My doctor is into modern art. When he found out I was going to Venice, he got excited and said, “You have to go to the Biennale!” I vaguely remember my response. “Oh, the Biennale… oh yeah… in Venice… Oh yes, that’s on our to-do list… up towards the top.” So guess what? We have a free day in Venice, so we’re going to the Biennale!
I found out later that the Biennale is a highly-regarded modern art exhibition. The full name is La Biennale di Venezia. (Pronounced “bee-en-AL-eh dee ven-ETZ-ya”). It takes place in a park called Giardini della Biennale – Biennale Gardens.
In the Beginning…
In 1895, the Venetian City Council started an exhibition of Italian art. By the 1920’s, it had become a biennial international art exposition. Today the Biennale Foundation puts on the Biennale d‘Arte, events focused on architecture, music, theatre, dance, and the Venice Film Festival.
The Biennale alternates between modern art and architecture expositions. Art expositions are held in odd-numbered years. So technically speaking, we’re going to the Biennale d’Arte di Venezia.
The Giardini are way out on the tip of Venice. If you’re familiar with the map of Venice, they’re located on the tail of the fish. Our plan is to take a vaporetto, (water bus), to the giardini, then walk back. That’ll be a good hike through unchartered territory.
After having breakfast at the hotel, we walked to Piazza San Marco, where we boarded the vaporetto that stops at the Giardini della Biennale. Next thing we knew, we were cruising along out in the lagoon.
We hadn’t been out in the lagoon since the trip in from the airport. At the time, I was worried about getting us lost, trying to find our way to our hotel. I was too nervous to enjoy the ride.
This time, we don’t have a care in the world. Fresh air. Beautiful day. Birds a-singing. A new adventure. Life, she’s-a good!
The Giardini
The vaporetto made a few stops and eventually took us all the way out to the Giardini. It’s essentially a big park. Lots of green grass, pathways, and tall trees.
We saw a sign that said something about the Biennale, so we headed off in that direction. It was nice to be in a park after seeing nothing but cement, brick, and water for the past few days.
We found a ticket window, paid a small fee, and entered the Biennale. To us it just looked like we’d entered a big park with nothing but trees all around.
Even though the Biennale d’Arte is held every other year, much of the art is on permanent display. Visitors can come here all year round. Thirty countries have pavilions housing modern art by artists from their respective country. When the Biennale is in full swing, artists from more than 75 countries are represented.
The pavilions are scattered around the Giardini. We didn’t have anything in particular that we wanted to see, so we just wandered around the park. When we came to a pavilion, we went inside and saw works by artists from that pavilion’s country.
Ah Yes… Modern Art
I’d like to say I “get” modern art. I’d like to stand in front of a large canvas with paint spattered all over it and say to myself, “Yes! Yes! Brilliant!,” just loud enough for nearby onlookers to hear. But that’s not going to happen.
The purpose of modern art, as I understand it, is to be thought-provoking, maybe even inspirational. The artist might want the viewer to see something in a new light or think about something familiar in a new way. Those seem like worthy goals.
I can say that most modern art I’ve seen is indeed thought-provoking. For me, the thought it usually provokes is “What could that artist possibly have been thinking?!”
My favorite item at the Biennale was a piece of art called “The Box.” It was a big plywood box with a little white circle painted on top. In front of the box, a sign on the floor asks you to “please put your ear on the white circle and listen.”
People go up to the box, lean over the edge, and put their ear over the white circle. Then they’ll say things like…
“I don’t hear anything.”
“Do you hear anything?”
“I think I hear the sound of one hand clapping.”
“Is that ticking I hear? Yikes!”
“There, I did it. NOW can we go get a pizza?”
“What will happen if I listen on a place on the box other than the white spot?”
“I smell plywood.”
To the non-modern-art-aficionados among us, these may not seem like the utterances of those who are experiencing deep, awareness-provoking phenomena. But to the rest of us… ho ho! We know. Oh yes… We know that it’s time to get back to the real world.
To be continued…
