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A Bluffer's Guide to the Venice Biennale

From:     Frizz
Category: Art
Date:     11 June 2009
Time:     06:26 PM

Review:

 Piecing together the media coverage one can form a surprisingly vivid and spontaneous response to 
the work on showat the Venice Biennale without leaving the comfort of your armchair. The additional 
advantage is that ones "readings" will not diverge from the general consensus- useful !

Highlights:

Roman Ondak, Czech Pavilion. Installation of giardini inside the pavilion "wonderfully subtle and 
discreet intervention"

Elmgreen and Dragset , Norway and Denmark Pavilion , "the Collectors "-  corpse in pool, swanky 
art, young boys lounging around in modernist interior, "wonderfully acerbic satire on the 
contradictions of art collecting , especially in the present KKKlimate "

Bruce Nauman , American Pavilion , "Slightly dull retrospective of postmodern master, far too much 
old fashioned existential anxiety for my liking "

Martin Boyce, Scottish Pavilion "Couldnt find it ."

Francis Upritchard , New Zealand ,"Who?"

Liam Gillick, German Pavilion , " Brave and bold departure from colourful modernist sculpture to 
wooden modernist sculpture. Resembles a gigantic kitchen-  ha ha. Loved the animotronic cat-though 
couldnt hear the lecture . Not so much dull, as boring "

Steve Mcqueen , British Pavilion, "Beatifully shot fiilm,liked the shot of the dewdrop glistening on the 
antennae of a snail, films are ok to show in galleries because we like to sit down to look at art these 
days, kewed for two hours, and then fell asleep inside but got the shot of the snail."

"Making Worlds " Curated by Daniel Birnbaum , "Great Show, particuarly liked the installation of 
piano wires by Lygia Pape. Also liked Ceal Floyer's slide of a bonsai tree. The whole show was 
totally inoffensive- and that for some reason is good"

Mexican Pavilion- installation involving the blood of murder victims being washed off the floor-"Bit 
much, that."

Icelndic Pavilion, artist paints a portrait of the same man every day for six months- "Nice try, but that 
guy can't paint"

Pinault Collection- "Phew! That guy sure got pulling power, no ?"

Don't say :  " Is it on every year ?"

Do say : "God , the food in the Giardini is terrible ! "


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