Diving into the motivations of an audience attending a visual arts event can be a murky adventure for the casual observer. Divining the true intentions of visitors to the Venice Biennale is an even greater challenge still, what with the dizzy array of characters onsite. Replete with a revolving cast, composed of a variety of mink-bedecked heiresses, international diplomats, imperious art critics and gaggles of sunstruck tourists, there are plenty of options to choose from when considering motivating factors and barriers to attendance within the general public.
As a Fellow within the British Pavilion, I have had plenty of opportunities to observe members of the public who have decided to dip their toes into the huge array of art on offer across the Biennale. The decision to attend such an event suggests some level of previous interaction with art, yet this is not always the case. The British Pavilion has played host, over the past two weeks, to plenty of curious members of the public interested in experiencing something outside of the mundanity of ordinary life, searching for meaning and perhaps a little excitement. The Biennale has plenty to offer for the bombastic art lover, yet our pavilion is of a subtler disposition and invites time and careful contemplation from a viewer before offering a glimpse of the hidden depths of the work. Cathy Wilkes has deliberately spurned the use of press releases, artificial lighting and titles for the work, paring the space back to suggest musings of a hidden nature, a whisper of private pain.
Reactions to the show have had a variety of responses, yet the question on many of our audiences’ lips generally reflect a desire for more information, a drive towards understanding. Wilkes’ practice requires work on behalf of the viewer, which can be pleasurable, but also anxiety-inducing for some members of the public. How can we combat this? How do we encourage an audience to trust themselves and their instincts and learn that any one of us is capable of an appreciation of the delicate visual language of art making?
The Fellowship Programme within the pavilion has been a good place to begin traversing the slippery path to assisting understanding and aiding personal reflections within the huge crowds that have flooded the six rooms of the space daily. Conversation, and the authority placed on us as knowledge givers due to our uniform and our working ownership of the space, allows audience members to ask questions and debate a point of view. These conversations have enlightened me daily and have enhanced my own personal reflections of the work, while also confirming my belief that art is a mechanism which aids social cohesion and empathy.
Our tour with both Wilkes and the curators before the opening of Vernissage has given each of us a distinct understanding of the work, which is wholly unique and absolutely precious for a viewer searching for meaning amidst the painterly tableaux of the exhibition. Some of our viewers will signal unease with the space, with a number of individuals either protesting against the lack of printed information on show, or mentioning that they do not feel ‘qualified’ to understand artwork with the context removed in such a fashion. Wilkes has an egalitarian interpretation to her practice and sees each of us as equals to her in understanding or drawing meaning in some form from her unique form of visual language creation. Our subconscious and emotional capabilities are formed in the womb. Each of us is subjected to the same colour of emotions and share basic human experiences such as birth and death. We are biologically similar, yet we also share deep empathetic connections with one another. Wilkes is confident that through this shared knowledge we are all capable of deciphering meaning from the works. There is a beauty to this approach. The artist places trust in each of us to come to the work with an open mind and a willingness to ruminate in the quest for meaning, and we are then rewarded by glimpses of understanding. A conversation happens between artist and viewer which does not require words or text and instead is made through lived experience in the space. If you happen to be in Venice during the Biennale this year, stop by the British Pavilion and take a moment to think, reflect and perhaps find your own sense of meaning in the stillness of the gallery space.
#contemporaryart #britishcouncil #venicebiennale #art
As a Fellow within the British Pavilion, I have had plenty of opportunities to observe members of the public who have decided to dip their toes into the huge array of art on offer across the Biennale. The decision to attend such an event suggests some level of previous interaction with art, yet this is not always the case. The British Pavilion has played host, over the past two weeks, to plenty of curious members of the public interested in experiencing something outside of the mundanity of ordinary life, searching for meaning and perhaps a little excitement. The Biennale has plenty to offer for the bombastic art lover, yet our pavilion is of a subtler disposition and invites time and careful contemplation from a viewer before offering a glimpse of the hidden depths of the work. Cathy Wilkes has deliberately spurned the use of press releases, artificial lighting and titles for the work, paring the space back to suggest musings of a hidden nature, a whisper of private pain.
Reactions to the show have had a variety of responses, yet the question on many of our audiences’ lips generally reflect a desire for more information, a drive towards understanding. Wilkes’ practice requires work on behalf of the viewer, which can be pleasurable, but also anxiety-inducing for some members of the public. How can we combat this? How do we encourage an audience to trust themselves and their instincts and learn that any one of us is capable of an appreciation of the delicate visual language of art making?
The Fellowship Programme within the pavilion has been a good place to begin traversing the slippery path to assisting understanding and aiding personal reflections within the huge crowds that have flooded the six rooms of the space daily. Conversation, and the authority placed on us as knowledge givers due to our uniform and our working ownership of the space, allows audience members to ask questions and debate a point of view. These conversations have enlightened me daily and have enhanced my own personal reflections of the work, while also confirming my belief that art is a mechanism which aids social cohesion and empathy.
Our tour with both Wilkes and the curators before the opening of Vernissage has given each of us a distinct understanding of the work, which is wholly unique and absolutely precious for a viewer searching for meaning amidst the painterly tableaux of the exhibition. Some of our viewers will signal unease with the space, with a number of individuals either protesting against the lack of printed information on show, or mentioning that they do not feel ‘qualified’ to understand artwork with the context removed in such a fashion. Wilkes has an egalitarian interpretation to her practice and sees each of us as equals to her in understanding or drawing meaning in some form from her unique form of visual language creation. Our subconscious and emotional capabilities are formed in the womb. Each of us is subjected to the same colour of emotions and share basic human experiences such as birth and death. We are biologically similar, yet we also share deep empathetic connections with one another. Wilkes is confident that through this shared knowledge we are all capable of deciphering meaning from the works. There is a beauty to this approach. The artist places trust in each of us to come to the work with an open mind and a willingness to ruminate in the quest for meaning, and we are then rewarded by glimpses of understanding. A conversation happens between artist and viewer which does not require words or text and instead is made through lived experience in the space. If you happen to be in Venice during the Biennale this year, stop by the British Pavilion and take a moment to think, reflect and perhaps find your own sense of meaning in the stillness of the gallery space.
#contemporaryart #britishcouncil #venicebiennale #art