I managed to miss the boat to catch the first part of this talk, but arriving at the Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni (Venice’s graveyard island) and sitting on the grass listening to the panel’s discussion, as the sun slowly set over Venice, was one of the most enjoyable moments of the Biennale.
The subject of this discussion was the David Adjaye pavilion that was commissioned by the Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary foundation to house the Olafur Eliasson work ‘Your black horizon’ – a work that previously existed, in a slightly different form, within the foundation’s collection, and that was adapted in this collaborative project between architect and artist, to create something that is inspired by both disciplines yet can be relegated to neither.
The discussion touched on several key subjects in the art and architecture worlds today. The Thyssen Bornemisza Art Contemporary foundation plans to commission a series of collaborative pavilions to be placed all over the world. The nature of this idea led the panel to debate the concept of art work as pilgrimage site (for example Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty) and how this has become more widespread due to the globalisation of the art world, which in turn can reinforce the work as a commodity. This struck me as important in the context of not only the pavilion in question, but also in relation to the proliferation of art and architecture biennales and art fairs: a global circuit which creates a virtual city and economy of its own, with the same critics, artists, architects, curators, collectors, patrons and general hangers on, travelling around the world, pitching their exclusive, temporary mini-cities, in a self-congratulatory fashion.
Location was also discussed – if this pavilion was situated in the Mestre, where the rubbish is processed and the surroundings are a stark contrast to the serenity of San Lazzaro, would it, and the work inside it, be interpreted differently by the viewer? Of course they would, this is unavoidable, as meaning and context is partly created through place. Thus, if the pavilion is transported around the world, it will create different new meaning and interpretation in each place it is situated. Whether this is problematic remains undecided – can the work reach beyond the place? Can museum as archipelago be the future as Hans Ulrich Obrist suggested?
The panelists digressed further into discussing whether commissioning and placing pavilions all over the world would become conceptually comparative to museums such as the Guggenheim, who have several spaces in different places, all conforming to the one brand. Olafur Eliasson went on to question the proliferation of curatorial courses that now exist globally and asked how we can train curators to work within institutions, that are subject to their own market and economic forces within the industry they operate in, to be able to produce curatorial work that transcends this, rather that being absorbed by the superficial nature of producing a product. The art work or content must surely be more important than the brand.
After the talk I finally entered the Adjaye pavilion to view Eliasson’s work, which proved to be a stark contrast to the mellow, evening sun. As the title ‘Your black horizon’ suggests, the interior is pitch black and leaves you struggling to find your footsteps as your vision adjusts. Eliasson has created a horizon of light that sharply splits the dark and guides you into the pavilion, eventually fully surrounding you. Your eye becomes fixated by the light as this provides your only awareness of space, which actually heightens your sense of physicality. The light changes every few minutes as it rotates through colours, simulated to recreate those that you would experience on an average day in Venice, as the sun rises and falls. This experience left me with the feeling that considering your own relation to the space your are in, at any one time, is fundamentally important, whether you are in Venice, the middle of Dubai or any other city.
Participants:
David Adjaye Architect, London
Olafur Eliasson Artist, Berlin
Jude Kelly Artistic Director, South Bank Centre, London
Hans-Ulrich Obrist Co-director of Exhibitions and Programmes and Director of International Projects, Serpentine Gallery, London
Andreas Ruby Architectural critic and theorist, Cologne
Francesca von Habsburg Chairman, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary
