blow down babylon

I have been pretty bad at updating.

But I have a solid defense. The Internet has been behaving rather erratically for the past week, so a lot of what I have written has been lost due to the death of the connection.

And partially due to my incompetence with computers.

Vincent's work, Andy's Wonderland, has been getting a lot of compliments. I met a few Central St Martin students who loved the aspect of walking from room to room and seeing Andy (the sculpture of the mythological hybrid man-dog, dog-man) in a state of unvaried bliss, despite the change of surroundings. With Vincent's work, each room brings something new, despite the unchanging Andy armed with his maniacal grin. An art teacher from a school in Chicago found it a beautiful example of the progression of thought through time. Another person called his work, biblical. The idea of never truly being free in life, and even in death, is something the resonates with me. Andy's almost sado-masochistic collar is a testament to the idea of being under some sort continuous control, or subversion. Vincent's work really reminds me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Plato theorized that humans were chained in a cave, looking at shadows on the wall made by their captors moving puppets- in short, Andy's bliss is an example of his indulgence and complacency to this false reality. He is happy despite the numerous cages (padded room, glass house, cemetery) which he is in- and is probably not aware of the 'institutions' that bind him.

Da Wu has been doing a few performances. One yesterday, and another the day before. On the first day, he sat by his round table and eat rice off a banana leaf. And on the second day, he offered a meal of rice on a banana leaf to about ten of the visitors. Da Wu called it 'a meeting with the artist'. And talked to the visitors about the mythology of the banana plant, which has been a strong part of his art for the past few years and one of the prevalent themes in his work for this pavilion. It was a relaxed and informal meeting that lasted over an hour. There was a great vibe in the room. One of the visitors pointed out that Da Wu's exhibit seemed like a beautiful mix of the masculine, cold massive steel sculptures with the feminine, soft video of the hand rolling the rice off the banana leaf and the paintings of body parts on the wall. This warmth was extended further when the room was crammed up with people participating in the performance, sharing ideas, and learning about Da Wu's interpretation of his work.

Oh, and two composers, one from the states and one from Italy, have commented on Zai's composition, which is synchronized to the video installation. They really loved it. One of the composers went on to call it an ' inspiring synaesthetic experience'.

Managed to get a bit of traveling under my belt. Went to the mainland a couple of days ago and saw the old town of Padua, Padova to the Italians. It's easy to forget how much stuff there is to see in Venice and around when there is an equal amount of contemporary art exhibits floating around. But, as of late, I have really been making a point to see some of the great masters of the artistic endeavor (aha). There is just the most amazing collection of Tintoretto paintings at the Scuola di San Rocco. He was commissioned to do around 30 massive paintings for that building, this task took up most of his later life. And the Friari church right next door, holds two of the most magnificent frescoes by Titian, The Assumption of the Virgin and the Pesaro altarpiece. I'm going to sound like such a gimp saying this, by the assumption of the virgin gave me goosebumps. I even bought a postcard of it to send to my old art history teacher.

yes im ridiculous.

In Padua, I managed to see Giotto's 'revolutionary' frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel. I also managed to see a bunch of Donatello's sculptures in St Anthony Basilica, and some pretty nasty relics of St Anthony's Jaw and tongue. My mum is a Roman Catholic, so this would have totally been up her alley, seeing as this church is quite an important pilgrimage destination for catholics. The church was pretty amazing, the interior is a mix of different periods, so one chapel would be filled with Byzantine frescoes and relics , whilst another was purely dedicated to grand baroque monuments.

Ah the longer I stay here, the more I never want to leave! Not only are the Venetians the warmest of people. They are also such culturally sound individuals, with a deep understanding of society, history, and cultures other than their own (partially due to the 15 million tourists that come into the city every year). Every street, building and church in Venice has a story. It's overwhelming yet magical- I want to know it all.. and the three weeks I have left is just not enough.