(Editors note: Not everyone can afford to send a correspondent to the Venice Biennale Opening Week, the biggest and trendiest art event in the world – sort of the Olympics of the art world. But because we truly care about keeping you informed – we sent not just one, but an entire troupe of reporters – all wildly talented writers and artists who rented an enormous villa smack dab in the middle of Venice the better to report on all the action. Over the coming weeks, we will share with you their tales of champagne-soaked art and mayhem. Let the games begin:
An Art Show with Balls – 55th Venice Biennale
by Kelly Stevens, Chief Biennial Project Art Correspondent
Art shows are a staple of local community. Museums, galleries, bars and restaurants all have art openings. But nothing compares to the grandeur and scale of an International Biennale – art’s best of the best. The 55th Venice Biennale opened this week in Italy – not California, gang. Countries compete to win the coveted “Golden Lion Award” choosing artwork to represent their country in massive pavilions. It is the World’s Fair of art and you had better go big or go home. Historically, the art installations at the Biennale are oversized, but this year’s theme, the “Encyclopedic Palace” lends itself to smaller, more detailed works. The theme is about our desire to see and know everything. It’s a real thinking man’s show. Philosophers and inventors from DaVinci to Jung inspired many of the works. I put my reading glasses to good use and settled in to what was certain to be an art experience of a lifetime. I could feel myself getting smarter by the minute. I like to think of myself as an academic, but the truth remains this southern girl is no librarian. I might be found heading to the local biker bar if given the chance. So while the media poured and gushed over the illustrations, scientific drawings, and alphabetic works, I found myself searching for something bigger to rest my weary eyes upon. And then I saw them…..
A real feast for the eyes lay before me. A large set of concrete, ahem… meatballs dangled in front of me as I rounded the corner. UK artist and former teacher, Phyllinda Barlow constructed a rather large scale grouping of balls entitled “Untitled: Hanginglumpcoalblack” which resembles a set of male testicles (at least from pictures I’ve seen in medical books). They literally hung by thick strands of black chains from a 25 foot ceiling, nearly blocking the doorway. Carefully crafted of construction debris, including sand, wire netting, expanding foam, fabric and plaster, Barlow has made a name for herself giving cast off construction material a new life.
As I stared, I realized that in that brief moment, I was nothing more than a naughty school girl posing as an art professional. Big or small, art has a way of transforming us and making us feel emotions we may not have been aware of, and suddenly I had a craving for Spaghetti.
by Kelly Stevens, Chief Biennial Project Art Correspondent