Mouthing Off Gift Horses
My previous visit to Venice had been heartbreaking. In 2007, for the first time, the Venice Biennale offered India an official country pavilion바카라a coveted prize at the world바카라s most prestigious art extravaganza. National capitals lobby tooth and nail to get in. But in India바카라s case, the curator flew to Delhi to make the offer. Our then culture secretary responded: 바카라Why should we participate? Anyway, please come through the proper channels.바카라 (I swear I바카라m not making this up!). People I met in Venice that year were open-mouthed about Delhi바카라s stupidity. So I can be excused for believing that it would take another 116 years (that바카라s how old the Biennale is) before our babus wake up to the importance of culture in creating a compelling national image (nuclear bombs and nine per cent growth aren바카라t enough!). But I had overlooked something바카라throughout history, Venice, with its Virgin Mary cult, has been known as 바카라the city of miracles바카라.
That the miracle happened this year is thanks to two people: Lalit Kala Akademi chairman Ashok Vajpayee and culture secretary Jawahar Sircar. Money was quickly sanctioned, Ranjit Hoskote was appointed curator, and Sudhakar Sharma became the commissioner. The India pavilion was inaugurated at the magnificently derelict 12th century Venetian docks, the Arsenale, at 11.30 am on June 3. Despite some last-minute hiccups, the buzz at the opening sounded a historic moment바카라no matter what the cynics might say. The show will go on till November 27.
Hoskote has called the show 바카라Everyone Agrees: It바카라s About to Explode바카라. It바카라s a good title, suggestive of the very different kinds of energies that have been unleashed in India today. His choice of artists is unusual too: New York-based Zarina Hashmi, the Desire Machine Collective from the Northeast, Calcutta/Amsterdam바카라s Praneet Soi and Kerala/Delhi바카라s Gigi Scaria. Hoskote has wisely steered clear of the pitfalls of making a 바카라nationally representative show바카라. All four artists speak in distinctive voices. Contrary to its title though, the show, as someone put it, comes across as 바카라elegant, beautiful and understated바카라. In a straw poll I conducted, 90 per cent responded to the show positively, with the Italians identifying most with Zarina바카라s minimalist creations. After struggling all her life, this 74-year-old artist has finally got the recognition she deserves.
The Cosa Nostra Have Better Taste
Venice is also the city of spectacle. To make some kind of impact at the Biennale, a country pavilion has to be dramatic, like Germany바카라s, which won the Golden Lion. The drama though can be taken too far. The Italian pavilion, intriguingly titled 바카라Art is Not the Mafia바카라, looked like an overcrowded mafia warehouse, crammed to the ceiling with all manner of art바카라good, bad and crap. One exhibit consisted of giant polyurethane thrones on which sat a man and a blonde woman, stark naked. A loudspeaker blared: 바카라Attenzione! Do not touch the artworks!바카라 The lady had perfectly rounded silicone breasts. I stepped up to 바카라interview바카라 her (aah, the pleasures of being a reporter!). She scribbled in my notebook: 바카라Vittoria Risi/Italian Pornstar.바카라 It all made sense when I learned that the curator is a close friend of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, he of the bunga-bunga parties. Nepotism or simply artistic recognition?
Fruits of an Arab Spring
The biggest discovery in Venice this year is Arab art. In previous Biennales, Egypt바카라s would, by far, be the worst pavilion. This time around, the same culture ministry has sent a powerful video by Ahmed Basiouny, a young artist slain by a sniper바카라s bullet at Tahrir Square. Saudi Arabia has set up an attractive multimedia installation by two sisters from, of all places, Mecca. The most impressive pavilion, it must be said, is Iraq바카라s바카라a deeply moving lament from a land devastated by war. Bangladesh marked its maiden Biennale with a pavilion full of bold though not exceptional work. Sadly, none of its artists chose to focus on the reality around their pavilion. As a great city-state, Venice has historically been a place of refuge바카라for Greek or Turk, Jew or homosexual. It바카라s the turn of Bangladeshi youths now, ubiquitous along the canals as vendors of tourist bric-a-brac. I asked if anyone had struck it rich yet. One has, playing the lottery. 바카라Afraid of being killed, he바카라s gone home,바카라 I was told. 바카라He바카라ll get € 10,000 (Rs 6.5 lakh) every month for the next 30 years.바카라
An Oddly Timed Permanency
The Indian pavilion is a temporary one, only for this year바카라s Biennale. In 2007, I바카라d heard that China had lobbied hard for a permanent space. Could India also do the same? It seemed too much to hope for. But miracles, it seems, come in pairs. After the inauguration, the Biennale offered India a permanent pavilion바카라an offer that was accepted. The cost? Rs 15 crore for 20 years for both the art and architecture Biennales held in alternate years. I said a silent prayer to Santa Maria: 바카라Let not the PMO, the most blinkered on culture we바카라ve ever had, overrule it. Let the spirit of our ancestors, who recognised the glory of Venice, prevail.바카라
