Day 13: Venice, day 3

Day 13:  Venice, day 3, Friday, almost all pics

Quote of the Day: It's true, you can hit the "art" wall

A woman asleep inside Arsenale

Quote of the Day 2: Doctors tell me I'm cynical. I tell them it must be chemical.

Weather: Another gorgeous day

Department of Corrections: Japan's exhibit is called Cosmo Egg

The red "button" at the end of a cord: it's an emergency alarm that rings the front desk. THB pulled it during his first shower thinking it might make all the water come out of the shower head instead of split between the wand and head (THB had already tried the "pull" behind the water control. Test successful: the desk called and asked DB to check on THB. 

First SMC is assigned the same room at check-in that we got. Then she tells the story at breakfast of her key not working last night. This morning after breakfast our key doens't open the door. Parallel lives in Venice?

Ralph Rugoff, chief curator of the Biennale, is the first to decide to show the same artists in both locations, Arsenale and Giardini. It is a brilliant idea, some artists have the same style art in both, some not.

Also, there are more national pavilions at Arsenale. For most part they are not the same ones that were here in 2017. These aren't permanent the way they are in Giardini.

Here we go, tons of pictures and you the follower have to connect the dots as THB selects what he likes and thus some of artists are not in the blog for both days.

Another art day starts, today at Arsenale. Valentina is awaiting our arrival.

Outside Arsenale 

George Condo writ large, THB likes this one a lot

Soham Gupta photographs

Christian Marclay video: a composite of wars running concurrently and creating a cacophony of sound at the main entrance to Arsenale. Very disruptive, we only manage a few seconds 

Zahele Mutoli self-portrait

another Zahele Mutoli self-portrait

Anthony Hernandez

Note that the "walls" of the installations are all made of plywood

Taveres Strachan: a large installation about the first black American astronaut, he never made it to space. This is a hologram

THB  not sure of the artist

Same artist as above, THB and DB both like this piece a lot

Kahlil Joseph: video installations of a black news channel

Sound installation by Shilpa Gupta (Gupta #2, they are both from India)

More paintings by Henry Taylor

Njideka Crosby: paintings (collages at Giardini)

Teresa Margolies simulated a train station (i.e., with dim lights, sounds) of posters of disappeared women

Maybe Zanele Maholi?

Yin Xinchen, large "soft" figure in the brace position, in the form of a Trojan Horse

Inside discussing the piece, is it pro-democracy China work?

Staged portraits when Martine Guiterrez is the only alive person, the rest are mannequins

Jill Mulleady paintings

Jean-luc Mouleme (nothing like his ceramic figure at Giardini)

Carol Bove

Nicole Eisenman sculptures, Giaridini was paintings. THB likes both styles

Twins? Identical?

Sun Yuan and Peng Yu back with another robotic piece, this time a "black whip" comes out of a throne at lightning speed. This piece is also encased in glass. Instead of dry cleaning, the viewer would need an ambulance or a mortician if things went south

The whip is appearing

Look out

Lethal weapon, note scratches on glass!

THB missed the artist attribution

Another Maholi self-portrait

Otobong Nkanga: long glass work 

detail

Ironic signage running along perimeter of piece?

Rula Halawani

Maria Loboda

Yet another Maholi; why did Rugoff spread them through Arsenale?

Another shot of glass wall, transitioning 

Another Ruth Halawani photograph 

Michael Armitage paintings

This painted on a burial canvas...spooky

Wall of paintings (or photographs?) by Gauri Gill

Michael Armitage

Liu Wei, striking large installation of "molecules" blown up

Alexandra Bircken: major installation of latex figures handing from ladders, scaffolding, hanging, hanging, hanging. Includes her trademark motorcycle. Do you remember her piece from Giardini? THB may/must have wrong attribution

Little Girl, bomb, Bircken

Alex De Corte, still from video where De Corte plays the part of .... ? Pinocchio?

Hanging, hanging, hanging...

Carol Bove

THB thinks Bove did two almost identical pieces and Rugoff put one in each exhibition rather than make a choice of one or the other

Antoine Catala, part of an installation, this is just one of 4 or 5 identical worn sweaters 

More Catala

Khyentse Norbu, Bhutanese 

Kahlil Joseph, BlkNws near end of Arsenale

Sculptures made out of found materials, by Jimmie Durham

Anicka Yi: large lanterns with pools underneath

Tarik Atoni, sound installation made out of odds and ends; you sit at one end in "chairs" and listen to the weird composition

Neil Beloufa: recordings of soldiers being interviewed and relating emotional impact of serving; you sit on a sliding seat and as you move forward the piece begins

Stats on where and when interviewees served

Andra Ursuta: 3D printed, that's alcohol in each vessel

Arthur Jafa installation: photographs, giant tires, etc.

Lara Favaretto: she placed her body in the concrete before it hardened; she did the "steam" coming out of the roof of the Giardini exhibition space

Avery Singer, paintings

Jimmie Durham

 Now we've left the exhibition hall and are visiting national pavilions. The work is much more uneven, not too many pics (HAH!)

 Peru: Mariana Telleria, a play-off of the old colonial era material, this time with "girls gone wild" motif (if you wanna treat us like savages, we can show you savages!)

Original images

"Butterflies" redone

Recorders made out of PVC-type material

Stills from video (of course sound is of the kids playing)

Depth created using mirrors, it is really only 2 feet deep

Ghana was considered the second best pavilion after Lithuania. Lithuania ran out of money, the performance on a beach with orchestra is rarely done and the lines are really long. We didn't get  to take a peak

Part of Ghana pavilion

"maps"

Paintings by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Photographs by Felicia Abban, done years ago. She was a pioneer and teacher.

These are self-portraits

Real people. 

El Anatsui

Indonesia: THB and DB will be there in early 2020

Indonesia: your throw dice and through a series of action, your fortune is told

THB's fortune: Doctors tell me I'm cynical. I tell them it must be chemical.

On way to Italia and India Pavilions

Untitled, a salvaged ship that sunk with immigrants aboard

A tribute to the birth of Ghandi 150 years ago

Shakuntala Kulkarni.: built "cages" and then wore them around town

"Hi honey, I'm home"?

Wooden sandals worn in tribute to Ghandi's vegetarianism

Photographs supplied by grandnephew, Kanu Ghandi

Italia: decided to include work by three different artists with no attributions. Who did what? Back to Indonesia to throw dice?

China: not all that good, THB could've deleted these pics

While you are watching a video of the equivalent of getting from wide-range down to specific, there's a  camera in front of the screen (see that dark bar just below street lamp) and so you are wondering who is zooming on you

In 2017 there was one large hand leaning against a building. In 2019 the artist gets a row of 6 grasping each other

We're taking the small shuttle back to beginning

Then walking down a long alley full of shapes high up on the wall by Nairy Banghramian

Shots from around town, food, etc.

THB's arty shot for day

Maybe she's still sleeping

THB has a waffle with yogurt and coco-puffs for breakfast

Vaporetto: crowded around entrance/exit, people don't move "back" easily; the individual ticket is $8, a three day pass is $44 and a good buy.

Someone reading one of THB's Highly Recommended books

Lunch spot in Arsenale, same place group ate lunch in 2017

If life wasn't tough enough, now THB is drinking at lunch

Chicken curry on couscous

Salad with excellent burrata

Another gelateria stop

On the way to dinner

Outdoor dining at da Fiore

We're dining with YT and YT from Japan, another meet-up somewhere around the globe. Sorry, no pics of the food, meal was very good (it's a Michelin star spot, picked by YT)

Our hotel at night