Archive: Issue No. 71, July 2003

Arrive in Venice on the train from Florence ... our first engagement is this evening, the launch of a book by Colours magazine photographers Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin at Imagino on the Campo San Margarita. Adam and Olly have managed to extract only three copies of their book Ghetto from the hands of the printers that afternoon, so one has to fight for viewing space of the copies, a stunning collection of photographic essays with text. I look forward to getting into it properly at a later date. In the meantime, it is delicious on this hot Venice night to sit dangling feet in the nearby canal, drinking wine, and catching up with old friends. See the exuberant Moshekwa Langa for the second time today as he breezes through, Lauren Shantall of Cape Town is here, on her way to the electronic music festival in Barcelona, and so is artist Lisa Brice from London whose solo show opens in Brussels at Camouflage on June 19.

Up early to take the vaporetto to the press office at the Arsenale - press days for the 50th Venice Biennale are today until the 14th, with the official opening on the 15th. Stand in line for well over an hour to register and get my badge. The press kits have run out. Long ago. It's already almost noon.

The heat is astounding. Astonishing. Visitors line up at the free fountains on the streets for a few gulps of cold water and to splash more on their faces. Make-up runs. I dive into the nearby Arsenale, a little cooler than on the street. Venice's Arsenale is an ancient building of prodigious length, and in the old days, one could stand and gaze down this length to artwork at the far end. Now dry walling makes the space ordinary, divided up into more conventional spaces. Six curators have put together shows for the Arsenale, traditionally the arena for emerging artists, while it is in the national pavilions in the Giardini di Castello that one finds shows by one or two artists representing that country's best selection.

No country from Africa has a national pavilion, and it is to redress this situation that the Forum for African Arts came into being some four years ago. Last biennale, the show 'Authentic/Excentric, In and Out of Africa', curated by Salah Hassan and Olu Oguibe with assistance from Emma Bedford was mounted at the Fondazione Levi, some distance from the main centre of the Biennale. This year, the show of artists from Africa has moved up to the centre, the Arsenale. A positive step closer to the centre.

Entitled 'Fault Lines: Contemporary African Art and Shifting Landscapes' and curated by Gilane Tawadros of INIVA in London, there's too much to say about this show to fit into a column like this. I will review it for ArtThrob in mid July,but today I want to take a look at what Moshekwa Langa has been up to. Six large drawings, a collage work in nine frames and twelve videos on back to back monitors. Seems like a sampling of his work over the past two years. Bump into Salah Hassan, editor of NKA and Documenta director Okwui Enwezor walking with Els van der Plas of the Prince Claus Fund. Okwui and Salah invite me to a lunch to be held tomorrow for the 'Fault Lines' show.

There's a press conference this morning, and American artist Martha Rossler is giving a performance that I would like to see, but with the 12.30 lunch at Gianni's, it's not possible to get to these events. And the muggy heat is so intense as to be enervating. On the ferry, I read in the morning paper that Rome had its hottest day since 1789 yesterday. The most desirable item in Venice right now is one of the paper Japanese fans announcing the opening of Tokyo's new Mori Museum which are being distributed.

Gianni's is one of those Venetian restaurants sited on a wooden platform over the water. A little breeze sneaks in through the heat, and the food is exquisite. An all seafood menu - little lemon cured anchovies, prawns, the best prawn risotto I have ever eaten, grilled langoustine and .. oh yes, the guests. I was told I could bring other South Africans, so I have invited my artwork husband Bruce. Artist Ed Young and curator Andrew Lamprecht, here in Venice to make a documentary film about the event for Michaelis have come. Photographic curator Simon Njami, artists Magdalena Campos-Pons and Godfried Donkor, Florence Alexis of the AAFA in Paris, gallerist Fabienne Dumont, all are here. There are speeches by Salah, curator Gilane, the artists stand up to be identified, the Cuban band play great music, and the whole lunch seems like the very essence of being in Venice.

Tear myself away at 3.30 and take the ferry up to the Giardini for some post lunch viewing of pavilions with Ed and Andrew. I am particularly keen to see the British pavilion with Chris Ofili, and indeed, it is a knockout. In the German pavilion, there is an installation by the late but ever more influential Martin Kippenberger - a grid set into the floor of the pavilion, like the grids in the New York sidewalks which allow air into the subway system. Every now and again, the sound of an approaching subway heralds the release of cold air blown upwards, and overheated viewers rush to stand on the grid for a little cool relief.

Today I must make serious inroads into the art on show. I have been here three days, and have hardly begun. One really needs at least a week if one wishes to see everything properly. A proliferation of shows means one must travel all over Venice to take it all in. Back to the Arsenale to have another look at Fault Lines and the other work on show. Hmmm. This is not going to be an easy show to review.

Meet Okwui for tea at three at the venerable Florians Caf� on the Piazza San Marco, the tourist heart of Venice. It's a catch up discussion, with Okwui wanting to know what is going on on the art scene in South Africa, is there any hope of a new Johannesburg biennale initiative, or is something else happening, has the funding situation improved at all (!) what work am I doing, etc. He invites me to be a consulting editor on NKA. I accept. We go and tour the show of fifty years of painting on the Venice Biennale, and it's good to see work by such fine painters as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Bridget Riley again.

Last day in Venice. Meet Rose Shanikovsky and Claire Gavronksy, who have driven to Venice from their idyllic art workshop outside Florence, at the American pavilion at 11.30, taken over this year by Fred Wilson. It's suddenly cooler and much quieter than the previous days - the official opening was yesterday afternoon, and many of the opening crowd have already left. For the first time, viewing is really pleasurable. Can't believe it's our last day! There's so much I haven't seen.

Passing the American pavilion again later in the day, I join a discussion in progress around Wilson's work, with the amiable artist himself articulately explaining some of the processes by which he has given Venice another viewpoint on to black representation in Venetian art. Panelist Salah Hassan says he believes the American Pavilion should have won the prize for the best national pavilion.

Who did win the prize? The Luxembourg pavilion? Where on earth is that? By this time have met up with Kathy Grundlingh of Michael Stevenson Contemporary in Cape Town, and Katarina Pierre from the BildMuseet in Umea, Sweden, and with Bruce, we locate the winning pavilion on the biennale map and ferry down there, just as it has closed for the day. We are allowed a dash through, but since the video is not playing, it is impossible to assess the effect. People are saying that because of the war in Iraq, it was considered politically impossible to award the prize to either of the obvious choices, the American and British pavilions. Whether this is true or not, who knows. Oh, well. Time to relax over wine.

Take the train to Switzerland, to Burgdorf, home of Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann, who have invited us to spend a night or two in the Hotel Everland - a unique hotel just for two people now situated on the roof of their studio. Designed and made by l/b for last year's Swiss Expo, this amazing structure was originally located on the banks of a lake, and visitors could look - but not go - inside for the hours 12 - 6 p.m. each day, after which the hotel would be rented for one night only to a visiting couple. Looking somewhat like a space age caravan, the Hotel Everland is completely fitted with a double bed, couches, mini-bar, old LPs with record player, mosaic-ed bathroom. Guests are allowed to steal the embroidered towels as a souvenir. I can hardly wait for the rooftop braai with Sabina and Daniel to end so I can go to bed. It's such fun to stay there! Sponsored by Pro Helvetia, l/b are designing an upstairs room for Jo'burg Bar in Cape Town's Long Street, and now I can see how great it's going to look when it's finished.

Basel is only an hour away, and the Basel Art Fair opens today, so we take the train through to have a look. Linda Givon director of The Goodman Galler has taken a stand, as always, so we go there first to say hello. Penny Siopis is there, with a panel of her small Pinky Pinky paintings on display, and Linda is also showing work by the stellar William Kentridge, Roger Ballen and others. Elsewhere on the fair, Kendell Geers is on theStephen Friedman (London), and there's a fine installation by Minnette Vari. A lot of work is rather commercial, but there is some extremely impressive work as well, and I am surprised by the number of Latin American galleries. "People are saying it's better than Venice this year," says Linda.

Next update: On to Brussels and London.