of a move towards multi-disciplinary “total environments”, and an active movement away from static ideas of the individual designer versus the collective designer. The “Unnamed” exhibition showcases works that challenge the ways we define design and the idea of the designer, in an effort to explore what design can accomplish and how boundaries can be redrawn. The purpose of the “Communities” exhibition is fairly straightforward. The exhibition seeks to answer the question, “What is design?”. Finally, the “Urban Follies” exhibition explores the ways in which design evolves, influenced by the environment, and urban environments, in particular. Some of the works on display in the “Unnamed” section include the pamphlets handed out during the Egyptian uprising with instructions on how to effectively carry out acts of civil disobedience and plans for IED designs used in Afghanistan and other countries. South Korea is a plastic surgery capital, and there is video of the plastic surgery procedure used by mixed martial artists to reduce the amount of bleeding caused by blows to the head and face. The “Urban Follies” exhibit houses such interesting pieces as Atelier Bow-Wow’s pergola with a six-storey periscope.

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Unlike many other Bienniales, the government funds the Gwangju Bienniale. Consequently, there are no commercial ventures displaying their latest innovation in exchange for their sponsorship dollars, or technology companies vying for attention with flashy displays. Instead, the Bienniale is focused on presenting work that makes us all question where design comes from, what it means, and how it fluid it truly is.

But Seriously Folks……..

Ok, we know that you, our fans, are used to a fun, art-oriented Blog post from us - and as you know, we generally aim to please.

But this week we feel that it is important to chime in and voice our support for Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Boston. 

Anna, Laura and Eric are all Americans living in the northeast of our fair country. We all feel the pain of barely keeping our heads above water.

 

Living here in The USA we notice how year after year life seems to get harder. We mourn the loss of ‘The American Dream’ which we took for granted and thought would always give us the chance to live decent lives.

Jobs have been lost, debt continues to pile up, and insurance rates keep rising while the services they provide seem almost non-existent.

Is anybody else shocked when they receive un-managable bills for things like the dentist or the veterinarian? Good health for our mouths and pets used to be a given - now they seem like unattainable luxuries. The list of economic grievances goes on and on.

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Personally all three members of the Biennial Project have very real American stories of our own economical difficulties over the past few years.

We are not just the Jet Set International Art Rock Stars you know us as.

In reality we also work at other jobs simply to provide life’s basic necessities. None of us are starving or dying of poverty like a lot on our poor little planet, and with that in mind we are grateful to the lives we currently lead, but…..

Anna is a nurse who for the last 19 years has worked with the impoverished Spanish speaking population of Boston. Last spring she lost her job and now she is having the fight of her economic life trying to keep her house.

Eric works as a photographer. Work is scarce and the photography industry pay rate has not seen any increases in the past ten years. He also lost his home and is back to being a renter.

Laura is a real estate broker. There is not much to sell at the moment and her husband lost his employment and had to take a job three hours away from Boston for a lot less money and a whole lot more hours.

We all have parents who spent their life savings on complicated and inattentive medical care.  All of us have post graduate degrees and vocational training but we are always stressed out and feel like we are barely getting by.

The lists can go on and on.

 OccupyWallstreet-1320 

Instead of complaining, we, The Biennial Project see that it is time to take action.

   OccupyWallstreet-1357

We, the Biennial Project stand with the brave and honest Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Boston organizers who are protesting against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government.

 

You will see us at the gatherings; we will donate our time and resources to keep the organizations going and hopefully educate people on what is going on economically and what we can all do to make it better.

 

Let’s get this party started……

Occupy Wall Street

 

Occupy Boston

 

Photos by Leigh Hall and Eric Hess

 

We Came…We Saw…WE PARTIED OUR ASSES OFF!!!!

The Biennial Project V.I.P. Opening Reception for the 54th Venice Biennale and Awards Presentation for the 2011 Boston Online Biennial is a smashing success!!

It all began, innocently and calmly enough, on a peaceful Sunday evening in the lovely hidden garden of a beautiful pallazo….

first garden

But the quiet would not last for long…….

eric steamersgarden w steamers

And before you knew it, the fabulous V.I.P. glitterati-filled gala was in full swing!!!!

anna streamers #5 people annalaura       

Old Friends were re-aquainted….

                                                                                                                    Vito

                                                                                                                                                                               New Alliances were formed….

                                                                                                                                           charlene and friend

And, yes, even recipes were exchanged!!

                                                                                                        recipes    

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was when The Biennial Project announced

                                                                                                                      Venice54bobparty-3110                      

with much fanfare--to the anticipatory masses that were gathered…

                                                                                                             bob audience

The Winners of the 2011 Inaugural Boson Online Biennial

—including the First Place Winner, Hans van Meeuwen!!!

Venice54bobparty-3143

In fact…..we would say that all in all it was a Good Timin’, Wine Guzzling (44 liters to be exact!), Hob-Nobbing, Uber-Networking, Seen-And-Be-Seen-Old-Fashioned-Throw-Down-Of-Party-Until-The-Clothes-Came-Off (more on that in our NEXT blog post!!!) Extravagana---the likes of which has not been seen since the days of yore when the founding mothers and fathers of Venice first dug out the canals and threw up the grandest palazzos!   There were Tate-showin’ artists and critics, collectors, and curators galore all engrossed in scintillating debates over the hottest theoretical art issues of the day!                                 

tom tate   claudio scintillating conver

Hell…we didn’t know the half of what was going on by the end of the evening….

Venice54bobparty-3146 

BUTT…..

we do know of one very special little hi-jinx….

and you’ll have to tune in next time to find out!!!