VENEZIA IV, watercolor

Venezia IV, watercolor, 6x9 in

When I was in Venice a month ago for the Biennale, I did a series of small watercolors for fun. It was so hard to choose a few things among the hundreds of details and thousands of people around!

Edgar Degas was well known for his honest -to the point of  rude- comments. At the time when telephones started invading private homes, Degas wanted nothing to do with the new fashion. When one of his friends was surprised at this attitude, Degas asked him:
--Then you do have one of those contraptions?
--Of course!
--Then...when we ring you, you obey and go for it?

FINESTRA APERTA, Assissi, Italy, watercolor

Finestra Aperta in Assissi, Italy, 9x6 watercolor.

Continuing with my report on La Biennale di Venezia ,  another interesting exhibition was the comic book form of Genesis, by R. Crumb, American. " By the mid 1970s he was a legend in underground comics. His one-page comic "keep on truckin' became a slogan. in 2009 he published his most ambitious work to date: All 50 chapters of the book of Genesis in comics, 207 pages of black and white drawings. It took him over five years to complete. The sacred is seen through the base and lurid lens of the human." says the catalog. It was awesome to see several walls covered with the framed 207 pages with the story, word by word, of the book of Genesis from the Bible, and the drawings.

VADIM ZAKHAROV'S DANAE, RUSSIA, mixed media

Vadim Zakharov's presentation at La Biennale di Venezia: DANAE, was beautiful. I have recorded it in my art notebook, and this is part of that page.

He gives the mythological theme of Danaë a new interpretation. This Greek legend can be read in different ways. This Russian artist chose to do it like this: only women can enter on the ground floor, where you are given a transparent umbrella to cover yourself from a" rain of gold coins"! This is a reference to the seduction of Danaë as a symbol of human lust and greed, and the corrupting influence of money. You are instructed to pick up a bunch of "gold coins", keep one for yourself, and deposit the rest in a bucket for that purpose in another room. Zakharov demonstrates to a society that no longer believes in myths, the importance of mythological personifications. He said: "Time has come to confess our rudeness, lust, narcissism, demagoguery, falsehood, banality, greed, cynicism, robbery, speculation, wastefulness, gluttony, seduction, envy, and stupidity." I pasted my "gold" coin on my notebook, and wrote what it says on the back, in the bigger representation below the actual coin.

J.D. 'OKHAI OJEIKERE, NIGERIA, watercolor

J.D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, Nigeria, is a small watercolor in my art notebook, to remind myself of the wonderful work of this artist.

Born and raised in a small village in Nigeria, he had his first camera when he was 20. He became obsessed and soon found work as a photographer, quickly becoming a well known photographer in Nigeria. In the 1960s he began documenting various aspects of Nigerian culture. For over 40 years he has captured elaborate hair styles and head wrappings of Nigerian women. The catalog of the Biennale di Venezia 2013 says about Ojeikere: "In more than 1000 photographs the sculpted and braided hair, whose elaborate designs can take days and weeks to complete, he registered hair styles of some of Nigeria's hundreds of ethnic groups. They indicate changing fashion, skill of the hair stylists, and the changes that attended the transformation of Nigeria as it grew into a new era of autonomy and self-determination." The photographs at the Biennale were life size, and a joy and a marvel to look at. He's 83 years old this year.

SHINRO OHTAKE, Tokyo, Japan, watercolor

Shinro Ohtake, Tokyo, Japan, watercolor on my art notebook.

His work has influenced Japanese contemporary art very much in the past 30 or so years. He has produced multi-layered works in painting, sculpture, and bookmaking. At La Biennale di Venezia, I saw some of his 60 individual books, some bulging with up to 700 pages. Like keepsake albums, collections of found materials, paintings, tickets, magazine cut-outs, each book also becomes a sculptural object. This is my watercolor representing Ohtake's "Scrapbook number 14".

CARL GUSTAV JUNG, THE RED BOOK, PAGE 119, watercolor

Carl Gustav Jung, The Red Book, page 119,   watercolor in my art notebook.

One of the most influential psychotherapists of the 20th C. Jung experienced dreams, visions and fantasies from an early age. At 12, he saw God, from a throne in the sky, defecating on the Basel Cathedral, shattering its roof. He believed that myth held an important place in human existence, while not believing in any myths himself, which bothered him. Concentrating in his "active imagination", he started writing and painting his visions in a collection of small black notebooks for 16 years, which he bound together as an illuminated manuscript in red leather. This became his Red Book. "All of my work, all of my creative activity", he said, "has come from those initial fantasies and dreams." Jung's Red Book, opened to page 119, at La Biennale di Venezia 2013.

GONDOLA I, VENICE, ITALY, watercolor

Gondola I, Venice, Italy,  6x9 in. watercolor, available

It was fun to sketch in Venice. It is such a challenge to control your colors, though. Color jumps at you from every corner. Continuing with my reporting La Biennale di Venezia: another artist's work I liked: Geta Brātescu, from Romania. She's 87 years old now. She's one of the most important figures in the Romanian avant-garde of the 60s and 70s, she was trained in art and literature. In the 1980s she created a series of quilted machine-embroidered textile collages in which she shifted from the deeply personal work she was doing in her studio, to address broader questions of female identity. At the Biennale she presented: "Medeic Calistenic Moves", sewing machine drawings on textile.

GUO FENYI, CHINA, watercolor

Guo Fenyi, China, died at 68 years old, China Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia 2013, Italy. My little watercolor to remember Guo Fenyi is simple, compared to her complex designs.

I have chosen to report on this artist, because I was impressed with her work. Guo Fenyi developed acute arthritis at the age of 39, being forced to retire. Her suffering lessened when she started practicing Qigong, focusing and strengthening energy. After several years of immersion in Qigong, she experience visions, and a tremendous outpouring of energy and artistic productivity. In a few years, she created over a thousand drawings in ink, pencil, and ballpoint pen. Guo Fenyi saw her work as an extension of her Qigong practice and said she was only a medium, asserting that her message "came from heaven". "I draw because I don't know" she said. "I draw in order to know."

JOHN DE ANDREA, FIGURATIVE SCULPTOR, watercolor

John de Andrea, Figurative Sculptor, watercolor in my art notebook.

Born in 1941, in the USA, John de Andrea's figurative works bring the tradition of lifelike sculpture to a climax. I read that he had started working with resin, but now layers paint on bronze casts. He imparts an unsettlingly realistic likeness of human skin to their surfaces. Hyperrealism. When I walked in the room, I thought this one was an actual, real, alive woman posing!! It fooled me!! Of course, this was at La Biennale di Venezia, a few days ago.

Marino Auriti, Italy, USA, watercolor

Merino Auriti, Italy-USA, watercolor of his creation.
In the 1950s he begun working on a detailed architectural model of an imaginary museum, which he called "The Encyclopaedic Palace of the World". His Palace is a testament to humanity's encyclopaedic drive. When he died, his construction went to a warehouse/storage space for over 30 years. Now it is the theme of the Biennale di Venezia, in 2013. He was seen as "strange" in his time, and "visionary" today. I hope that's true for me, too!!!

Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain, watercolor

Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at La Biennale di Venezia, watercolor on my art-notebook, of Waheeda Malullah's photographic work.

The Kingdom of Bahrain's presentation at La Biennale included works by Mariam Haji, Waheeda Malullah, and Camille Zakharia. Waheeda Malullah is a visual artist who works in multiple media with a focus on photography and video. Playful exploration is the hallmark of her art practice. Issues regarding the role of women dress and religion in her traditional community is a typical theme of her artistic endeavors. For this Biennale exhibition, she presented photographs of women dressed in the typical burka, fully covered head to toe, in interesting situations, like the one I painted here, she's inside a huge metal pipe, probably used for waterworks. The title of this group of photographs is "A Villager's Day Out".

THE GRAND CANAL, Venice, Italy, watercolor

THE GRAND CANAL, Venice, Italy, watercolor in my art notebook.

Venice, Italy, and Yangzhou, China, are both cities that "grew from canals". The Grand Canal between Beijing and Hangzou is the earliest and longest man-made waterway in the world. For La Biennale di Venezia, 11 Chinese artists were invited to present. Wang Du's installation, as my small watercolor above shows, represents a bathtub, with a Yamaha motor off board. It's title is: "Love in the Time of Cholera", like the experiences of the hero and heroine of the novel, he points out that the only survival instinct of mankind is fearless romanticism and idealism. Wang Du lives and works in Paris, France.

PRIMO AMORE, ITALY, watercolor

PRIMO AMORE, Italy, 11x15 in.watercolor

At La Biennale di Venezia, I read a booklet published by Enel Contemporanea. This is an electricity company that is one of the sponsors of La Biennale. This is what they have to say:
"We wondered: is there something more luminous than light? ART is more luminous than light. We have realized that art makes a truly special light, because it is the only light that let us look at it, a light that illuminates without glare. Normal light illuminates the darkness around us, art illuminates what is inside us."

SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI, ASSISI, watercolor

Santa Maria degli Angeli, Assisi, 6x9 watercolor

While being a resident artist at Arte Studio Ginestrelle, in Assisi, I visited La Biennale di Venezia. For a few days, I'm writing about La Biennale.

Today: THE SWISS PAVILION's presentation: THE SNAKE AND THE MOPED, artist: Valentin Carron. A wrought iron serpent welcomes you at the threshold of the Swiss Pavilion. It is a sculpture and a line that extends in space, indicates a path, and questions the status of the artwork and the function of sculpture, using the archaic symbol of the snake. Carron gives it new meaning, shifting into  new material, using the moped for...future generations?

SOLEDAD, ASSISI, watercolor

Soledad, Assisi, 6x9 watercolor

In my last blog post, I described my impression with "U from Uruguay" presentation at La Biennale di Venezia. The artist is Martin Sastre. On the presentation, we read: "With the making of this perfume: "U from Uruguay", he extracts the essence of flowers and weeds from the farm of the President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica. Sastre is really trying to extract the essence of the austere way of life that distinguishes the head of government. Rather than moving into the presidential residence, President Mujica lives on his modest farm on the outskirts of the city, selling the flowers he grows in local markets and giving away 90% of his monthly salary for social housing, thus becoming a global icon of austerity. Sastre's proceeds from the sale of the perfume will go to establish a National Contemporary Art Fund in support of Uruguayan artists, thus applying President Mujica's principles to art. Sastre underscores the unpretentious lifestyle of the president of Uruguay."
Nest stop: THE SWISS PAVILION.

PIAZZA DEL COMUNE, ASSISI, watercolor

PIAZZA DEL COMUNE, ASSISI,  6x9 watercolor

Continuing with my comments about La Biennale di Venezia: URUGUAY. There was a beautiful triangular blue glass bottle, shining under a spotlight, on a pedestal. On it, a big U, for Uruguay. Behind the pedestal, on a video screen, you could see the story behind the making of "U, the perfume of Uruguay". From the flower fields he's collecting the fresh flowers, then a handsome man is climbing an ancient building `a la Indiana Jones style, then a masked (Batman type) man with a cape continues, to take off his mask, and most of his clothes, then he opens his briefcase `a la James Bond, takes out this huge key and opens this ancient door, to find....the blue glass bottle, the "perfume of Uruguay".  There are only three bottles in the world, and they will be auctioned at the end of the Biennale, they said. It was a lot of fun.

TIEMPO DETENIDO, watercolor

TIEMPO DETENIDO, watercolor, 6x9 in.

As promised in my previous blog entry: La Biennale di Venezia's Dominican Republic presentation: A screen projecting four people seriously dressed and seriously reading Rules and Regulations about Chewing Gum. "Rule number 43, single women may not chew gum- Rule number 44, it is not allowed to walk, dance, and chew gum at the same time - Rule number 45, male and female cannot chew gum in the same room at the same time - Rule....." you get the idea! On the side of the screen, there was a bowl full of individually wrapped chewing gum, with a sign saying the audience was invited to pick up a piece, chew the gum, then stick it on to the screen. Needles to say, the screen was full of chewed pieces of gum, some "dripping" down from the screen, some sticking the wrapping paper to the screen. I made my contribution, while laughing at the on-going rules... Social commentaries seemed to be a constant at the Biennale's art installations. Next stop: Uruguay!

TIEMPO DETENIDO, watercolor

TIEMPO DETENIDO, watercolor, 6x9 in.

Continuing with LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA (Venice Biennale): The theme of this 55th exhibition is the Encyclopaedic Palace, with the aspiration of showing a blending of contemporary art and historical tradition in the manner of an encyclopedia.

Most of the work is "installations", and I found that in their majority they question the system, be it the political, social or economic situation of their country or a universal concern. The installations sometimes were small, consisting of a video and an object, like in the case of Uruguay and the Dominican Republic, or in some cases they occupied a huge building and had taken months of work and a considerable expense to set up. The expense and work did not necessarily mean excellence or made it attractive in my eyes. Next stop: the Dominican Republic Chewing Gum Regulations!

EMOZIONE, watercolor

EMOZIONE, 6x9 watercolor

La Biennale di Venezia, from June 1st to the end of November, started 110 years ago, organized according to national pavilions. Then other dimensions were added. This year 88 countries are participating, ten of them for the first time, like the Vatican. I visited the Venice Biennale this week, that's the reason I have not written this blog for a few days, and now I will be writing about the Biennale for a while, to share my views and impressions with my readers.

Impossible to see it all in a few days, impossible to write about it all in a few lines, so I'll pick and chose from what I did see, what impressed me, or what I remember. The comments will be personal, incomplete, and I take full responsibility for its content. Stay tuned for the next blog....