PIRATE ATTACK ON THE BIENNALE IN VENICE Thursday 7 June ::: Vernissage for the 52nd International Biennial Exhibition of Art in Venice An enormous Pirate Rabbit, almost 6 metres high, winged like the Lion of San Marco, with one eye covered with a classic pirate's eye patch, crossed the whole Canale della Giudecca on board a large raft, as far as the Giardini, the official venue of the Biennale, and from there - at around 6pm - it fired 52 cannon shots at the buildings of the Biennale. Then two rabbit-like pirates disembarked from the ship onto terra firma to raise the Jolly Roger, with the logo of a large "Vitruvian Rabbit" over the gardens, the place traditionally used to host the flags of all the nations. The pirate attack on the Biennale in Venice is an operation that is highly spectacular and symbolic, and is by the duo of Italian artists known as ConiglioViola (www.coniglioviola.com) and produced by bnd tomasorenoldibracco in Milan. A full-blown attack on the Art System in what is its most institutional fortress! The pirate attack on the Biennale is therefore to be read as an action of reappropriation - albeit an ironic and provocative one - in relation to an Art System that is often revealed to be "blind" and with one eye "blindfolded". But also a protest against an Italian Biennale from which - as always - Italian artists are almost exiled. The fact that a Winged Rabbit - an animal symbolising "cowardice" - is leading the pirate attack is no coincidence ...
No comments:
Post a Comment