Key ideas from the 58th VENICE BIENNALE I identify with

From Brazil: Visibility. Entitlement. Self-representation. Horizontal respectful relationship. Awareness of the complexities of contemporary self-representation. Suggesting the possibility of a collective consciousness rooted in individual action. Careful not to moralize the subject, not to inscribe the work into a pre-established discourse or theory.

FROM FRANCE: Non-linear layout. The audience is given the active role of finding the route. Numerous points of view, varied perspectives, different paths. Every choice is a step ahead. Getting lost becomes the opportunity of retracing, not the same as regretting, your steps.

FROM INDIA: Art as truth and performative experience, passive resistance, peaceful protest, minimal consumption. Space for self-reflection. Call for attentiveness. Invocation to shared futures.

Read More
Chinese
I no longer see a clear distinction between “Western” and “Chinese” scholarship on Chinese art. DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE, readership, and academic environment certainly exist, BUT GLOBAL COLLABORATION AND MUTUAL LEARNING HAS BECOME THE DOMINANT TREND.
(more…)