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.

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!

BUENOS AIRES SKYLINE, watercolor

Buenos Aires Skyline, 4x6 watercolor         South America Cruise series # 40

After a one day stop in Montevideo, Uruguay, we finally arrived in Buenos Aires, our last stop. The cruise ship continued to New York, but we stopped in Argentina, for a few days visiting with family and friends. We visited the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Parques de Palermo, and had lunch at London Cafe. Buenos Aires is often called: "The Paris of South America", due to the architecture of its late 19th C. and early 20th C. buildings and city layout, imitating that of Paris of the same period, the Haussman period.