A mission to make sense of the Biennale
By Peter Aspden

Published: May 24 2005 in Financial Times

It is like some kind of aesthetic in-joke: every two years, the world's most anachronistic city, dripping in the decadent trimmings and old world opulence of its golden age, also plays host to the most important contemporary art festival of our times. In the space of a few metres, you can move from a sumptuous palazzo on the Grand Canal to an installation of a car hanging from a church ceiling. You try to flag down a gondolier; he happens to be wearing black and has a coffin on board. A performance artist from Macedonia, of course.

The Fundamental Hype The Fundamental Practice www.etal.info

Image: Is that a mule on a pole overlooking the Grand Canal?A mission to make sense of the Biennale
By Peter Aspden

Published: May 24 2005 in Financial Times

It is like some kind of aesthetic in-joke: every two years, the world's most anachronistic city, dripping in the decadent trimmings and old world opulence of its golden age, also plays host to the most important contemporary art festival of our times. In the space of a few metres, you can move from a sumptuous palazzo on the Grand Canal to an installation of a car hanging from a church ceiling. You try to flag down a gondolier; he happens to be wearing black and has a coffin on board. A performance artist from Macedonia, of course.

The Fundamental Hype The Fundamental Practice www.etal.info

Image: Is that a mule on a pole overlooking the Grand Canal?