There’s a point that comes, on a vacation like this, where you say to yourself, yes, this is a masterpiece, but basta on the madonnas, per favore.
And that’s when you decamp for…
Yep, it’s the Venice Biennale, and a more bracing cure for religious-art overload doesn’t exist. It wasn’t a perfect day — we got shut out of the space because we ducked into a shelter to get out of the rain, not realizing we couldn’t get back in — but we saw plenty in the national pavilions we visited. Including Japan:
Electrodes inserted in the decaying fruit sense moisture changes, and translate that into electrical signals that trigger lights and drone sounds. So weird. Also, France:
Video with fabric sculptures, on a theme of drowning, and environmental degradation.
Korea was about smell. This figure snorted vapor out of its nostrils every few seconds. Unfortunately, the wind was howling through the open windows of the pavilion, and it was hard to get a sense of it.
Great Britain had a lot of video, along with light sculpture:
We saw a few more countries before we foolishly stepped outside the line, but those were the highlights. Tomorrow we’re looking for some of the free sites. Nigeria is supposed to be a good one. Yesterday we wandered through Ukraine’s freebie, which included a world map painted on a single dried chickpea (seriously) and this pile of dirt:
There were plants in it. I suppose the art will be whether the plants thrive over the six-month course of the show; we’ll see.
Ultimately, the most moving sight of the day was this man, who sat opposite us in the restaurant where we had dinner. He brought his dog with him. He ordered a steak, and when it was delivered, cut it up piece by piece and fed each one to the dog, who ate each morsel politely. It was such a sweet thing. It’s nice to see a dog and a person communicating on a deep level.
When I was here 40 years ago I recall cats everywhere, but haven’t seen one yet. The dogs are winning. Go, dogs.
OK, then. Back when events command it.
LAMary said on May 2, 2024 at 5:03 pm
The dog looks like my dear departed dog Smokey. He would be polite in that situation I’m sure. He was a gentleman and a charming companion.
139 chars
alex said on May 2, 2024 at 8:10 pm
Our labradors always had the worst table manners, thanks to my dad feeding them liverwurst at breakfast time.
109 chars
Ann said on May 2, 2024 at 9:03 pm
Definitely a refreshing change after all the Madonnas. Looking forward to more.
79 chars
Peter said on May 3, 2024 at 8:39 am
That is one well behaved dog!
Our dog wouldn’t wouldn’t beg or whine during a meal, especially when company was over, except for my father and father in law, who were easy marks. Then he would rest
his head on the table right next to them and give them a “you going to eat that?” look to them.
One time we had my father in law over for a steak dinner, and our dog assumed the position. My father in law cut a piece off the steak and put it on his fork, then “you want a piece, boy?” and held it up. The dog took the rest of his steak and ran off with it.
560 chars
LAMary said on May 3, 2024 at 9:21 am
I went to Italy the first time when I was 18. By day four I was done with Madonnas etc. Wandering around the city was much more interesting. I met two girls from Pnily who were my age and we had a great time exploring and fending off Italian men who felt obliged to demonstrate the sterotypical Italian male behavior.
317 chars
Icarus said on May 3, 2024 at 9:25 am
That dog’s social media status: Marked safe from Kristi Noem.
62 chars
Little Bird said on May 3, 2024 at 9:26 am
Duane Eddy has joined the Ghost Riders in the Sky.
50 chars
Dorothy said on May 3, 2024 at 3:17 pm
Peter I loved that story! It reminded me of time before we had kids and invited a niece to stay over night. Her parents didn’t own a dog so she was unfamiliar with their quirky ways. She asked for some Cheerios, dry, so I obliged. I went back to the kitchen and could hear little Jessica going “Here, Dublin! Here, Dublin!” (Obvious name for our Irish setter). I glanced around the doorway and could see her holding one Cheerio in her hand, and Dub’s face buried in the bowl of 200 or so Cheerios, blissfully scarfing the whole bowlful.
She was a dumb dog but was smart enough to know “Why go for one proffered Cheerio when I can have them all?!”
662 chars
Brandon said on May 3, 2024 at 8:26 pm
The Biennale website.
NATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS
All the countries showcased at the Biennale Arte 2024
The Exhibition alsos include 86 National Participations in the historic Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale and in the city centre of Venice. 4 countries participate for the first time at the Biennale Arte: Republic of Benin, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, and United Republic of Tanzania.
493 chars
Jeff Gill said on May 4, 2024 at 8:27 am
Great Britain’s looks like the USS Cygnus from “The Black Hole.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
110 chars
annie said on May 5, 2024 at 10:42 am
Is there supposed to be a comma after “go” in Go, dogs?
55 chars
Suzanne said on May 5, 2024 at 12:06 pm
I have a fond memory of our daughter, probably 2 or 3 years old, sitting in a chair while we were visiting some friends, digging into her food with her spoon, giving herself a spoonful and then giving our friends’ large dog a spoonful, then refilling the spoon for herself and gulping it down. She repeated it several times and we were all laughing too hard to put a stop to it!
380 chars