On the International Museum Day, 18 May, 2019, TANK Shanghai held a talk about the 58th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, in order to share the latest news of the art world. In this talk, we invited artist Liu Wei, curator Karen Smith, Publisher Dan Cao, Leo Xu–Senior Director of David Zwirner, Wang Zi–the founder of Antenna Space and Zhibing Qiao–the founder of TANK Shanghai.
When introducing the title of the 58th International Art Exhibition, May You Live In Interesting Times, Ralph Rugoff, Curator of the 58th International Art Exhibition, explains that “yet at a moment when the digital dissemination of fake news and ‘alternative facts’ is corroding political discourse and the trust on which it depends, it is worth pausing whenever possible to reassess our terms of reference”. Ralph adds that “the 58th International Art Exhibition will not have a theme per se, but will highlight a general approach to making art and a view of art’s social function as embracing both pleasure and critical thinking”.
Views and Insights of the Venice Biennale
Liu Wei: We can see the necessity of the Venice Biennale in this digital age, for digitalization has indeed influenced art. Nowadays, many audience tend to view art through the internet or social media, like WeChat. For example, the audience can access and view an installation work through WeChat at once while the artist has spent quite a long time finishing it. This makes me think about the expression of art, which is a major aspect that I would consider when making art. The Sun & Sea (Marina) in the Lithuania Pavilion is quite interesting. Because theatrical performance is rather valuable in this excessively digitalized age. I am always fascinated by performance art, but have never tried that. For me, the main issue of performance art is the issue of dissemination. The audience have no idea whether the record of still image they are looking at is itself a form of performance or simply pictures. It is exactly because of the digitization and the consumerism, that performance art has become more and more powerful and interesting. Theatrical performance-related artworks precisely shed light on the violent state of our social relationship and the physical world. Performance art is an intense result of the immateriality of the real world, and it is interesting because of its intrinsic antagonism.
Leo Xu: The Biennale Arte 2019 is itself an answer to the question it raises. I’m not saying that the question has been solved, but the Biennale, in terms of the whole Venice, has reflected on that question. I think there is this “aesthetic fatigue”, a fatigue of the formality, a fatigue of the production and there is this sense of inadequacy. This kind of fatigue and inadequacy leads to that aspiration. But of course, that aspiration (of the Biennale Arte) has unequal cultural and historical background residing in it. The immediacy and interactivity of social media, as Liu Wei just mentioned, allows everyone to see the same exhibition at the same time, no matter where they are. For example, the audience can get information from WeChat or Facebook. But the audience would get more confused about the exhibition, since they might be less likely to understand the essence of an artwork or to understand the main idea of the whole exhibition.
Karen Smith: I have read quite a lot reviews, rather than the original artworks. There are voices that the title of year’s Biennale is more like talking about the situation of America…something like an American Biennale. And that is not because of the large number of American artists, but because America has brought some issue to the whole world and the artists are trying to respond to these problems. Those selected artworks (in the Biennale Arte) illustrate an attitude towards these social issues, like issues concerning discrimination against black people or the variety of rights. I noticed the work Our Boat (Barca Nostra). It was a fishing boat containing more than 800 people, sailed from Libya. But only 27 people survived after it sank in the Mediterranean sea.
Cao Dan: The audience of the Biennale Arte need to be equipped with knowledge and background in contemporary art. This kind of large-scale exhibition usually includes works from different countries, which will certainly involve Western context and issues raised from different times in the Western world. No matter whether it is the issue of post-colonialism, capitalism or the issue of equality between men and women, it would be less possible for the audience to identify and understand that kind of issue if not equipped with certain knowledge and background.
It is true that most of the artists participating this year are from North America, almost 1/3 of the overall artists. The Biennale Arte in 2015 was quite serious and political, while the last Biennale was rather relaxed and sentimental. And this year’s Biennale found a middle way in between, which was very dynamic, dramatic, eye-catching and more pop. The use of collage, advertising expression and media images, including new technology and new media art, strikes me with a feeling that the third and fourth generation of pop art was involved.
Wang Zi: It seems that recently, performance art has become a rather trendy and novel form of art. First, performance is enchanting, because it combines theatre, music and literature. Besides, the impact of performance would make the audience feel related and resonated. The performances this year were more literary than those previous ones. Because it had certain scripts–every performer would sing certain opera at a specific time. However, the performances of the last biennale was more loosely structured. The audience were neither engaged in the performance in a certain way nor at a certain time. And that strikes me with the beauty of randomness. So, the impact and power of these two kinds of performances are totally different. Performance is a form that uses the body as the medium to communicate with the audience, a way of communication as well as a way of resistance. Therefore, compared to the way of displaying on the internet, the charm of performance need to be experienced in person.
Qiao Zhibing: This year’s theme somehow coincides with what we are working on–we value this age we live in now. Speaking of the participating artworks, I think that the curator quite focused on the visual expression. The theme of the US Pavilion is “Liberty”, curated and exhibited by Martin Puryear. This theme of the exhibition does not confine itself to the “liberty” of America, but rather a universal discourse. The exhibition provides an opportunity to reflect on the co-existential ecology of the human and the non-human. The major exhibit in the French Pavilion is a novel film transcending out of the self-definition of human beings. The language used in the film shifts between English and French, with irrelevant mistakes. There is a trend that many artworks are related to sound, so is this film. Many video arts, like those interesting works of Christian Marclay and Martine Gutierrze, have impressed me a lot. The work of the French artist Neïl Beloufa is quite interesting. The audience can listen individually to the characters in the video, who are soldiers from all over the world, talking about their own experience, and the audience have to sit very straight, face to face to the characters, so that their voice can be heard. Besides, the work of Liu Wei is not only visually impressive, but also impressive in its meaning. The participating artists that the curator chose are all living artists, which makes the audience feel more connected to. This Biennale Arte focuses more on the present time, rather than those historical subject. The curator especially chose two places–the Giardini and the Arsenale–as the venues, and each artist had created two pieces of exhibits accordingly, so that the visitors could get a full picture of the artist.
Karen: I think we should get to talk about the relationship between China and the Biennale Arte. More and more Chinese artists have been taking part in the Biennale since the first time in 1993. But it is strange that the China Pavilion is rarely mentioned by art reviews and reports. We are inevitably gonna talk about that.
Liu Wei: I would say that every national participation has its own political correctness, which is also the reason why those national pavilions can be sometimes unattractive. The title of this year’s Biennale Arte is at first a very controversial topic, being questioned by many people. But it is, exactly in this aspect, actually meaningful and humorous. This year’s exhibition is highly political, and it is because that art is political per se. Like the prize winner this year is a black artist, who talks about the issue of racism. “White artists” and “black artists” are quite different. Almost all the “black artists” care about racial problems and social problems, while the “white artists” don’t, and they are more connected to technology and the internet. And China gets lost in this situation, losing our oriental ethos. The Chinese artworks are impressive, but with no antagonism.
Leo Xu: I find that all the Chinese artists surpassed the overall level of those themed exhibitions. However, those Chines artworks haven’t received any comment from Chinese professionals, so it is less possible for the world to discuss these works from our perspective, our culture, and our context. Many of the Chinese professionals are waiting for others to talk about these works, and we even did not offer any explanation and note for the audience to understand these works better. I think that is a notable and awkward silence. Generally, this year’s Biennale is just like its title, there is this sense of normalcy and inadequacy. Looking back on the Chinese artists this year, their expression, and the passion brought up by their art “language”, is very thrilling, but there is a large deficiency of an inspecting point of view and discourse.
Cao Dan: You can clearly see the transformative process of the geopolitics throughout the world when visiting those national pavilions. The national pavilions of every Venice Biennale reveal certain social and political condition of every age of the world. The Venezuela Pavilion is closed this year for “decoration”, but actually due to the domestic political change. Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Lebanon all did not participate this year, but Madagascar, Ghana, Pakistan, Malaysia and Algeria were added to the list. In this light, how the nations act changes in accordance to their political, social and economic development.
Qiao Zhibing: For the China Pavilion this year, I sensed straightforwardly the improvement of the space. But I do hope that the China Pavilion can hold a individual exhibition of one artist. No need to worry about balancing everything. A solo exhibition of one artist would be brilliant.
Karen: The curator this year said that he would divide artists’ works into two parts, in two separate areas. He hoped that the works of the artist in separate space would be totally different. So, when you look at the two parts, you would think that either one is made alternatively by different artists, which seems odd to me, because their creations are usually not that distinctive. What do you guys think?
Leo Xu: It’s actually more about his curating technique. In many of those artists’ works that I have seen, there are no pair of works that are presented completely different or opposite to one another – like side A and side B. The interesting thing is that, in the history of curating the Biennale in recent years, this kind of technique, especially the effort on the display, has probably ceased for seven or eight years. Probably due to the development of different medium, performing works and internet-based works are successively emerging. And it would make the exhibition space more dynamic. So, there is no need to demand too much for technique.
Cao Dan: Some said that the curator was simply being lazy by putting two works of an artist in two venues, but I would say this is not a bad idea. However, it was a contribution to some of the artists while deduction to the others.
Wang Zi: The curator’s plan, approach and the concept of curating is something of the technical aspect. It would be fine if that works for him.
Qiao Zhibing: I think, like what Cao Dan has said, that it might be the case of energy-saving or simplifying. The good point is that the list of artists is shorter this time, about 80 of them. If you like some artist and you see the artwork in one venue, you would want to find out what is being displayed in the other venue. That’s actually clever.
Karen: Last question. There are more than 240 biennales and triennials in the world. And there are growing numbers of biennales in China. What is the most important thing that we can learn from the case of Venice, about what we should do in the future?
Liu Wei: I don’t think we can make it greater in terms of the form (of the biennale), because it is already a great brand. I think we should try to think about an exhibition from a different perspective.
Leo Xu: When speaking of a biennale in the art world, the Venice Biennale is for sure the leader. Because the Venice Biennale has a say, like awarding an artist. Meanwhile, it serves various departments in this industry, which means the Biennale is where all the departments finally meet and communicate. I think the reason why there are so many biennales nowadays is that the whole society has witnessed the positive outcomes of a biennale. We have many biennales in China, in Asia. And there are more and more biennales in the form of tourist festival held in some East Asian countries. This could also be an optimistic future of a new biennale, bringing art to an inspecting and interactive new direction. Back to the initial aspiration of the Venice biennale, and when we are looking at Venice again, we should realize more positively the positioning of different biennales and their different roles. When the tourist biennales continue to prosper, the personality of a biennale can be neglect. More opportunity should be given and more attention should be paid to all these different types of exhibitions.
Cao Dan: I think that the biennale is a very important part in the art ecosystem. Some people criticize the Venice Biennale for being commercial, being supported by many galleries. I did some research about the Venice Biennale. The Biennale had a sales centre before 1968, for those who want to make a purchase. But it was canceled later. Because the main purpose of the Biennale should not be commercial. In fact, the Biennale should explore more fields in the future. Not only the physical local environment, but also something about the virtual environment. Whether it is possible to explore a more innovative field–that is my expectation for the Biennale.
Wang Zi: It’s not like that we should learn from the Venice Biennale. Compared to other biennales, I think that Venice, as the most influential biennale, should learn from other small-scale biennales or exhibitions, something innovative, in order to keep its animation and vigor. After all, it is a historical biennale, with more than 100 years’ history. Some biennales I have been to, like the Gwangju Biennale and the Istanbul Biennial, are all very brilliant. But the decision of these biennales’ sites has already involved identity and regionalism. The biennales in our Asia–the Taipei Biennial, and the Shanghai Biennale–are all very good ones in recent years.
Q&A
Q: Some political issues were brought up in this Venice Biennale. And nowadays, more and more exhibitions, whether art exhibitions or in other forms, even the Oscars, are reflecting some issues of the modern society, and also about the future. My question is, is it a trend that many artworks have involved political correctness?
Cao Dan: I would say that the Biennale is like a mirror, reflecting the current situation of the society through art. For example, we can see many issues about the environment this year, and also about migration and oppressed people. Personally, I think the Biennale mainly reveals these social phenomenon.
Q: People are also talking about the China Pavilion. If you are the curator of the next Venice Biennale, what kind of subject, and what aspect about art you would like to bring up? Could you please say something about that?
Liu Wei: First of all, I think that more profound issues should be talked about, like violence, brutality and sex. Although they seem evil to us, to the teenagers, they actually reveal something profound rooted in humanity. It’s pointless to cover it up and turn a blind eye to it. We have to reveal something hidden in depth, rather than something superficial. In terms of the format, not just to show a new kind of media or technology, we should first think about what this format exactly is , why doing it in this way, and why it is distinctive. I have to make a challenge.
Wang Zi: When in the year of the Istanbul Biennial, there was a saying that “I am not intended to get involved in any political activities, but to liberate everyone’s mind and to get freedom, so that I have become a curator instead of a politician”. Actually, I think there is no need to expect too much of actually solving a nasty global problem with a biennale. In a sense, we still have to go back to art itself. I am not quite in favor of the overconsumption of warfare, refugees and racial artists.
Q: In this age of image and virtual technology, we can see that some computer-synthesized 3D characters have a large group of fans, and they even begin to endorse for some top brands. Those virtual characters have not only been involved in art, but also in our daily life. Given that, the boundaries between the virtual and the real are being blurred. I would like to know whether there are many artists, in this Biennale, thinking about or reflecting on this phenomenon, and think from their perspective about ethical issues or questions like how human beings should deal with such issues.
Cao Dan: I’m quite interested in this question. Some of the video works are about digital art, about utopia and about exploring the non-human, also about Augmented Reality. I am always wondering what is shaping this reality of ours.
Liu Wei: That Atkins mentioned previously is working exactly on this field, like motion capture and virtual production. He also says, we now upload ourselves on the internet, then we all disappear, and everything seems to be eternal. But eternity is all about us being endlessly tormented. I am also thinking about the matter of AI. Many people might think that art would disappear and so would love, since your body no longer exists. And when everything about you is on the internet, you end up becoming a signal. That’s a terrifying thing to me.
