Me And Art 2

  We live a life surrounded by art. We all do. Sometimes it's more obvious than other times, but just take the time to pop into a local museum or gallery every once in a while to remind yourself. The more you expose yourself to art in these types of venues, the more you will notice that art is all around us, all the time.

  Art is, of course, highly subjective. My tastes run the gamut, but I especially respond to color, texture, sound and even humor, in many cases. As long as there is something to respond to, please. I try not to be too critical (if I see one more freaking wave crashing at sunset....), because there should be something for everyone, I guess (did I really just write that?). 

  This being said, here are some more examples of favorites from the '07 & '09 Venice Biennale(s?).      As in my first post about "Me & Art 1", I (cheeks blushing with shame) don't have all the names of the artists. These are just more pieces that made a lasting impression on me.

From 2007  Artist:Leon Ferrari
One of the first things we saw...

   Below are 3 works that I just loved... I think they were ink on paper. Super tiny, detailed images. The one in the middle is a detail of a much larger piece that was an entire little world of bitty people walking, sleeping, sitting... very cool. Plus, I love how they have been folded, and still have the creases.

Cars on the road

Little people living little lives.

Birds flying

 Ok, these sculptures below, by Austrian artist Franz West appeal hugely to the adolescent boy that lives just below the surface of my middle aged lady skin.
  I'll let you figure out why.

I mean, come on, what's not to love?
Plus, these were gigantic.

 This sculpture below was one of several kinetic pieces. The movement in this one allowed the figures to meld into each other, over and over again. There was lovely music playing, too

  German artist, Sigmar Polke, is a favorite of mine. These were really great, and I loved how you could see through to the structure of the stretcher bars that held the painting surface. I have to admit, I really wanted to tap on these to see what they would sound like. The painting surface was like skin on a drum. I resisted. Sigh. So many temptations in the art world.

Two fantastic and giant sized  Sigmar Polke paintings.
I'm pretty sure they were done on some kind of mylar or resin, not canvas. 

  In one of the main pavilions, there was a sort of hall way that you walked through, covered in "blackboard". Artist Dan Perjovschi from Bucharest, Romania did his thing here, in chalk. He is known for covering spaces with his drawings and cultural comments. These photos show a very small portion of the entire piece. The walls and ceiling were covered...

Perfect for the Biennale!

So simple, so true...

  The Italian Pavilion featured Georg Baselitz and the deceased Emilio Vedova in 2007. Below are a couple of the Baselitz paintings that I really liked. When we returned in 2009, we were pleased to see that there is now an entire museum dedicated to Vedova. I especially like the simple black palette and super looseness of the paint.

Georg Baselitz

     

More Baselitz. Love these.

                                        

  Ok, this installation below is by a Polish artist, Monika Sosnowska. It was in the Polish pavilion in 2007.  I think this was about architecture that fails, or is done in an absurd way... It's sort of the frame of a house, smashed into the too small space of the room. I remember walking all through it and loving the idea of it.

Of course, I wanted to climb all over it, but sadly my grown-up self intervened. Damn.

                                     

  Also from the Polish pavilion, this bizarre and wonderful installation of bags of cement, slowly leaking out onto the floor. I think the thing that captured me was the stain of the cement on the wall. I just really liked this one. I don't remember what was going on with the videos. I'm sure it was an important element of the piece, but it was the cement bags that got me.

                        

          

            

  From the Romanian pavilion, the work below really stuck with me. It's a loomed decorative wall rug. The artist is Cristi Pogacean, and it refers to "The Abduction of the Harem", a popular motif used on Romanian wall hangings. Of course, this image is a rif on a photo from the TV news of Romanian journalists and their Islamic captors. 

  What is not to adore about this lovely little boat on a sea of colored glass shards. It was filled with water, and it rocked slowly back and forth. It was in a small room, all by itself, in the middle of the garden area. There was also beautiful, haunting music. I could have stayed and stared at it all day. It totally mesmerized me.

                                

  Are you still with me? Almost done... 

  The final two images are from artist Aaron Demetz, in the Italian pavilion, 2009. The sculptures are each carved from one piece of hardwood, then dripped with sap, I think. There were several of them,  

and they were at least life-sized. With the low lighting, and the far off stares in their eyes, they mad a big impression...

Kind of scary, mostly serene

Seen in full, these were truly amazing sculptures.

  Well, that was a fun re-visit to the biennale, for me anyway. We don't know if 2011 is in the cards for us, but we'll keep swinging, and who knows?

  The Venice Biennale runs through November 27th, in case you are so lucky to find yourself in the area.