The idea of going to Venice is still on my head. At the beginning I was invited to take part of a committee that will help in the Venezuelan Pavilion, but due to financial setbacks and lack of time it has been very difficult to go and be a part of the opening ceremonies. Now I have reports and ideas, questions and inquire about the trip and the works of art. I will go to this exhibition probably around August.
I just want to post here some ideas around a problem that is arising in the American Pavilion with the work of Felix González-Torres to whom I promulgate a devote admiration. The case is interesting in terms of the behavior of the spectators; the public and its reactions are one of the main topics to analyze in the exhibition.
The absurd misuse of González-Torres material, that after being taken from the exhibition hall end up in trashcans around Venice, is without doubt an expression of the misunderstanding on the concepts of the artist. This attitude can be related to two conditions, on one hand an excessive information given by crew or guides that go around the exhibition saying to people how to behave, and not letting the experience to be lived properly, in which case the public will immediately react by trashing the strange material that anyway was not obtained by free will.
On the other hand, there may also exist a misconception of the work, not understanding that the idea resides in the infinity of the piece, in the constant renewal of every work of art, in the social target and the deep contemporary achievement of giving a part of a work to be completed by the receiver and used as a personal art souvenir. The sad part of this last reason is that it is grounded on a profound failure of the work, a realm of reactions that was probably not in the awareness of González-Torres, but that in any case, gives us idea of the proportions of big biennials and the type of public that goes to these mega events, following the paths of art as if they were tourist attractions or games in a thematic park. In any case, the indolence towards the piece of work is understandable, after all, how many people keep the entrance of the cinema as a souvenir after seeing a movie?
