James Gaston

Around the canals

L'Arsenale due

L'Arsenale uno 5 Nov 2019 L'Arsenale uno 5 Nov 2019 Biennale, Venice Italy --

There's something for everyone at the 2019 Venice Biennale. Painting. Sculpture. Film. Today we were at the Biennale's Arsenale location where I especially enjoyed the films. Most are short, maybe 15', and they run in a loop so you walk in at a random location and just watch until it loops back to where you started.

The path from the vaporetto to Arsenale

"For, in your tongue, I cannot fit," by Shilpa Gupta

A sound installation addressing the violence of censorship. A symphony of voices speak or sing the words of poets (from the 7th century to the present) who have been imprisoned for their work or their politics. A grid of 100 microphones hang from the ceiling and have been turned into speakers. The recitations are printed on the paper under the corresponding mic. You can wander through the exhibit, like the people in the photo, reading the pieces of paper and listening to the voices. After each is read it is echoed by a chorus. It is immersive and beautiful and moving.

"For, in your tongue, I cannot fit," by Shilpa Gupta

The Chicken Thief, Michael Armitage, Kenya

ESKALATION, Alexandra Bircken, Germany

Plastic people hanging from ladders

ESKALATION, Alexandra Bircken, Germany

Plastic people hanging from ladders

ESKALATION, Alexandra Bircken, Germany

Plastic people hanging from ladders

Zanele Muholi, South Africa

Sliced automobile

This is the future, a film by Hito Steyerl, Germany

One of my faves. Her utterly engrossing and funny video This is the future combines flower gardens, scenes of Venice, and the question of whether AI can predict anything.

This is the future, a film by Hito Steyerl, Germany

One of my faves. Her utterly engrossing and funny video This is the future combines flower gardens, scenes of Venice, and the question of whether AI can predict anything.

This is the future, a film by Hito Steyerl, Germany

One of my faves. Her utterly engrossing and funny video This is the future combines flower gardens, scenes of Venice, and the question of whether AI can predict anything.