[artinfo] FlashArt International NewsLetter

[Giancarlo Politi]

   FLASH ART NEWS
     


   Midsummer Chronicle

     


   Manifesta&
     

   The 'Monumentum' t
     


   Basel is Basel - the unique, the b   inimitable

     

   June was a cruel mont   July stifled by the h   on the art map (local,   June, as it's always i   passionate followers and slaves    track of the serpentine events an   paths through Italy and the world.
     


   It would be easy to let it drop (as my daughter Gea does, pre   to a certain degree London or the Côte d'Azur). Work is w   and then there's always the subtle masochism that leads you to p   with life by measuring, by running risks, fragility, limitations,   the insufferable.

     


   Villa Manin and the exhibition by F   Sebastian for Manifesta; and Basel fo   simply THE fair - always an absolute    global supremacy - an unblemished and    year, as if interrupting a midnight dream   was Athens, which owes its "Monument to    generosity, and personality of Dakis Joannou,    charter flight from Basel to Athens, with sumptuous h   the Intercontinental Hotel and return tickets to variou   destinations for many people. Great Dakis - always generous,   and perfect in his low profile.

          


   Immaturity in the Basque Region?

   
     


   Manifesta 5 in the Basque region, however, again demonstra   immaturity by not knowing how to organize an international ev   drowning in a glass of water, citing postal charges as the reaso   its catalogue was, embarrassingly, not ready in time. And yet it    spent, without saying on what, a 2,500,000 euro budget that should ha   ve rendered it more professional and efficient. I believe this was    the first time Manifesta was inaugurated without a catalogue, and thi   s is a very serious symptom of cultural dilettantism and organization   al inability for which, without recourse to appeal, responsibility re   sts with the organizers. Not to have the catalogue ready for the op   ening of a show that is already known for being voluntarily hermetic,   already halfway towards a debacle, for events that were conceived to   be experienced during the opening, with people coming from all over,   who then, swallowed up by the summer, disperse again.

     


   You   hundr   exhibiti   pathetic)   knowing from w   work was made is    were born, and if the   is still linked to th   that for me open up the   originates or is based.   label with the artist's na   around for the rest, drifting   increasingly detached.
     


   Art people are tired
     


     


   <   orga   far-away sp   pouring rain.   involve suffering    exhibition to be lik   aged art-worlders? I   gaiety, the pleasure, and (   enjoyment of the participants ar   ugliness (for men, women, and eve   and boredom. 

   This serious    circus that    one meets   you sad, a   pause.
   

   Colonial Blitz<   


     


   And then this fleeting formula of Manifesta, poss   leaving either trace or record, reminds us a little of t   blitz, of bourgeois arrogance. Here's a country and a c   2,500,000 euro ($3 million) at your disposal, and you, Manif   arrive, organize your show without taking into account the cont   and depart without leaving any memory? At least the artists were   invited to work for a few days or weeks in situ, possibly in contact   with artists from the area and with the place itself. A formula fo   r Manifesta more in tune with the times, but above all more ethical,    would be one that combines a local curatorial team with the internati   onal curators in a way that creates at the least a dialectical
   base.   a real   it to    Trento, and    Manifesta, wake up,   excellent wines offered    at your disposal. Look   arrogant. The territory in    should not be considered a la   anthropological and cultural partner.<
     


   At Basel? Only
   


     


   Better, much better, on this account wa   was conceded to rhetoric and the demago   simply it presents the best, through 36   ouput, according to a Western lens. And Ar   demonstrates that the network of dealers and gallerist   always more spot on than those often exhibitionistic, pa   and at other times aggressive critics and curators.

     


   It's a thousand times better, therefore, to have a well-organize   Art Basel than chaotic and disorganized international exhibitions.
     


   And then in Basel there's also Liste, the most pleasant and agr   eeable alternative fair, reserved for young and proactive
   galleries.   big Art Basel   (intelligent) pract   years of participat   of galleries. Meanw   emerging artists the oppo   and casual way (sometimes   eye).
   

   Catalogues

   

   

   One reproach for Dakis Joannou concerns the catalogue, which is i   an enormous format, coffee table-style, with dimensions so large yo   can't keep it on a bookshelf. And today, with the volume of print   ed matter around, this is no small problem. A pretentious layout, w   ith rampant graphic design that misunderstands and disregards art.    A catalogue for an exhibition and a collection must contribute toward   s understanding the spirit of both. A catalogue must be a sort of r   egister - a dictionary, with all available information - th   respects the artist and his/her work and does not try in every way   overdo it.
   

   Better, much better, dear Dakis, were the c   previous exhibitions!
   
   Giancarlo Politi
   


   

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