Pow Wow at the Guggenheim - COMING OF AGE. AMERICAN ART, 1850s to 1950s

Sunday, Women Drying Their Hair by John Sloan

(VENICE, ITALY) Last evening there was a Pow Wow at the Guggenheim -- a phrase coined by the artist, Ludovico de Luigi, for a vernissage where the whole town gathers for a bit of conversation and wine, based around an art preview. As one guest put it: "It seems like everybody is here. I don't even see these people on the street!"

Well, that's not entirely accurate because the heavy hitters were there the night before; plus, there were some regulars who were missing-in-action.

The theme of this Pow Wow was COMING OF AGE. AMERICAN ART, 1850S TO 1950S. Since the Guggenheim hasn't put up its English translation yet, we'll borrow a blurb from the E-Flux site.

"In the early 1900s, the prominence of American modernism grew so as to proclaim New York, and no longer Paris, the center of the artistic avant-garde. Proponents of American modernism such as Stuart Davis, Man Ray, and Patrick Henry Bruce defined abstraction in their use of bold, geometric shapes and colors to create an American vision deriving from European Cubism. On the other hand, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe and others in Stieglitz’s circle were using reductive shapes and lines to create a modernism that held allegiance to organic forms. Artists such as Charles Sheeler and Edward Hopper, however, preferred representing scenes inspired by American city life, preserving in their works a link with modernism."

Still this war goes on between Paris and New York, exemplified by the battle over the Dogana. You can read about that war in a fascinating New York Times article entitled Guggenheim Passed over for New Venice Museum. Personally, I try to stay in the demilitarized zone. In fact, I hear that these days everybody loves each other.

As the artist, Lawrence Carroll, strolled by, someone I was speaking to said, "He's starting to resemble his art." It was funny because I was thinking the same thing! To read more about Lawrence, go to Lawrence Carroll at the Correr Museum.

Then I spotted Ludovico de Luigi speaking to the new American Consul of the United States of America, A. Daniel Weygandt, who is based in Milano. The conversation went something like this:

 

"Cat! Cat! Here is the new American counsel."

"Ludovico, I had lunch with Dan about three months ago..."

Ludovico and I are sort of like the battle over the Dogana personified except it's Italy vs. America instead of France. He has been married twice to American women (in addition to other nationalities) and they are now both in the grave. At my book launch he gave a raunchy soliloquy about how he met his first wife and their escapades in the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

An owner of an art gallery here in Venice was also part of the conversation, and he introduced me as "one of Ludovico's subjects." I immediately clarified: "The only thing Ludovico has ever painted of me are my blue eyes, surrounded by red feathers, hovering over the Grand Canal close to my apartment by the Rialto Bridge. Next to my eyes was a Campbell's Soup Can tipped on its side, tomato soup spilling into the canal, a limp hand dangling from the can, entangled with a fine gold chain. I asked him to at least give me some assistance from above, some Red Light from Heaven or something, but I don't think he ever did it."

Last year, Anny Carraro (whom I adore) won the New York Film and Video Festival Best International Director for Best Documentary for a flick she made about Ludovico called "Impossible Venice."

In any event, I really like our new American Consul, Dan Weygandt. He came to us from Baghdad.* In fact, the car he drove was bombed shortly after he left. I am not sure he is much safer here.

Ludovico said he thought the exhibit was excellent, especially because Italians would realize that Americans played an important part in modern art. I went to get more wine, and when I got back, Dan was up on the stairs next to Philip Rylands, the director of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, speaking into a microphone that needed amplification.

Later in the evening, I went through the exhibit with an Italian woman who specialized in Old Masters. She gave us a zippy commentary, saying that American art began with Edward Hopper, and that American artists were copying Europeans before that point. 

 

I ran that comment past Philip, and he emphatically disagreed. I wish I could remember exactly what he said so I could quote him, but I can't, so I won't, but it was clever. Philip Rylands is one of the few people on this planet who still has a sense of humor.

In my completely uneducated opinion, I would say that the Europeans seem to be more about Freud, whereas the Americans tripped onto Carl Jung. I was speaking to an Italian psychiatrist after I saw the exhibit, who was a Freudian. She said, "Jung is in secret code." I replied, "Jung is not in secret code. It is all a matter of one's personal level of understanding."

Disappointingly, the effect of the disastrous dollar is even showing up at the Guggenheim -- usually we get some snacks to munch on, but last evening we only got nuts.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat Bauer
The Venice Gazette
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

COMING OF AGE. AMERICAN ART, 1850S TO 1950S
June 28 - October 12, 2008

Opening hours: daily 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Tuesday and December 25)

Peggy Guggenheim Collection
701 Dorsoduro
30123 Venice
ITALY
Phone +39 041 2405411
Fax +39 041 5206885
Email info@guggenheim-venice.it
http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/

*Correction: An earlier version of this blog incorrectly stated A. Daniel Weygandt's prior position was in Beirut.

La Biennale International Festival of Contemporary Dance

I love La Biennale, the organization. I've worked, suffered and delighted with them for many years in their struggle to remain one of the most vibrant contemporary art festivals on earth. Most of you know about the Venice Film Festival, and the art festival. But there is also music, architecture, theater, and, for the last six years, dance.

Since La Biennale is contemporary, its energy hits directly against Venice's ancient structure, and there are many wars and battles fought to get each show on the road. Directors come and go, shaking their head in amazement that anything actuality gets up and on its feet.

Ismael Ivo is the Director of the Dance, and, in addition to being one of the most physically beautiful human beings on the planet, he always manages to put on a beautiful show. Because he is so striking, you are always aware of his presence. The Dance section of La Biennale is probably my favorite. I love to watch dancers move. Unlike other forms of "contemporary art," you actually must be able to dance!

I've only been able to catch two programs so far, mostly because they were at the Malibran, close to my house, not down at Arsenale. The first performance I saw was Stephen Petronio Dance Company from the United States, and the second was Ballet Preljocaj from France.

Here is part of the blurb about Stephen Petronio from the program:

"Music, visual arts and fashion all come together in the choreographer's performance, evoking landscapes of a markedly contemporary taste."

Stephen Petronio opened with Beauty and the Brut. I read the New York Times review by Roslyn Sulcas, and I have to disagree:

"In “Beauty and the Brut,” a commissioned score by Fischerspooner (the art-world-darlings music duo) offers a woman’s voice recounting, in English and French, a pickup on a beach. With its Laurie Anderson-like echoes and deadpan unfinished sentences (“My name is — whatever”) set over minimal electronic melodies, the score alone is a delight."

I think the United States and Europe are moving further and further apart, not only in terms of the disastrous dollar, but in culture itself. I found the score to be incredibly annoying. I LOVE Laurie Anderson, and to compare the Fischerspooner score to Anderson is... well... reaching a bit. Please tell me what is interesting about: "My name is -- whatever" over and over and over? And to hear this whiny American accent say that she is French... at first I thought they were joking. That would have been clever. It was a boring pickup on the beach, lacking any wit, with no point, light years removed from Laurie Anderson's original genius. Just that the performers could dance to the score should be applauded. Think of the wasted opportunity! What one could actually say or at least try to say with All That Time with those wonderful dancers in front of a live audience... and the bit of wisdom we get from America is -- "Whatever." It makes one understand Enlil's point of view about the state of humanity. After intermission, a good part of the audience did not return.

Ballet Preljocaj, on the other hand, I thought was brilliant, especially Eldorado. Here is the blurb from the program: "Angelin Preljocaj returns to La Biennale with the mystical yet carnal dance of Eldorado, inspired by the cosmic dance of Stockhausen's Sonntags Abschies, the last part of the great cycle dedicated to the days of the week, and with his historic piece, Larmes Blanches, a rigourous and sensual dance, contrapuntally constructed around the baroque music of Bach, Balbastre and Purcell.

So, while Americans are dancing to whiny girls on the beach saying "My name is -- whatever" over and over, the French are dancing to the music of the spheres.

I just read this on Wikipedia about Fischerspooner.

"As of May 2007 they have been released from their Capitol Records recording contract and are currently unsigned."

And it's not just the music. I see it in my own little neck of the woods, in YA publishing. America seems to be spitting out product at a frantic pace. After spending way too much time on Facebook, I can see why. Everyone is racing to capture the minds of the masses to consume, consume, consume. It is numbing.

Uummm.... why don't you guys, like, um... bring, like a -- book... umm... you know -- a book... yeah, a book -- to the beach...

Whatever.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

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Author Cat Bauer Takes Pride in PLHS Beginnings

Today, it's Shameless Self Promotion Day, or, rather, Guest Blogger Day, featuring an article written by a young woman from my former high school, aspiring journalist, Pauline Kitele entitled Cat Bauer Takes Pride in PLHS Beginnings. Pauline interviewed me for the 75th Anniversary edition of The Cardinal, Pompton Lakes High School's newspaper. 

Pompton has a vicious cardinal as their symbol -- very frightening on the football field.


While I am happy that Pauline christened me "a superstar by her own creative merits," I have to clarify that although I might have a passion for the piano and the violin, I can't play them at all anymore, and I never could play them very well to begin with. I was, however, first clarinet, first chair in the orchestra after Debbie Fee moved out of Pompton, and I can still strum the guitar a bit. (Even though Harley can play the oboe in the new edition of Harley, Like a Person, I can't play the oboe at all.)

However, Pompton Lakes' BIGGEST claim to fame is that it was the setting for the quiet suburban town in the movie In & Out starring Kevin Kline. Even though it's supposed to be set in Indiana, with the magic of Hollywood, it was actually shot right in good ol' Pompton Lakes, New Jersey because, well, you really cannot find a more typically quiet suburban town in the entire United States of America -- that is why I set Harley there, too! 

In fact, perhaps in the future, Pompton Lakes will become a tourist attraction like Venice, Italy -- the Last Remaining Typical Quiet Suburban Town Left in the World. Then, everyone can go there to have a look, and the locals will get crazy, and...... Apparently the town is still quite upset because Paramount did not put them in the location credits at the end of the film, so we shall correct that situation right now!

I can't figure out how to increase the text size, so I'll leave that to you folks at home to adjust your view. And there is a little bit about Venice at the end, in keeping with the theme of the blog:) (After many attempts to format the article, there was nothing to do so you can read it but create a new blog called): Pompton Cat.

Spiritual Jewish Music - Moni Ovadia and the Arké String Quartet

Sunday night, June 1st, I ran over to the Ghetto to catch the last presentation of the Jewish spectacular going on over there called Festival dell'Arca. This final show was called Kavanàh, Jewish Spiritual Stories and Songs, and it starred the renowned actor/singer writer/musician, Moni Ovadia. The music was by the Arké String Quartet, who are Carlo Cantini on the violin, Valentino Corvino on the violin, Sandro di Paolo on the viola, and Stefano Dall'Ora on the double bass (they forgot to put his name on the poster, so we shall correct that situation here:). They are all world-class musicians, and you can see by the pictures that they are completely In The Zone. Here's a little blurb I found about the group: "The Arke Quartet have shrewdly and musically lent an ear to a lot of world-music materials - from a softly singing microtonal quality reminiscent of Chinese violin music, to the rhythmic devices of Indian classical music and a Shakti-like Indo-jazz fusion, to a Celtic skip, an ambient tone-poetry sigh and much more." So, this night they were performing spiritual Jewish music and they were brilliant.

I love spiritual Jewish music. All those minor chords provoke sorrow and hope and suffering and joy at the same time; it is haunting, beautiful music. I weep when I hear it; it strikes a chord deep inside... it feels human.

[Did you know that the melody of the Israel National Anthem, Hatikvah (which I love) was originally an Italian Renaissance tune called La Mantovana? The controversial words, however, were written in 1878, and it did not officially become the National Anthem until November, 2004.]

Since I decided to go to the show on the spur of the moment, I arrived without a reservation. I was outside explaining who I was to the girl-with-the-list, who was not impressed. Someone overheard me, and then said, well, you need to speak to him, who turned out to be the fellow I know at the press office. We had never met face-to-face, and he said, "Oh, Cat, just go in there and sit where you like." (Hopefully, you regular readers are noticing how I use synchronicity to bumble my way through life -- the exact person I need to see manifests in front of me so often, it is difficult to chalk it up merely to coincidence -- and it was a good thing that he manifested because the Ark was sold out!)

The Ark looked exactly like the picture you see, sort of like a cartoon, but a real structure. Imagine that Ark -- only huge -- recreated in the campo of the Ghetto. Inside the Ark were uncomfortable bleachers to sit on. And once you were in, you were in -- there was no getting out.

The word, "Kavanàh," means focused prayer -- not just blinding repeating words by rote. Here is a definition I found on the internet by Rabbi Jeffrey Summit: "In the Jewish tradition, intention, kavanah, is an essential part of meaningful action. The term kavanah comes from the Hebrew root meaning to direct, intend, focus. The rabbis were very clear that living a meaningful Jewish life involves combining both the actions we do and the intention we bring to those actions. For example, the rabbis stressed that prayer was not just about the act of reading or saying the words of a prayer. If you did not pray with kavanah, actively thinking about the words you were saying, you have not fulfilled your obligation to pray."

So, I can state that I fully support Kavanàh.

Moni Ovadia was the leader of the show, and I am going to be very honest: I only understood about one-third of what he said. There were lots of jokes, with lots of slang that went right over my head. I believe he spoke about the Pope. I believe he spoke about Mary; about the Song of Mary. I know he spoke about the Holocaust. I know he made a joke with Nietzsche as the punchline -- not easy to do. There were complex subjects done with humor and I cannot make any sort of judgment at all, except that I watched the faces of the audience, and they seemed quite interested.

However, I CAN judge the music, because it is the universal language. I wish there had been more of it. These musicians are so great, collectively and individually, if you ever have the chance to hear one or two or all of them, take it.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

Stefano Nicolao & Carnival, The Show

Let's start with the Venetian costumer, Stefano Nicolao. I sat down to write about him, glanced at the clock, and, instead, ran out to the supermarket before it closed. I dashed over to the Billa, and who should be standing in the produce section, but Stefano Nicolao!

Here was our conversation:

Cat: I was just about to write about you, and here you are. I was going to write that only a man with coglioni can cry in front of an audience. And everyone clapped! When you spoke about your great appreciation for your family... it made me cry, too.

Stefano: You have to understand that I hadn't seen many of those people for 10, 20 years. And that moment... as I was speaking about my family and the culmination of 40 years of work, it just hit me...

Cat: After your speech, after the food, right before the show, I found myself sitting in the theatre next to your aunt. She told me that your mother supports you, sacrificed for you. She said that your father supports you; your daughter loves your work; she said that your wife was your assistant. She said the entire family was involved. Your aunt said that all this family energy lifts you up, up, up... and I was so moved to hear it. Because it's the opposite for me... and I imagined how different life would be to have the support of an entire family... to have all that extra energy instead of doing things on one's own. That's another reason why I was crying.

(Stefano's made costumes for the films Elizabeth, The Merchant of Venice, Casanova, etc., etc., as well as stage and television. If you click the title above, you will arrive at the Nicolao Atelier website.)

We spoke in further detail, and then agreed that we must shop before the store closed (it was just about to close, and we were both just beginning to shop), so I zipped off past the jams.

HOW WE ARRIVED AT THAT CONVERSATION

Last Thursday, May 22nd, I had an invitation to go to the Theatre of San Gallo to celebrate 25 years of the Nicolao Atelier di Stefano Nicolao (right now, the lobby is full of their costumes), and then afterwards, to see Carnival The Show. I had been curious about Carnival, The Show, because I'd seen the advertising around town. To me, it sounded very touristy; not something that locals would be interested in. So, this is something I would not ordinarily attend, except that there was the Venetian costumer, Stefano Nicolao, before the dinner and the show. I honestly did not know what to expect... and I wasn't going to stay after Stefano Nicolao's speech... except the dinner I was supposed to attend got confused, so at the last minute I decided to gulp down some of the buffet and stay for the show.

WITH THAT CAVEAT, I sampled some of the food after the stampede had already galloped through, and I found the remainders to be rather ordinary, but served in attractive plastic tumbler things... Well, the appetizers were fine. There was plenty of wine/soda/water to drink. There were so many people attacking the food at the same time that I didn't try too hard to get any, but the little I got was lacking in flavor. Now, I am not a great connoisseur; usually you can put anything in front of me, and I will eat it. I can, however, judge a good pasta e fagioli, and this pasta e fagioli was not up to par. I don't know if they have adjusted the food to suit the tastes of the tourists... maybe that's what it is. In any event, if we judge the food on were there any leftovers...? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Maybe one kernel of rice. So, the majority of people did enjoy the food! To be fair, I would guess that this was a special evening, and that ordinarily the audience does not descend en masse to graze. Perhaps it was because we were all gathered together prior to the buffet to hear the speech, and then poured out into the dining area at the same time. It would be interesting to see the theatre on a "normal" night. I would imagine that it is better organized, since people would trickle in as they arrived.

THE SHOW, on the other hand, I really enjoyed. It was unexpectedly good -- the actors were good; it was professional and enjoyable. It made me miss Venice and the way life used to be before the soulless Corporate Invasion. It reminded me of a theatrical production I did long, long ago in Southern California. It was an outdoor dinner theatre, and I was playing the part of Karen Andre in Ayn Rand's play, The Night of January 16th. The food was equally strange... I can't remember, like a box lunch dinner. Carnival, The Show, has absolutely nothing in common with the Ayn Rand play except in my own mind -- it conjures up a dinner-theatre memory... old-fashioned in a sweet way. Professional, but not slick. So, if you have ever been to a dinner theatre production in America, it is sort of like that.

There is a very thin plot, which is that the Atelier, or studio, of this costumer, is creating the costumes for Marchesa Luisa Casati, who lived in Palazzo dei Leoni, which is now the Guggenheim. She was having a grand ball, and running around declaring: "I want to be a living work of art!" On stage, the actors are creating costumes and reminiscing. The narrator states at the beginning that it is not in chronological order. It's a hodge-podge of Venetian history, touching upon major events and interesting personalities in an entertaining and amusing way. THOSE WERE THE DAYS, MY FRIEND! When Venice had a sense of humor... In fact, the next night, Friday, I ran into my Dear-Old-Friend, Ludovico de Luigi, To Whom-I-Had-Stopped-Speaking For-A-Very-Long-While But-Still-Love-Despite-His-Evil-Ways, at the opening of Joe Tilson at the Bugno Art Gallery, and we both agreed that there seems to be a general LACK OF HUMOR on the planet these days.

Anyway, back to Carnival, The Show. I just LOVED it. Really. It was strangely moving. I sat next to another journalist, and we both were laughing and crying at the same times. Due to the presence of Stefano Nicolao, there were lots of Venetians who would not normally be there that night, so, it was a special night. So, I would say: go there for the show, but don't expect great food. At least Carnival, The Show has a sense of humor! It's an entertaining Venetian history lesson, mingling facts, legends, gossip, scandals -- just like real-life Venice:). They use the space well, mixing live action with digital projections -- something I always love. I am a firm believer in mixing film with live action, opening up all sorts of possibilities for expanding the entertainment.

I predict the next step in live theatre will be more audience participation. Well, everyone has been trying to break the Fourth Wall since before time began, but because of reality TV (which I have seen once in my life at my sister's house in California -- it was quite enough), people are now used to it -- in the Ayn Rand play mentioned above, there were 12 jurors picked from the audience every night. They sat on stage and decided whether I was guilty or innocent. That was cool:) In fact, maybe over there in the States you have already annihilated the Fourth Wall and I just don't know it because I don't read/watch the news and I haven't been over there for some time.

ALL VISITORS TO VENICE should be required to watch Carnival, The Show within 24 hours upon arrival, and then take a short quiz:)

To sum it up, it was as if I attended three separate events on the same night, at the same place.

1. Nicola Atelier di Stefano Nicolao - celebrating 25 years - with the costumes on display at the Theatre of San Gallo.
2. A mad, crazy buffet.
3. A wonderful theatrical production set in an Atelier much like the real-life Nicola Atelier; thus the tie-in.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

P.S. I did immediately spot an error -- they have a printed Timeline in the program, and they say that "Venice was founded in 421 (conveniently on St.. Mark's Day, April 25)." Well, Venice (as we all know:) was founded on Friday, MARCH 25, 421 at the stroke of noon right downstairs at Rialto at San Giacometto. And another marvelous coincidence is that Stefano Nicolao, too, was born on March 25th!

Carnival, The Show
For booking and more info:
http://www.venice-carnival-show.com/

Michela Rizzo Gallery

Yesterday, I was zipping through a bunch of invitations and the Cecilia Paredes exhibit, The final Garden, at Galleria Michela Rizzo in Palazzo Palumbo Fossati caught my eye. The last time I had seen Michela was at her gallery down in Castello a couple of years ago. So, I decided to head over to Palazzo Palumbo Fossati in San Marco and check out her new space.

It is a GREAT space, located on Fondamenta della Malvasia Vecchia, which you can find between Campo Sant' Angelo and Campo San Maurizio if you take the calle by the area that runs past the back of La Fenice.

I wandered around and ran into some old friends and caught up on the news through the ol' Venetian pipeline. After looking at the main Cecilia Paredes show, I ended up in a back room and stopped short. I said out loud, to no one in particular, "Is that Lawrence Carroll's work?" A man said, "Yes, it is." I said, "Well, I know him!"

I found Michela and said, "You've got Lawrence Carroll here?" She said, "Yes. I love his work. I collaborated on the show at the Correr Museum." I said, "You did that? I was there! I wrote an entire blog about it." Michela looked fantastic; we've actually got a couple mutual friends, so we caught up, too. I really loved the space; it's bright and open. Michela did a lot of work, and it shows. The outdoor space downstairs is where drinks were served.

Going and coming from the gallery I ran into a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a long time. Venice is like that. You can go for months without seeing a particular group, then all of a sudden everyone is popping out from one dimension into another. Couples that were separated are now back together. Couples that were together forever have called it quits. Enemies are now friends, and friends have become enemies. And babies, babies, babies arriving on the scene!

The Venetian energy attracts and repels, creates and destroys.

A butcher transforms into yet another ice cream shop. The perfume and make-up section of Coin has moved from San Luca and been absorbed into the main store by Rialto, leaving a Puma store in its place. The florist at the foot of the Rialto Bridge has vanished poof! after nearly 100 years...

Next comes the thunderstorm, which actually is happening as I write this, a roaring thunderstorm with lightening bolts thrown by Zeus himself. The air is recharged, a new scene is set. Everyone looks around to see who is still standing. Then the curtain rises on the next act in the ongoing theatrical production called Venice. The show must go on...

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

Galleria Michela Rizzo
Calle degli Albanesi 4254 - San Marco
30170 Venezia
Italy
Phone: +39-41 . 5223186
Fax: +39-41 . 5223186

http://www.galleriamichelarizzo.net/
michelarizzo@libero.it
opening hours:
Tue-Fri 16-19:30

Venice Film Festival

(Click here for the CURRENT Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog -- especially if you use Bing!!!!)

La Biennale sent over a press release. Burn After Reading sounds so cool that I just might get my press pass this year and go to the film festival. Even though the film festival sounds glamorous, it is actually a huge amount of work, and I haven't gone for the last few years. But I LOVE the Cohen brothers, and it stars lots of the Hollywood Good Guys: George Clooney (god:), Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Richard Jenkins. (I also love that the Cohen brothers are not frightened of making women over 40 look sexy:). They've got something like a zillion Academy Awards wins and/or nominations between them.

Here's basically what the press release says for those of you who don't read Italian, combined with info I swiped off Wikipedia:

In this black comedy, Malkovich plays Ozzie Cox, a former CIA agent in Washington who is fired because he is an alcoholic. He gets revenge by writing inflammatory memoirs. Cox's soon-to-be ex-wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) steals the disc containing his memoirs and accidentally leaves it at the gym where it is found by a trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and the gym's owner Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), who believe they can use the info to blackmail Cox.
Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) is a fellow CIA spy investigating the matter who meets Linda via computer dating. Harry starts an affair with Katie, and later with Linda, becoming entangled with the blackmailers and the CIA.
From Working Title site:

BURN AFTER READING TO OPEN VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

Burn After Reading, written and directed by Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen, will open the 65th Venice Film Festival at Lido di Venezia, held from 27th August to 6th September 2008.

The film, starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt, will be given its world premiere on the evening of 27th August in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema, following the opening ceremony of the 65th Festival.

In the dark spy-comedy, John Malkovich plays an ousted CIA official whose memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise Washington, D.C. gym employees intent on exploiting their find.

Burn After Reading is a Working Title Films production, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen and executive-produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Robert Graf. It will be released in the UK on 5th September, distributed by Universal Pictures and in the United States

Press release from La Biennale:

Dear Cat BAUER,
La Biennale di Venezia
65. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica

Burn After Reading di Joel ed Ethan Coen
con George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, e Brad Pitt è il film di apertura della 65. Mostra

Burn After Reading, scritto e diretto dai premi Oscar Joel ed Ethan Coen, aprirà la 65. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, in programma al Lido di Venezia dal 27 agosto al 6 settembre 2008, diretta da Marco Müller e organizzata da La Biennale di Venezia, presieduta da Paolo Baratta. Il film, che può contare su un cast composto da George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins e Brad Pitt, verrà presentato in anteprima mondiale la sera del 27 agosto nella Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema, a seguire la cerimonia di apertura della 65. Mostra.

Burn After Reading è una produzione Working Title, ed è prodotto da Joel ed Ethan Coen e dai produttori esecutivi Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner e Robert Graf. Burn After Reading uscirà in Gran Bretagna il 5 settembre, distribuito da Universal Pictures, e negli Stati Uniti il 12 settembre, distribuito da Focus Features. In Italia, Burn After Reading sarà distribuito da Medusa Film.

In questa dark comedy dai risvolti spionistici, John Malkovich interpreta il ruolo di ex agente della CIA le cui memorie finiscono accidentalmente nelle mani di due istruttori di una palestra di Washington che intendono trarre profitto dal ritrovamento. Il direttore della fotografia di Burn After Reading è Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men). Mary Zophres è la costumista alla sua ottava collaborazione consecutiva con i fratelli Coen. Jess Gonchor, già scenografo di Non è un paese per vecchi (No Country for Old Men), ripete l'esperienza con Burn After Reading.

(Click here to read the Burn After Reading live report from the 2008 Venice Film Festival)

Ciao from Venice,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
http://venetiancat.blogspot.com

Venice's Ark, Peggy Guggenheim, Barca xe Casa

So much is happening in Venice! I have been running like a maniac since I've been back from the mountains. Yesterday, I was at a press conference with the mayor, Massimo Cacciari, who announced an exciting new Jewish festival, Festival dell'Arca, in The Ghetto which will start on Sunday, May 25th and run through June 1st. There will even be an actual ark! It is to promote a deeper understanding of the Jewish culture, and I have to say that it sounds fantastic, with theatrical performances, music, lectures and conversations., etc. They hope to make it an annual event.

For example, on May 29th at 9:00 straight from Broadway will be a presentation of Iris Bahr in her one-woman show called Dai (Enough). From Amanda Cooper's CurtainUp review: "...A BBC reporter who has been covering the Israel-Palestine conflict for months decides to head into a local Tel Aviv spot (the coffee shop) in order to get an Israeli civilian perspective on the conflict. After a number of revealing interviews with a surprisingly international group (no more than a couple Israelis in the bunch), a suicide bomber enters the shop, killing all (or at least most) of the people we have just heard from. I'm not being a spoiler here. Bahr's play structure has us viewing each individual's moment of bomb impact throughout the evening. Each person's life story/interview is interrupted by the explosion. If this sounds like overkill for the viewer, it isn't...."

Another highlight will be the renowned performer Moni Ovadia in Kavanah, Stories and Songs of Jewish Spirituality, together with Arke String Quartet, on June 1st at 9:00pm.

Here's the link to the entire program: http://www.atduende.it/index.php?page=programma

Tickets are 15 euro, 10 euro for students and seniors.

Next, I dashed over to the L'Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti in Campo Santa Stefano for the conference in preparation for Coming of Age - American Art from 1850 to 1950. From the Guggenheim's site:

"AND THEN PEGGY ARRIVED
1948-2008: 60 YEARS OF THE PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION IN VENICE

To celebrate 60 years of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the museum offers a calendar of activities to supplement the temporary exhibitions. There will be lectures, free guided visits to exhibitions, a movie program during the summer, educational workshops."

Here is the link to that: http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/news.php

The evening before was the opening of the exhibition Barca xe Casa, wonderful photographs from one of my favorite organizations, il Circolo la Gondola (as you know if you read this blog) over at the lobby of the bank, Cassa di Risparmio Venezia in Campo San Luca. You can wander into the lobby through May 30th and have a look at some beautiful, haunting photos of Venice from the 1940s. through 1960s. The hours are bank hours, 8:30am to 1:30pm, and then 2:25pm to 3:35pm. And here is the link to that:

http://www.cflagondola.it/Mostre/Barca/index.html

Ciao from Venice,
Cat