Techniques of Healing, Giving, and Relaxing

exhibition 48th Venice Biennale
written by Željko Kipke

 

Before deciding to visit the Giardini and the much expanded Arsenals, as part of the 48th Art Festival in Venice, there is one thing that one has to bear in mind. One has to know that art has always had a utopian impact. Its protagonists, as well as the accompanying system - which means columnists, connoisseurs, gallery owners, all kinds of managers and the like - have never wanted to free themselves from that sweet burden. After all, they were not able to do something like that. Utopia is a welcome image at crucial moments when one can go no further, or when no convincing reasons can be found for the existence of a discipline. Art is a discipline that has been shaken by severe agony for well over twenty years. The menu is getting more and more diverse from year to year, and it is very difficult to stop at single models. They are consumables, similar to fashion interests, they get recycled and forgotten again.