54th Venice Bienniale (2011) – ILLUMInations, Part II, Arsenale

(Song Dongas)

After an entire day in Giardini, Arsenale was next on the program. (Biennale tickets are valid on two consecutive days but you can only enter either section once.) It was off to a funny start. I was trying to locate Martin Creed’s piece, which, according to the map, was installed right by the main entrance. Having yo-yoed around the supposed spot a few times, I still couldn’t find it and turned to staff for help. I was then told that the artist decided to keep the installation off during visitor hours and on at night, so you never really get to see it. How very ILLUMInating indeed…

Once I got inside the vast building, I felt right at home. Arsenale isn’t that dissimilar to Atelier de mècanique of Rencontres d’Arles. The second part of the main project opens with another para-pavilion; an elaborate construction by Song Dongas serves as the centerpiece. His recreation of his parental home in China dominates the space and makes surrounding works look like supporting acts. They are far from, however, and my favorite in the room was actually one of these ‘satellite pieces’, Yto Barrada’s Hand-me-downs, an hilariously incredible fictional narrative of her family history.

Overall, it seemed that here at least, as opposed to the main pavilion in Giardini, works were better able to speak to and feed off each other. The quality of this interaction was still uneven: while Urs Fischer’s gigantic waxworks/candles provided a fittingly decadent, if easy, interlude following a  restrained photography-centric display, Anya Titova’s timid color-panel sculpture looked flat leading up to Christian Marclay’s The Clock. Regardless, even if the experience fell short of revelatory, there was a certain flow to it and the space felt ‘inhabited’. The last room, taken over by Monica Bonvicini was a great way to conclude the show.

Then, past the second helping of national pavilions, there is the sculpture garden and a few video pieces showing in previously disused vaults. The indisputable highlight is Sturtevant’s Elastic Tango, a multiscreen medley of internet-sourced footage. Another featured video (forgot the artist, will try to look up), with two Lego-like figurines talking dirty to each other and having sex, seemed to have borrowed heavily from Rick & Steve, minus the funny parts – an interesting example of how pop culture is sometimes ahead of ‘high’ art.

By the way, this was the third time I saw The Clock and James Turrell’s The Ganzfeld Piece, each time in a different city: London, Moscow, and now Venice!

More pictures after the jump // published using my webOS TouchPad