FUNDAMENTALS – the Venice Biennale 14th International Architecture Exhibition

China Central Television Headquarters, Beijing, by Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren of OMA

(Venice, Italy) With the appointment of the dynamic Rem Koolhaas as curator, the Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition has dramatically changed its modus operandi as it looks forward to 2014. Originally created as an "imitation" of the Art Biennale, the Architecture section of Biennale is evolving into a major exhibition-research project conducted by the curator, and has become the most important event in the world for Architecture. The opening date has been moved up to June 7, 2014, and it will last as long as the Art Biennale, about six months, through November 23, 2014. Instead of the eight months that David Chipperfield, last year's director, had to prepare, Rem Koolhaas will have nearly a year and a half to organize his theme: FUNDAMENTALS. 

Paolo Baratta & Rem Koolhaas

President Paolo Baratta explained the evolution of the Architecture Biennale, and consequently the choice of Rem Koolhaas:

“We are universally recognized as the most important event in the world for Architecture. We are the place where Architecture talks about itself and meets life and society at large. Over the past few years, our choices of curators and themes have been based on the awareness of the gap between the “spectacularization” of architecture on one hand, and the waning capacity of society to express its demands and needs on the other. Architects are called upon prevalently to create awe-inspiring buildings and the “ordinary” is going astray -- toward banality if not squalor: a modernity lived badly. We have made choices oriented towards addressing the issue of this gap.”

Smithsonian (Tung Walsh)

In a September 2012 article for The Smithsonian, Nicolai Ouroussoff asked: Why is Rem Koolhaas the World's Most Controversial Architect?

"...Koolhaas’ habit of shaking up established conventions has made him one of the most influential architects of his generation. A disproportionate number of the profession’s rising stars, including Winy Maas of the Dutch firm MVRDV and Bjarke Ingels of the Copenhagen-based BIG, did stints in his office. Architects dig through his books looking for ideas; students all over the world emulate him. The attraction lies, in part, in his ability to keep us off balance. Unlike other architects of his stature, such as Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid, who have continued to refine their singular aesthetic visions over long careers, Koolhaas works like a conceptual artist—able to draw on a seemingly endless reservoir of ideas."

Yesterday, January 25, 2013, President Paolo Baratta and Director Rem Koolhass met with the representatives of 40 countries participating in the 14th Exhibition at Ca' Giustinian, Biennale Headquarters, to present the theme: FUNDAMENTALS. Paolo Baratta emphasized: "It is a theme, not a slogan."  

Koolhaas has stated: 

“Fundamentals will be a Biennale about architecture, not architects. After several Biennales dedicated to the celebration of the contemporary, Fundamentals will focus on histories – on the inevitable elements of all architecture used by any architect, anywhere, anytime (the door, the floor, the ceiling etc.) and on the evolution of national architectures in the last 100 years. In three complementary manifestations – taking place in the Central Pavilion, the Arsenale, and the National Pavilions – this retrospective will generate a fresh understanding of the richness of architecture’s fundamental repertoire, apparently so exhausted today.
 

In 1914, it made sense to talk about a “Chinese” architecture, a “Swiss” architecture, an “Indian” architecture. One hundred years later, under the influence of wars, diverse political regimes, different states of development, national and international architectural movements, individual talents, friendships, random personal trajectories and technological developments, architectures that were once specific and local have become interchangeable and global. National identity has seemingly been sacrificed to modernity.

US WWI Poster for saving stamps

Having the decisive advantage of starting work a year earlier than the Biennale’s typical schedule, we hope to use this extra time to introduce a degree of coordination and coherence among the National Pavilions. Ideally, we would want the represented countries to engage a single theme – Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014 – and to show, each in their own way, the process of the erasure of national characteristics in favour of the almost universal adoption of a single modern language in a single repertoire of typologies.

Italy WWI - Give money to victory, victory is peace Italian Bank Discount

The First World War – the beginning of modern globalization – serves a starting point for the range of narratives. The transition to what seems like a universal architectural language is a more complex process than we typically recognize, involving significant encounters between cultures, technical inventions and imperceptible ways of remaining “national.” In a time of ubiquitous google research and the flattening of cultural memory, it is crucial for the future of architecture to resurrect and expose these narratives.

Germany WWI - War Bonds help the guardians of your happiness

By telling the history of the last 100 years cumulatively, the exhibitions in the National Pavilions will generate a global overview of architecture’s evolution into a single, modern aesthetic, and at the same time uncover within globalization the survival of unique national features and mentalities that continue to exist and flourish even as international collaboration and exchange intensify…

WWI France - So that your children will no longer know the horrors of the war, subscribe to the National Loan

During the press conference, Koolhaas elaborated on the theme. He said he wanted each country to start with World War I and work forward to 2014 and examine what impact history and events had upon architecture, and how we have arrived at the state of globalized architecture we have today. 1914 was not just the beginning of World War I, it was also about the time that Louie Armstrong came on the scene and when Marcel Duchamp started creating his "readymade" art. Each country in the world has been wrestling with globalization in their own way. We used to have Swiss architecture, Italian architecture, Indian architecture. We used to have a majestic ceiling at the Sistine Chapel created by Michelangelo, and now we just have a ceiling. We used to have different types of doors; now we more or less have the same stuff, a boring, contemporary door. What happened? 

Second Stage Theatre, NYC

Koolhaas worked as a journalist and screenwriter before beginning architecture, and someone asked him whether he considered himself an architect, an historian or a sociologist. He said "I'm an amateur in many different professions, but I consider myself a professional writer. This allows me to talk about everything." I loved that answer because it is truly one of the beautiful things about being a writer -- you can be interested in a cornucopia of different topics, and it's okay.

Interior Seattle Public Library

Someone asked about the presence of the "star system" --  the so-called "starchitects," an elite club of top architects of which Rem Koolhaas is certainly a member. Koolhaas said that "we did not choose that term," and it was imposed upon them by lazy journalists. He said that it implies an architect that doesn't care, does whatever he wants and takes the money. He said "we are not like that," and that the top architects are more sincere and care deeply about what they do.

Another person asked about the word "nationalism," and did it make sense to emphasize different nations at  the Architecture Exhibition. Koolhaas said that the word "national" made sense because it is the way we are organized in the way of space. We all have our own national perspective, and it is interesting how different the reading of the same phenomenon can be. He elaborated by comparing it to "mentality," and how each of our mentalities have been deeply formed by our own individual cultures.

Personally, I think the theme is an exciting one, and the idea of the Venice Architecture Exhibition evolving into a research project will be of enormous benefit to the planet. How different do the years 1914 to 2014 look from the point of view of the United States as compared to Italy? Or Germany? Or China? Or Russia? Or France? Or Argentina? How did we arrive to the point of globalization where we are today? Koolhaas said that earlier in the day the representative from Romania said that Romania was not a modern country. Koolhaas said, "You have light bulbs, don't you? That makes you modern."

And yes, Rem Koolhass is totally cool.  

From Wikipedia:

Prada, Beverly Hills

Remment Lucas "Rem" Koolhaas (born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Koolhaas studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Koolhaas is the founding partner of OMA, and of its research-oriented counterpart AMO, currently based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 2005 he co-founded Volume Magazine together with Mark Wigley and Ole Bouman.
In 2000 Rem Koolhaas won the Pritzker Prize. In 2008 Time put him in their top 100 of The World's Most Influential People.

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Treasures of Venice - Authentic Murano Glass

Ca' Pisani Mirror by Fratelli Tosi

(Venice, Italy) Murano glass is a work of art, appreciated by the civilized world for nearly a millennium. Throughout the centuries, everyone from the global elite to regular folk has enriched their homes and enhanced their appearance with handcrafted Murano glass.

Now, www.yourmurano.com has gathered sixteen of the most prestigious companies together and created the only e-commerce site authorized and certified by Promovetro, the Consortium of glass producers on the island of Murano in Venice, to sell products with the "Vetro Artistico® Murano" trademark. All great creations have many imitations. This trademark guarantees that you are purchasing an authentic piece of handcrafted Murano glass from Venice itself.

Classic Cubes Necklace by Ercole Moretti

The enigmatic island of Murano is just a five minute vaporetto ride from the center of Venice, yet it is mysterious enough even to Venetians. Remnants from the past can still be felt today, something that makes Murano glass unique. The art of blowing glass is often passed from generation to generation, who are closed-mouthed about the family secrets. Like the Montagues and the Capulets, feuds rage between families, or even between different branches of the same family itself. Techniques are carefully guarded, and competition is fierce, creating an environment that produces unique items of excellence. The Venetian glass industry is of such importance that, in the past, a glassblower who revealed his secrets would be punished, fined and ostracized from the community.

Goto Kaia Drinking Glass Set by Dipi

Because of the enormous amount of heat generated by the furnaces and concerns about fire, Venetian glass blowing was moved from Venice proper to the smaller island of Murano in 1291, where many of the factories are still located today. To keep the glass masters loyal and content, the Doge of Venice bestowed many privileges upon them, and they soon became Murano's most prominent citizens. The Muranesi had their own "Golden Book" which listed the most important families, creating dynasties that still exist informally today, long after the fall of the Republic in 1797 during the Napoleonic conquest. Cloistering the glassmakers on an island, making them take a vow of secrecy, and turning them into aristocrats, practically guaranteed the Venetians a monopoly on the glass-blowing industry.

Diamond Perfume Bottle by Alessandro Mandruzzato

The art of glass making dates back to ancient times, to 3500BC in Mesopotamia. Blowing the glass is a "newer" concept, about 2,000 years old. The earliest written record of glass blowing in Venice dates back to 982AD, although pieces of glass have been found on the nearby island of Torcello that originate two centuries earlier. Throughout the centuries, the coveted information of what ingredients to mix together and in what quantities has been lost and rediscovered.

Schumann Chandelier by Formia International

At the glass museum on Murano, visitors can learn about the evolution of local glass. The main element is silica, most commonly found in sand or quartz. The ancient Venetians dredged their silica out of the Ticino River in the form of pebbles, which were then crushed. Silica becomes liquid at high temperatures. Other elements such as arsenic to eliminate bubbles are added to the mix, which, when cooled, becomes glass. Today, the process of glass blowing on Murano remains much the same as centuries ago except the furnaces are heated by natural gas, not wood, and the ingredients come from different localities. The tools themselves used by the glass blowers date back to the Middle Ages.

Medusa Vase by Simone Cenedese

The word fabbrica translates to "factory" in English, which conjures up the image of enormous assembly lines. However, an Italian fabbrica is often an intimate workplace, with only a few employees not capable of producing mass quantities of goods. Government controls on the glass blowing industry are rigorous and costly, taxes are high, and the price of the top-quality ingredients is steep. So if you happen upon a piece of "Murano glass" for a bargain price, chances are that it is an imitation, and not the authentic craftsmanship that is guaranteed by www.yourmurano.com.

Whether you are looking for an impressive gift, or to add a touch of Venice to your home, or a dazzling accessory to enhance your wardrobe, Murano glass is an investment that will retain or increase its value over time. In a rapidly changing world where so much is fleeting, Murano glass is a solid object of beauty created by human hands with knowledge that has been passed down throughout the centuries.

Canaletto Goblet by Seguso Gianni

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Treasures of Venice - Authentic Murano Glass is a sponsored post by www.yourmurano.com

Magicians and Witches in Venice - Epiphany 2013

Magi bear gifts to an infant Jesus in one of the earliest known depictions. 3rd Century Sarcophagus, Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy

(Venice, Italy) The Three Wise Men star in nativity scenes all over the world at Christmas, and are remembered in song, such as We Three Kings of Orient Are. In fact, many unusual characters appear during Christmas time around different parts of the globe, which is what happens when you lay a new religion over existing celebrations. How Santa Claus and his reindeer bringing gifts got tangled up with the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a question that has been examined by scholars and historians for centuries.

Befana in Rome

Here in Italy, there is another element that has been added to the mix, and that is La Befana, who is a witch, complete with broomstick. Like Santa, she gives gifts to good children, and coal to naughty ones. Here is one version of how La Befana met the Three Wise Men, or the Magi, or the Magicians.

From Wikipedia:

Christian legend had it that Befana was approached by the biblical magi, also known as the Three Wise Men (or the three kings) a few days before the birth of the Infant Jesus. They asked for directions to where the Son of God was, as they had seen his star in the sky, but she did not know. She provided them with shelter for a night, as she was considered the best housekeeper in the village, with the most pleasant home.

The magi invited her to join them on the journey to find the baby Jesus, but she declined, stating she was too busy with her housework. Later, La Befana had a change of heart, and tried to search out the astrologers and Jesus. That night she was not able to find them, so to this day, La Befana is searching for the little baby. She leaves all the good children toys and candy (“caramelle”) or fruit, while the bad children get coal (“carbone”), onions or garlic.^[3]

And here in Venice, the holiday has added a watery element that I have written about many times before, starting back in 2009:

Befana Regata and Epiphany

Befana Regata and Epiphany

The Epiphany, or the Twelfth Day of Christmas, on January 6th is a national holiday in Italy. It is also the day of the La Befana, a witch who hands out candy and gifts for good children, and coal for bad children, similar to Santa Claus.

In Venice, the holiday has morphed into something truly unique. During the Regata delle Befane, male Venetian rowers dress in drag as female witches, and have a little regata, or race. 

Click to continue reading.

It's strange, isn't it, that for more than two thousand years we still celebrate the birth of the controversial figure named Jesus Christ, a being who gave this planet a message of compassion, love, hope and redemption.

Noli me tangere - Titian 1514

 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be satisfied. Matthew 5:10

Here is an interesting article by Matt Kettman from the December 20, 2012 Santa Barbara Independent entitled Christ the Activist regarding "Jean-Pierre Isbouts, a professor at Santa Barbara’s Fielding Graduate University whose new tome, In the Footsteps of Jesus: A Chronicle of His Life and the Origins of Christianity, was released last month by National Geographic Books."

Sermon on the Mount by Henrik Olrik

"Drawing on an extensive collection of multidisciplinary research, from ancient histories to biblical archeology to Greco-Roman economics, Isbouts paints a vivid portrait of the world as Jesus knew it, so scene-setting that Jesus doesn’t even appear as a topic until more than 100 pages into the 300-page book.

Among other theories, Isbouts posits that Jesus was born near Nazareth, not Bethlehem; that he was a construction worker who toiled on new Roman cities rather than a carpenter; that he valued women as equal to men; and, perhaps most critically, that his ministry was as much about political and social activism as it was about religious belief.

And in that latter discovery, that Jesus’s role was about bringing economic freedom and everyday justice to a land deeply divided between the rich and the poor, there’s much for our contemporary world to learn in this Christmas season, even lapsed Catholics like me."

Happy Epiphany!

Ciao from Venice,

Cat

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Happy New Year from Venice!

Basilica di San Maro

 

Wishing everyone a prosperous, healthy, 

and stimulating New Year,  

filled with joy and serenity,  

and a new spirit of cooperation.

Buon Anno,

Cat

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

The Merchant of Venice - Noble Secrets of the Art of Perfumery #VeniceBooks

"To Be" by Police - a Mavive fragrance

(Venice, Italy) Fragrance and fashion have always gone hand in hand, so it is only fitting that a section of Palazzo Mocenigo, the costume museum here in Venice, which is part of the Musei Civici di Venezia, will be dedicated to the history of perfume. 

With the strong support of the Vidal family, the Venetian owners of the international fragrance company, Mavive, Venice has decided to reveal some of its ancient secrets and perfume recipes, and has reprinted Secreti Nobilissimi dell'Arte Profumatoria by Giovanbattista Rosetti.

Spices in the window of Antica Drogheria Mascari - Ruga degli Spezieri (Street of the Spice-makers)

Noble Secrets of the Art of Perfumery was first published in Venice in 1555, then reprinted in Bologna in 1672. I am holding the little book in my hand right now, together with a companion volume in English and Italian that explains the text and provides some interesting background.

The creation of perfumes and cosmetics was considered an art performed by Venetian spezieri, or spice-makers, who, according to Giancarlo Ottolini, were "part alchemists and part physicians who had a sound knowledge of chemistry, herbal medicine and the numerous ingredients (and their properties) that were available at the time." 

The spezieri knew how to take a dash of iris, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon and mix it with some lavender, citrus, orange and jasmine in order to create things like perfumes, anti-aging creams and mouthwash.

Pino Silvestre - Mavive

In the Introduction, Marco Vidal writes:

"The reprint of Secreti Nobilissimi dell'Arte Profumatoria coincides with the 25th anniversary of Mavive and with the 112 years of the Vidal family's involvement in the perfumery industry: Secreti Nobilisimi is a testament to the values that have inspired the history of cosmetics since its inception.

For four generations, my family has honoured these values and continues with great passion and devotion the tradition of the art of perfumery.

Pal Zileri - Mavive

In 1900, my great-grandfather, Angelo Vidal, created a small perfumery laboratory at San Stae, in the center of Venice. He began by manufacturing household products, then went on to create soaps, and finally perfumes and cosmetics. 

When he acquired the Venetian soap company, Salviati, and subsequently the ancient perfume manufacturer, Longega, he also acquired a profound knowledge of their "secret" cosmetic formulae, cherished and well-guarded secrets that have subsequently been handed down over the centuries."

In Technical Notes on the Formulae in Secreti Nobilissimi, Giancarlo Ottolini writes:

In the mid-16th Century, when this book was published, the Republic of Venice was at the peak of its power, beauty, and splendour; a city rich in political expertise, treasures, and artistic masterpieces. ...Textiles, glass, metals, and especially spices were the main products traded in the dynamic Rialto Market, where the presence of merchants from various European and Oriental provinces guaranteed commercial opportunities that were not available elsewhere.

...Venetian women took great care in making their faces fair-skinned, in the bright colouring of their hair and lips, and in the appearance of their teeth; they used mouthwashes, removed their body-hair, applied make-up to their eyes, and were particularly fond of perfumes.

...It is worth noting that, in 1488, the Republic of Venice already protected and defined as an art the work and products of the saoneri (soap makers), an activity that later became increasingly widespread within the personal care, perfumery, and cosmetics fields.

In the 16th Century, about forty soap manufacturers were operating in Venice with a total production estimated at around seven-eight thousand tons per year.

Photo: Venezia Ti Amo

Just think: five hundred years ago, Venice was cranking out about eight thousand tons of soap a year, revolutionizing the industry -- they developed the "bar of soap." Even today, you can see the importance of the industry reflected in the names of the streets: Calle dei Saoneri means "Street of the Soap Makers."

Back to Secreti Nobilissimi. In a section titled, Published Secrets: An Oxymoron, Anna Messinis writes:

Venice is one of the cities that revived the perfume culture in the West: its trade with the East enabled it to import important raw materials along with the technical knowledge needed to use them. 

The analysis of the substances cited by Rosetti gives an idea of how many of the raw materials were of oriental origin, a number of which were already mentioned in The Travels of Marco Polo. ...Marco Polo gives precise directives on extracting the musk from the deer as well as a description of the animal itself.

One ingredient that Rosetti, the author of Noble Secrets, lists in 36 recipes is called ambracan, which is a bilious secretion made from the intestines of sperm whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Now, just where do you get whale bile?  

Anna Messinis writes: 

"As Marco Polo noted, in describing the island of Madagascar, it could be found floating upon the sea and in the sand along the coasts of Somalia, Madagascar, and Japan, as well as being extracted from the abdomens of dead cetaceans."

In the 16th Century, Venice was the Italian capital of the publishing industry, and self-improvement was all the rage. Books were printed containing tips on how to obtain snow-white teeth, how to achieve a face without blemishes, how to get rid of freckles, how to make the face fair and splendid, and how to dye one's hair blond, an activity that made Venetian women renowned the world over. 

For the men, there was a recipe on how to dye one's hair and beard black. Toothpastes and mouthwashes, anti-aging products and sun-blocks, Venetians have been obsessed with maintaining a bella figura for centuries. Venetian descendants even created Eau de Cologne itself!

Messinis continues:

"Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the art of perfumery spread from Venice to the rest of Europe, particularly France and Germany. Throughout this region, there is ample evidence in the sciences, arts, and crafts of the Venetian influence. It is not by accident that in 1709, Giovanni Maria Farina and his brother, Giovanni Battista -- grandsons of the Venetian perfumer, Caterina Gennari -- created Eau de Cologne. As this book clearly shows, history informs us that Venice continued to be a fundamental reference point for culture and knowledge, which included the art of perfumery, a veritable crossroad for commercial interests and trade that still echoes down to this day."

1920s Eau de Cologne Bruno Storp

In keeping with that tradition, the Venetian Vidal family, owners of Mavive fragrances, will have the support of the German Storp family, owners of Drom fragrances, one of the ten leading perfume manufacturers in the world, to help enhance the new perfume exhibition at the Palazzo Mocenigo, providing technical and scientific support. The Storp collection of perfume bottles, or flacons, dates back to 2000 BC and contains more than 2,500 pieces. The perfume exhibition at Palazzo Mocenigo plans to be ready in time for the opening of La Biennale in June.

Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo 
e Centro Studi di Storia del Tessuto e del Costume
Santa Croce, 1992
30125 Venezia

ATTENTION: THE MUSEUM AT PALAZZO MOCENIGO WILL BE CLOSED FOR RESTORATION FROM JANUARY 15, 2013 UNTIL MAY 2013.

Ciao from Venezia,
#VeniceBooks
Cat Bauer
Venetian  Cat - The Venice Blog

GONDOLIERS ON TV - Jobs Around the World - Singapore

Bryan Wong & Lorenzo Brunello on Jobs Around the World

(Venice, Italy) In July of this year, I helped to coordinate a television show called Jobs Around the World starring Bryan Wong for MediaCorp in Singapore. We did a lot of preparation and negotiating beforehand, with both sides expressing their objectives clearly and honestly, which created a working atmosphere that was sublime. It was a great experience, and it would be refreshing if everything in Venice functioned that way.

You can read the post I wrote about the experience here:

Venice Gondoliers on TV in Singapore

 

Now the television show has aired, and a video is available over on MSN. It is in English with Chinese subtitles when English is spoken, or it is in Chinese with English subtitles when Chinese is spoken. It is not in Venetian or Italian at all, which, of course, is a little strange since gondoliers are Venetian, and normally speak either Venetian or Italian. In any event, both Bryan Wong and Lorenzo Brunello, the gondolier, speak good English; each has his own unique way of expressing himself in a language that is foreign. It is fascinating to watch them communicate with each other, and how they both seem to know what each other means even if the words aren't perfect. Plus, you get an inside view of what the life of a gondolier is really like. Here are a few snippets:

Bryan: Which is your gondola?

Lorenzo: This one.
Bryan: This one!

Lorenzo: The name of my gondola is Monica. That is the name of my wife.

Bryan: Ay, yay, yay. That is so romantic.

Bryan: To be a gondolier, do you have to go through formal training?

Lorenzo: It's a kind of training that normally takes five years. If you are ready, you will pass to a school where you will learn the history of Venice, the rules of navigation, normally. The father chooses to pass his license. It's a family contract.

Bryan: So what about you? 

Lorenzo: I am the sixth generation.

Bryan: You are the sixth generation?!

Lorenzo: Pietro is the seventh.

Bryan: And your son is how old?

Lorenzo: Eight years old.

Bryan: Are you thinking that one day you would like to pass your license to him?

Lorenzo: My wife and I, we said that we had to use a kind of philosophy. (Lorenzo puts down his oar and mimes a bow and arrow). The parents are only the arch that sends the son to the future. He will decide what he wants to do.    

   

At the end of the video, Bryan says that Lorenzo taught him one thing, something I have believed ever since I was a child:

If we treat our job as a job and nothing else, we won't be happy. To be a happy person, you must have passion for your job. 

---Lorenzo Brunello 

I tried to embed the clip into this blog, but apparently it's not possible, so if you would like to see it, you will have to make a small effort and click the link below. There is a short commercial in Chinese at the opening. Enjoy!

 

 Check out this great MSN video - Jobs Around The World Episode 11

Ciao from Venezia,
Cat
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Fortuny and Wagner - Messages from the Gods - Winter at Palazzo Fortuny, Venice

Mariano Fortuny - Wagnerian Cycle - Siegmund & Sieglind's Embrace 1928

(Venice, Italy) It is surprising that never before has the theme of "Wagnerism" been the inspiration for an exhibition, considering the enormous influence the man and his music has had on humanity. Richard Wagner gave earthly voice to the gods themselves, music that opened the portal to the heavens.

"I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is inspired."

---Richard Wagner

On Friday at Palazzo Fortuny, I felt those vibrations wafting through the air so strongly that I sat on the sofa at the far end of the piano nobile for a long time and wept silently with joy. Mariano Fortuny created an environment inside the Venetian palace where he lived and worked that allowed the vibrations of Divine Thought to permeate the very space itself, vibrations that still resound today. 

 

The Fortuny fabric on the walls, the overhead Fortuny lamps, the 46 paintings of the Wagnerian Cycle on display, the books, sculptures, drawings, prints, illustrations, postcards and works of like-minded thinkers, combined with the music of Wagner playing softly in the background overwhelmed me. 

 

I sat on the long sofa and absorbed the universal currents vibrating the ether. The vibrations were like a bath from the heavens washing away the darkness. I thought: This energy is what is missing in the world today. There is a gap. Who is continuing this work? And then I thought, suddenly: This work is being continued by many, only it is being suppressed.

From The Atlantic: Neuschwanstein Castle is now a world-famous tourist attraction. Criticized by many as wasteful and extravagant at the time of their construction (despite the King using his own money, not state funds), Ludwig's castles have paid for themselves many times over in the years since his death. Photo taken on May 9, 2011. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was sponsored by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), the Fairytale King, who also tapped into the same vibrations. Ludwig had the enormous resources to create magical castles and bring his imagination to life. The officials said Ludwig was mad and tried to have him institutionalized, as is their habit. Then they said that he committed suicide, but many, including yours truly, do not believe that for one moment. I believe Ludwig II was murdered while trying to escape his captors.

The physical manifestation of Divine Thought frightens those on Earth who cannot absorb the vibrations, and those dark creatures will do everything they can to suppress it. I wondered aloud about the reason for this, and a young woman sitting next to me told me, "Nothing is more powerful than Love. The powerful on earth lose their power in the face of Love and so they try to destroy it."

 

Can you imagine having such a conversation with a random stranger in any other venue?

Richard Wagner's music also had a profound impact on Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949), which he expressed through stage design, fabrics and costumes. To mark the bicentennial of Richard Wagner's birth, the Fortuny Museum presents Fortuny and Wagner - Wagnerism in the visual arts in Italy, which opened yesterday, December 8, 2012 and will run through April 8, 2013, and focuses on the visual arts in Italy from the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century.

December 8, 2012 also happened to be the 32nd anniversary of the day that John Lennon was assassinated. It is also the day that the protagonist of my novels, Harley Columba, was born.

"One supreme fact which I have discovered is that it is not willpower, but fantasy-imagination that creates. Imagination is the creative force. Imagination creates reality."

---Richard Wagner

I was a bit dazed when I rose from the sofa at Palazzo Fortuny and started to head toward the exit. A female guide told me that I must go up, not down. I went up to second floor (third floor to Americans) and took a peek into Mariano Fortuny's workshop,  crammed with inspiration. 

 

Mariano Fortuny self portrait

“I believe in God, Mozart and Beethoven, and likewise their disciples and apostles; - I believe in the Holy Spirit and the truth of the one, indivisible Art; - I believe that this Art proceeds from God, and lives within the hearts of all illumined men; - I believe that he who once has bathed in the sublime delights of this high Art, is consecrate to Her for ever, and never can deny Her; - I believe that through Art all men are saved.”

---Richard Wagner

Fortuny lamp

I was stunned to discover that a little room on the right was labeled:

"Bill Viola. Isolde's Ascension. 

(The Shape of Light in the Space After Death). 

2005 10'33." 

Ah, ha! Here was one of the missing links! I thought. Bill Viola! I had forgotten all about Bill Viola, who is one of my favorite contemporary artists. I never expected to see a Bill Viola video in a Fortuny and Wagner exhibition, but that is exactly where Isolde's Ascension belonged. I was the only one in the tiny theater that seated four.

By the time that Isolde had burst from the water and ascended to the heavens, I was weeping all over again. The installation brought back reality. I had had a conversation with Bill Viola during the 2007 Art Biennale. It was the inauguration of his profound work of art “Ocean Without a Shore” inside the Church of San Gallo here in Venice. Many people were clamoring for his attention, and his handlers were shuffling him here and there. 

 

I had wriggled through the crowd and reached Bill Viola. I said, "Have you read Carl Jung's Seven Sermons to the Dead?" Bill Viola said, "No, but I've read Man and His Symbols." I said, "You should read the Seven Sermons to the Dead. It's different." Bill Viola stopped short and shook off his entourage. "Get me a pen. Get me some paper. I must write this down." And he did.

 —Man is a portal through which one enters from the outer world of the gods, demons and souls, into the inner world, from the greater world into the smaller world. Small and insignificant is man; one leaves him soon behind, and thus one enters once more into infinite space, into the microcosm, into the inner eternity. 

From The Seven Sermons to the Dead by C.J. Jung, 1916

Help restore the Fortuny model of the Bayreuth Theater at the Venice Fondation

Richard Wagner died in Venice on February 13, 1883 a few months shy of his 70th birthday. Mariano Fortuny died in Venice on May 2, 1949 nine days before his 78th birthday.

The Fortuny and Wagner exhibition is curated by Paolo Bolpagni and installed by Daniela Ferretti, and made possible thanks to the collaboration of the City of Lipsia, Klinger Forum, the Richard Wagner Verband Leipzig, and the Associazione Richard Wagner Venezia.

Fortuny and Wagner
Wagnerism in the Italian visual arts

December 8, 2012 to April 8, 2013

Palazzo Fortuny
San Marco 3780
San Beneto, Venice
Daily from 10AM to 6PM
Closed Tuesdays, Christmas and Jan. 1
Full price admission: 10 euro
fortuny.visitmuve.it
info@fmcvenezia.it

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