Sigmar Polke at the Biennale

Well, you can hardly see the art, but these are some works by Polke. I hope to post some better pictures shortly. What struck me about this photo, is that noone was looking at the art. What a shame. They were quite magical.

Venice - Last Stop on our Tour

We left Kassel, Germany on June 18. We drove to Frankfurt and hence to Venice. If you have not traveled to Venice recently, you will be reminded that there are no automobiles. Rather people get around by water taxi, gondola, or the vaparetto (public transportation). We took a bus from the Marco Polo Airport that dropped us at the vaparetto station. Jim and Judy managed the suitcases and we got on and rode to our destination. Our lovely boutique hotel --Novecento--was about 3 blocks from the station at San Giglio. Up and down several small stairs that passed over small canals. We found our hotel without incident. They were ready for us and we were ready for some wine and pizza. Quite a tiring and exciting day. The next day we were ready to immerse ourselves in the third stop on the GrandTour--the Venice Biennale. I should say a word about Munster Sculpture Project. It turns out that Munster is some 3 hours away from Kassel. We did not feel that we had enough time to get there and back and so we abandoned the plan to see all 4 events. As I understand it, most of the sculpture in Munster is spread around the town and we were supposed to rent bicycles. Well, that certainly wouldn't work for either Judy or me. Jim would have to be on his own.

The Venice Biennale is the oldest of all these events. I was eagerly awaiting seeing what there was there. We were not disappointed. I have selected several photos of pieces that really interested me. Of all the work, I was incredibly impressed with Sigmar Polke's incredible paintings. First of all, they are gigantic. They occupy a prominent place in the Italian Pavilion. Much has been written about him and his work. We were not disappointed. Carol Vogel, writing in the International Herald Tribune, calls him the inscrutable master of the unexpected. She continues: at a moment when no clear artistic movement or style is dominant, artists and curators say all his work seems new.

We arrived in Venice on June 18. Randy Kennedy left on June 9. Make sure you read her blog. We saw some of the same things that Randy did. The two bald guys or gals, not sure which. We were glad we were not there for the huge crowds. We were at the first days of Art Basel and Documenta. So two out of three is not bad.

A well deserved break

After two days of looking at the art in Kassel, Jim and Judy decided to have a rest. Since the show was spread out in five different buildings, there was a lot of walking to do.

Iole de Freitas at Documenta

This untitled installation, created in 2007 by Iole de Freitas, was both inside and outside the Museum Fridericianum. It consists of bent steel pipes, partially covered by either transparent or translucent panels. Some actually appeared to penetrate the building and could be seen on the outside of the building. She was born in Brazil and lives and works now in Rio de Janeiro. According to the catalogue, she is concerned with the spatial manifestations of gestures and movements. You can see another view of this by looking at Chrissie' blog. For more about this and other pieces at Documenta, read Walter Robinson's article Lost in Space.

Video Installation at Documenta

While we saw only a few video installations at Art Basel there were many at Documenta. This video was installed on the second floor of the Museum Fridericianum. Here is a portion of the audience. The video is to the right in the niche. While we were watching, someone came up to Jim and asked to interview him. Supposedly this person is making a video of people filming people watching a video. Many layers of things. For the most part, I found the videos not engaging. although this video was shown in a room that was well lit and had chairs, many were in very dark spaces. It was quite disconcerting going into the space and not knowing if you were watching a narrative or what.

We came upon this enormous sculpture/installation/piece in the outside area just in from the the Weiwei door and window sculpture. The day was wonderfully clear, the sky was blue, and the wind was blowing. Raised somewhat above the ground, the piece billowed out and undulated almost in time with the wind. The guard felt compelled to tell us not to jump on it or touch it. Jim took some photos of two Chinese women in front of this piece. They called themselves living sculptures. They wandered around many spaces in Kassel and often posed for pictures. They were dressed in traditional Chinese kimonos, but were wearing high heeled black pumps and long gloves.

Ai Weiwei at Documenta

Another view of the sculpture. You can see that we were there on a gloriously clear day. In the distance is the Orangerie, a beautiful structure on the river in Kassel. You can get a sense of the grandeur of the yellow building in the background.

Ai Weiwei at Documenta

This description helps to understand the sculpture. This 2007 sculpture is 720 x 1200 x 850 cm. He shows in Beijing and Lucerne. In addition to this monumental work, Weiwei arranged for 1001 Chinese people to attend Documenta. You can read more about this fairytale in Irish blogs. His plan involves outfitting them in matching clothes, housing them in temporary quarters that he designed, and having them comment via his blog. While we were there we saw a number of Chinese people, but we never could be sure they were visitors or part of his group

Ai Weiwei at Documenta

Judy is standing before a very large sculpture created by Ai Weiwei. It is made from doors and windows saved from structures that were destroyed. These come from the Ming and Qing dynasty houses. Ai is the son of the famous writer Ai Qing. He is considered a star in China's art world. He is working with Swiss architects to design the Olympic Stadium for the 2008 olympics to be held in China.

Floor of the Forest by choreographer Trisha Brown at Documenta

Floor of the Forest was one of the first pieces we viewed. Housed in a museum space, it reminded me of some of the performance pieces from the 1960s. Trisha Brown from Aberdeen, South Dakota created this dance piece. Brown was a dancer and choreographer in the early 60s. According to the catalogue, she explores everyday movements and place, their function and their substance. In this piece, you see dancers who travel through an "undulating sea" of fabrice. They step in and out of clothing and move along the ropes. Well, I, for one, could not really get into this. To me, the dancers' movements seemed very awkward and I could not connect with them or, for that matter, anyone else in the space. They were given a prominent location in the Museum Fridericianum. You can see more photos of these piece if you are interested.

Town Hall in Kassel

Judy and Jim posed in front of the Town Hall or Rathaus in Kassel, Germany, home of the documenta. We had just arrived and were walking along on opening day. Kassel is a town in Germany, several hours north of Frankfurt. It was pretty much bombed out during the second world war and has been rebuilt in a nondescript architecture. This town hall obviously survived bombings. Documenta began in Kassel in 1955 when painter and professor Arnold Bode wanted to highlight various artistic groups of the 20th century. It began with 570 works of art from 148 artists.

Marilyn and the Tree

When we arrived at Documenta, there were two trees--advertisements for something. I posed with one of them. Unlike Basel, this exhibit was housed in 4 different locations, including two museum buildings, a pavilion specially constructed for the show, and a 4th site. Three were situated around this very large square somewhat in the center of town. We arrived on opening day. Unlike Basel which had enormous crowds jammed into a large conference center-like space, Documenta was quite spread out so you didn't feel the crush of people.

On to Documenta

We left Basel and traveled by car to Kassel, Germany. You have read about our troubles earlier. The next group of postings show some of the art we saw and some of the adventures we had.

Scope - A Peripheral Show

Very often other galleries gather together and rent alternative space other than where the main Art Basel is held. One such group is called Scope. This space was located about 4 blocks from the main Art Basel location. We walked over late in the afternoon and were pleased to see gallery space that was more accessible, people who were more willing to talk, and in general a more receptive atmosphere. At one end of the long corridor was a small cafe. Since the rain came down in buckets, we had a chance to sit and watch those attending. They were quite a different crowd than those we had seen earlier in the day--more artists, more young people, fewer high end buyers.

Art Basel - People taking pictures

Not to be outdone by the professional photographers, I also captured Jim taking pictures of art. I tended to take pictures of other people taking pictures. And so it goes.

Art Basel - People taking pictures

One observation we all made is that many people were involved in taking pictures of the works of art. Since we were there opening day, I suspect some of these were for publication or to appear online or in blogs. This is an unknown photographer.

Joan Miro wall hanging at Art Basel

We saw two rather large wall hangings by Joan Miro. This is one of them. While I have seen much of his work, I had not seen this type. A great place to view his work is at the Fondation Maeght in St. Paul de Vence in Provence.

Judy at Art Basel

Not sure what amused her, but you can see Judy enjoying something to eat.

Jessica Stockholder at Art Basel

Some of you will recognize the work of Jessica Stockholder. This piece was completed in 2006. The Corcoran has one of her pieces in a recent show. Born in Seattle and raised in Vancouver, Jessica makes multimedia installations. Some have described her work as "paintings in space." You can look at additional art or see a slide show of her at work in Art of the Twenty-first Century, a show from PBS.

Mark Rothko at Art Basel

By now you realize that a good deal of the work from Basel is of blue chip quality and for resale. This work by Mark Rothko was typical of what we saw. When I first discovered so many of these pieces, I was surprised. But then I realized that this is the place where works of art are bought--somewhat akin to the auctions held by Sotheby or Christie.

Donald Judd at Art Basel

Donald Judd. Another name you will recognize. Since Basel acts as a secondary market for much work from the past, it was not surprising to see works by Judd (below) as well as many floor sculptures by Carl Andre. Those of you from the Corcoran will remember the Judd work we had hanging. So many of us wanted to put our hands inside. This work was similar.

More from Basel

One of the few paintings by a Chinese artist at Art Basel, this mammoth canvas was a triptych. What you see is only a small section of the painting, with Jim and Judy in the foreground. We were struck by the size of the painting and the rendering of the heads, as if they were in heaven looking down on the rest of us. Unfortunately, I was not able to capture the name of the artist. But I think we should look out for him in the future.

So much of the art in Basel was by an artist with an established reputation. Many works could have been seen in a museum setting. Of course, this is the place where all those with money do their buying for the year. This painting was unusual in my view.

William Hunt - Put Your Foot Down

We traveled down an escalator into a space adjacent to the main Art Basel exhibit. About 40 people were gathered, all looking intently at this automobile. If you look carefully you can see that the car is full of water and a man is inside. He was actually bubbling under the water. Periodically he would come up and take an inhale from his scuba gear. After what seemed like 6 or 7 minutes, he emerged through the sun roof. Everyone clapped and cheered. Yes. This is an art piece. Reminiscent of performance pieces of earlier times. You can see more pictures at Art Comments. William Hunt performed this piece in 2006 in 25 minutes.

Nikki de Saint Phalle

My Corcoran friends will recognize another version of Yellow Nana. This one was for sale. But since no prices were shown anywhere, I couldn't tell how much it costs. We also saw that a similar version was used as a symbol for the entire event since we found a balloon version overhead in the Zurich train station.

The crowd at Art Basel

We arrived at Art Basel on opening day. The suits, white dresses and Louis Vuitton handbags were evident everywhere. This fair was about buying, selling, and being seen. We overheard many conversations--lots in German and French. I suspect some of them were about negotiating prices.

Home at last

We were able to fly standby on Saturday from Frankfurt and arrived home around 4:30 in the afternoon. One small suitcase did not make it. Otherwise everything else uneventful.

On Monday after I have a chance to download my pictures and do some thinking, I will post my thoughts and comments about the three events.

I must say that being there was quite something--an experience we will not forget. Check in soon for my thoughts about the art.

Stranded in Frankfurt

Friday we got up, strolled around Venice for the last time, and then traveled by vaporetto and bus to the Marco Polo airport where we to catch a flight to Frankfurt and then on to Dulles. As you can tell by this email, we missed our connection. The Venice flight left late due to weather. When we disembarked, the flight attendant said sorry that we were inconvenienced and wished us well and safe journey. Well, the Frankfurt Airport was a zoo. No one to help, etc. We waited in line at a Lufthansa transfer point--we were traveling from Venice to Frankfurt on Lufthansa--they said there were no more flights out on Friday and they would have to rebook us. After much back and forth, this was accomplished. They sent us to a new hotel somewhere in Frankfurt, gave us a free dinner with wine and a small convenience package consisting of one size very large t-shirt, tooth brush and paste, etc.

I have been trying to contact United to get on an earlier flight, but so far no luck. So hopefully we will arrive home Saturday night rather than our expected time on Friday night.

I will post more about Venice later.

Biennale - Part 2

On Wednesday we visited the Arsenale which houses the other main section of the Biennale. It is actually in an old arsenal (not air conditioned) and is a gigantic space. Essentially down one very long corridor and then a jog to the left and another shorter space. Two separate buildings house the Italian Pavilion (not to be confused with another Italian Pavilion at the Giardini) and the Chinese Pavilion.

But back to the main section. This is very different from the Giardini since it is organized by artist and not by country. There were many video presentations, most of which were located in pitch black spaces--some with benches, but others with only the wall to lean against. One group consisted of 5 separate videos about Chinese intellectuals. It was very beautiful, but we were not able to watch the entire thing and were not really able to return.

Some spaces I found particularly moving.

1. Emily Prince. She collected photos and biographical information about soldiers killed in Afghanistan (and maybe Iraq). She then created a complex filing system organized by state. Sketches drawn from the photos were made with names, dates, locations, etc. of each soldier. They were then displayed on an enormous wall in the shape of the US. It was extremely moving and I found myself thinking about the process she went through to keep things arranged.

2. Two gigantic wall hangings created out of metallic wrappers presumably from wine bottles and other drinks. One was of bottle caps. Then were then attached to each other with small bits of wire. They were beautiful. Most of the colors were gold, silver and red. You will enjoy the photos.

The Opera in a Palace

Last night we heard an abbreviated version of La Traviata set in a palace. There were about 75 people in the audience. We sat on simple wooden chairs and were in rooms of a house. Three singers and four musicians provided the entire performance. While Violetta was a little theatrical, she had quite the voice and was very beautiful. Her lover, the tenor, had the best voice I thought.

After the first act, we got up and moved into another room where they sang again. The opera ends with Violetta dying of consumption. It seems to me that many operas take on this theme. The audience gave the performance a standing ovation. I thought that many people had never been to an opera before and that this was a wonderful way to introduce them.

My daughter said that when they went out for a gelatto afterwards, they saw the singers relaxing in the same square.

I don't think you can do this outside of Italy. I have been to the opera all over the world, but never in a setting like this. A good way to see opera. Not intimidating and quite easy to understand.

Venice Biennale - Part 1

We are on the final leg of our journey. If you have not been to Venice in some while, let me remind you of a few challenges. Venice, of course, is a city without automobiles. The Americans are only used to traveling by car. Here it is another story. We arrived by plane. You first take a bus to the water taxi location. Navigating your suitcase on the water taxi is indeed a challenge, but I was fortunate that Jim, my son-in-law, managed both my suitcase and theirs. We then had to get off and get to our hotel. Up and over some small bridges, and steps, and down a small alley. But once we got here the hotel was terrific and everything was great. We really appreciated the air conditioning as well, since it is extremely hot and muggy here and our last hotel in Kassel, Germany was not air conditioned.

So to the Biennale. It is housed in two main venues, plus a whole lot of other places around the city. Yesterday we decided to spend our time at La Giardini, the garden area where many pavillions are located. We took the vaporetto (water taxi) there and walked along the pathway to the entrance. Our hotel had graciously provided free entry--a cost of 15 euros if you were buying it yourself. The Giardini houses almost 30 pavillions that represent a variety of countries. Our map helped us navigate the terrain and so we were able to visit all of the locations.

Now what can I say that has not already been written about. As we reviewed last evening over dinner, here are some of our own observations.

1. The Russian display actually was fantastic. Very high tech. Seemed to be mostly about videos which I normally do not like. In one room we encountered a video created by 4 people in a group effort. It was identical to the one we saw at Art Basel, but displayed in a very large space on three gigantic screens. It seemed to be a combination of surreal landscapes and warlike encounters among young people. A very large audience was completely engaged in watching this. Another fascinating piece was a small room, showerlike with faucets--not working--and an overhead large spigot. You could step up and go right into this room. On 3 of the walls a gridlike framework the size of a small tv screen was constructed. Videos scrolled down very rapidly on all the walls. It was not really easy to tell what was moving. Very cool, or hot, depending on your vocabulary.

2. Sigmar Polke--in the Venice Pavillion--blows you away. The sheer size of the paintings is overwhelming. The materials, beyond oil paint, are impossible to discern, but seem to be sort of luminescent. Most of the canvases are so thing that you can see the stretchers in a kind of window or gridlike design on the reverse. All of us loved these and spent a considerable time in this room. We have some beautiful shots which I will post when I return home.

3. You got a sense of country as you wandered among the various spaces. More money, more technology, greater opportunities were evident in some exhibits while others were spartan and used simple materials.

We spent the entire day just at this location. Today we plan to go to the Arsenale, where other exhibits are mounted. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Greetings from Venice and the Biennale

We arrived in Venice last night--Monday--after a car, plane, bus, and boat trip. Our charming, small hotel is near the Accademia Bridge. We ate outside last night at a leisurely pace. Today we travel to the Arsenale where we get a first look at the Biennale. Will report more later.

Documenta 12

Two days here and 6 miles walked. This is a show that smacks of political statements--from the 1001 Chinese people and chairs who were brought here by Ai Weiwei, to his monumenal sculpture of doors and houses from qing and ming dynasties; to photographs of political uprisings in the congo; to incense burned in the Neue Gallerie and positioned on a raised, flat space. I could go on and on.

We were blown away by the Pavilion--one of four venues where art is displayed.

But getting access to a computer and sending photographs is almost beyond me. You will have to wait for the photos until I get home.

Tomorrow we get to Venice. And is computers are more available, I will post our impressions of the Biennale.

Hertz Hurts

Can you believe that Hertz gave away our reserved and partially paid for auto. They blamed us because we did not arrive at the exact time of our reservation. We have quite a to do with the clerk and eventually she reluctantly gave us a piece of paper saying that they did not have an automatic car for us. Perhaps I will get a refund. I am not sure. In any event, we rented a car from the next place over--beautiful, brand new, and cheaper. But whether I get a refund from the first place, I will not know.

Art Basel

Two days at Art Basel make you know what an amazing scene the art world is. The art consists of more than 200 art galleries from around the world--with many from Germany as well as from the US, and even some from China.

We were amazed at how much Blue chip art there was. Would you like to buy a Rothko, a Miro, a Picasso? They were all there. Of course many other artists as well. For my Corcoran buddies, there were several pieces by Jessica Stockholder, some Rudolf Stingl works, etc.

The audience included gallerists, shoppers, dealers, owners, and a few people like us who were just looking. We saw many older couples with notes, etc.

Now here are our impressions of the most amazing things. An old bmw car filled with water, with its lights on. Inside was the artists submerged in water and gurgling. Periodically he gasped for breath using some scuba gear. I have a picture, although I can' quite figure out how to get it on the computer. Will keep working on that. About 50 people watched and wondered if he was going to make it. Reminiscent of Chris Burden having someone shoot him in the arm.

A gigantic canvas--4 sections--with sort of a rising son of heads of Chinese men coming up over the horiyon. The rest was blue sky. (if you have not used a kezboard in another country, zou might not know this, but some keys are located in different places than what we are used to and i find mzself making some simple typos.

Many larger than life photorealist pictures bz Thomas Struth. Saw an installtion of what looked like a bathroom from a public space. The large figure looking over one of the sinks was supposed to be spraypainting grafitti on the mirror. It took a while to discover he was not real.

Much more painting than I expected. I will comment at length after I have a chance to review my notes.

We also attended one of the alternative art venues called Scope. It was about 3 blocks away from the main location. Smaller galleries were represented there. The people were much more accessible and even friendly. At the end as we were having a coffee, the rains came down in buckets and we waited it out for some time.

The train back and forth between Zurich where we are staying and Basel took about an hour and was perfectly easy to do.

Now we are in for a train trip to Frankfurt. I hope that works as well. Tonight we expect to go to the opening of documenta which begins late this evening.

Staz tuned.

Hello from Zurich

We arrived uneventfully here yesterday. Today was spent looking at this pretty town. Tomorrow we take the train to Basel and begin our looking at art.

Look for our posts and photos then.

On the way to Zurich and Basel

All the hype in the papers has been about the Venice Biennale. While the official opening is June 10, previews have been available and led to many articles. But Basel does not officially open until June 13 with hours 11am to 7pm. We will arrive in Zurich on June 11 and have a day or so to look around Zurich. We are staying in Zurich because hotels in Basel were completely booked even in January. We plan to be at Basel on June 13 and 14 and then leave by train and car for Kassel, Germany.

Basel is for art dealers and shoppers. Since I am neither, I will have to settle for looking at the art and the people. Both should prove very interesting.

Anticipating the Venice Biennale

I have been reading much about this. Some of the best info can be found at the New York Times blog by Randy Kennedy.

Three Days to Go

Almost all plans are in place. We leave on Sunday and will visit Art Basel first. Most of what I have been reading online is about the Venice Biennale since that just opened. That is last on our adventure and so look for pictures and comments around June 18 when we fly there from Frankfurt.

In the meantime, you will have to be satisfied with getting ready for Art Basel. In a way this venue is not like the others since it is primarily about sales, galleries, etc. But most importantly it is in operation for only a few days. The other three exhibits are around all summer. I expect the crowds in Basel to be enormous.

I'll try to post some photos as soon as we arrive.

Posting to the Blog

Hi All,

If you are following my preparations for getting ready to go on the Grand Tour, you will know I have been trying to figure out how to post to my blog and to send photos from a location other than my home computer.

Well, the problem is solved. Blogger makes it extremely easy to do. All you need is to follow directions. My new cell phone arrives shortly and it will work in all countries we are visiting. So I expect to post some fabulous photos from Basel, Kassel and more.

Potato Sack Race

Just a little diversion from the art world.

Recapping the Grand Tour

Some of you have been asking me what this grand tour is about. It is a highly unusual occurrence that these 4 art events occur at the same time. While Art Basel is an annual event, and the Venice Biennale is alternate years, documenta in Kassel Germany occurs only every 5 years. And rarer still is Munster Sculpture Project that occurs every 10 years. So that is why we are going at this time.

Except for Basel which goes on from June 13 - 17, the others run all summer. So that is why we are starting our tour in Basel--actually in Zurich. Basel is completely sold out and has been for some time and Zurich is jumping as well.

The original grand tour was something young British men did after they finished their education and before they got ready to do whatever it was they did. They went to the continent and stayed, some times for years.

Our grand tour is somewhat shorter. We are only staying two weeks. I did all the planning for this tour and did not discover the official web site until some months later.

On May 28, the International Herald Tribune described Europe's grand tour of contemporary art as a "total solar eclipse." They say it promises to be "the art event of the decade." I will let you know.

Recapping the grand tour

Several people have asked me where we are going on this grand tour. While the original concept of the grand tour was for wealthy, educated young men from England to tour the continent before they settled down to do whatever it is that they do, our grand tour is primarily about art. And in particular the 4 art events that occur this summer in Europe. It is an unusual occurrence for all 4 events to happen at the same time--once every 10 years. I know. The Basel Art Fair is an annual event and the Venice is alternate years. But add to that the documenta (every 5 years) and Munster skulptur (every 10 years) and that is why you have this happening.



The order of of visiting is somewhat up to the visitor, except that Basel is only between June 13 through June 17. So we are starting there. We arrive in Zurich on June 11 early in the morning. Yes, we are staying in Zurich. That is because Basel hotels were sold out--even back in January. And I think Zurich will be jumping as well.

Venice Biennale - June 10 Opening

I am not familiar with Guillermo Kuitca from Buenos Aires who will be exhibiting in the Argentine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. This pavilion is in the historic Ateneo Veneto in Campo San Fantin near La Fenice. Apparently Kuitca is one of only 3 artists who is in both a national pavilion and the international Biennale exhibition. By the time Kuitca reached age 13, he had sold several pieces from his gallery show. A retrospective of his work will be shown at the Hirshhorn in 2009.

According to the New York Times, his 6 x 12 feet paintings will be a survey of the "fluctuating topography and history of abstraction over the last 100 years." I can't wait to see what he is offering.

8 days to go

Yesterday we received an invitation from documenta 12 for an event that is on June 15, the day we arrive in Kassel. They are interested in connecting with the city of Kassel (Germany). Rather than having an exclusive cocktail party for the opening of the exhibit, they are planning a big party for the citizens of Kassel and those who are interested in documenta. The event is planned for Bergpark Wilhelmshohe. It includes a program by a jazz orchestra. Following the curators of the exhibit--Buergel and Noack--will be there to welcome everyone. According to wikipedia, this mountain park is the largest mountain park in Europe. It dates from the 1600s.

I'm not sure if I am up to it, but at midnight the party will end and documenta 12 club night begins. And I thought we were attending an art event. I hope to get some wonderful photos.

Documenta seems to be taking an inclusive position regarding this exhibition. I am very excited about the ideas.

Phone problem solved

Today I rented a cell phone that will permit me to take pictures and download them to my computer--perhaps to any computer. I think the rates are high, but it is really something I want to do.

So now I hope to send you pictures from the different places we visit.

I learned about something called photobucket.com and either this site or picasa should enable me to do what I want.

Ain't technology great.

Judy and Jim