Venice Biennale 2015, international pavilion: this is the end, my only friend

The first room of the International pavilion at the Giardini is dedicated to a problematic and quite unexpected word to begin with: end. But end of what? Life? Freedom? Art? It is generally assumed that curators of these kind of events prefer to present someone else position, rather than making their own statement. From this matter they derive a sort of hidden point of view that is rarely personal, or focused about a specific topic. Most of the time it is just about art itself, the art they like, or they have to like.

 

Due to this specific reason, the “end” Mr. Enwezor is talking about can’t be anything but that of art, or possibly the end of the Demiurge, or the dictator, that is behind it. But in both cases it would be a very serious problem. And that is probably why at the very centre of the exhibition Enwezor didn’t place an artwork, or a group of artworks, but a theater dedicated to ideas communicated through words. Here is the real beginning of the show, and please notice that Karl Marx is just one of the thinkers whose ideas will be spread during the Biennale in this red core meaningfully called Arena.

 

Here it is also where the visitor ought to turn to for all the specific information that are missed in the rooms. Only basic captions are available next to the artworks, and that is a very significant choice considering the large amount of artworks, and names, on show. Also in this instance the message is clear, and it couldn’t have been any different: this exhibition has to be read as an organic whole, or better, listened as a huge composition of many voices constantly balanced by the ideas circulating in the arena.

 

So, no land for frustration or pessimism. You are learning even if you feel that you are not understanding. The whole is so huge that sooner or later you will grasp a part of the melody. Just look, think, be open, be positive, and believe in your ability, as a human being, to understand. After all the human beings here represented by their artworks did the same effort you are doing to produce them. Today is not the day to think about the art market. Today it ends.

May 7, 2015