Bed-In by Beatriz Colomina - Dutch Pavilion - Photo: Cat Bauer |
I am not including the Vatican Chapels in my Top 3 because it is in a class of its own. There were so many people at the inauguration on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore on May 25 that I just got a taste of it, and must return at a calmer time.
The Dutch Pavilion - WORK, BODY, LEISURE - Photo: designboom |
Commissioned by Het Nieuwe Instituut and curated by architect and researcher Marina Otero Verzier, "the project seeks to foster new modes of creativity and responsibility within the architectural field in response to emerging technologies of automation." The curator invited a potpourri of architects, designers, historians and theorists who take us on a journey through human labor, and how robots will impact mankind's future.
Bed-In by Beatriz Colomina - Dutch Pavilion - Photo: Cat Bauer |
The Netherlands Pavilion on La Biennale site is here.
NUMBER TWO: The Israeli Pavilion - IN STATU QUO
Model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Surroundings, Jerusalem, 1862 Photo: Cat Bauer |
The pavilion starts on the ground floor with a model of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and surroundings, commissioned by the Turkish governor, Sureyya Pasha, in 1862, more than 150 years ago -- the same proprietary rights are still in effect today. Which denomination of Christianity owned what was so complicated that Pasha needed a 3D model to explain the situation to his superiors in Constantinople. So he commissioned Conrad Schick, a German Protestant archaeologist and clock maker to build a wooden model to try to make some sense out of the whole thing.
The Holy Sepulcher contains two of the most important Christian sites: where Jesus Christ was crucified, and his empty tomb. It was an effective reminder that it isn't only Muslims and Jews that are fighting over the territory of the Holy Land, but that Christians make strong claims on the region, too, and have been battling over Jerusalem for centuries.
Legend for the different Christian denominations in the Holy Sepulchre - Photo: Cat Bauer (with foot:-) |
The other three sites are the Mughrabi Ascent in Jerusalem, the only one of the eleven entrances to the upper level of the Temple Mount that is open to non-Muslims; The Cave of the Patriarchs aka the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, shared by both Jews and Muslims; and the Western or Wailing Wall Plaza in Jerusalem, which was created after Israel destroyed the 800-year-old Muslim Mughrabi Quarter in 1967 and transformed an intimate courtyard into a vast plaza.
The Israel Pavilion on La Biennale site is here.
NUMBER THREE: The Romanian Pavilion - MNEMONICS
Mnemonics at the Romania Pavilion - Photo: Cat Bauer |
I loved the Romanian Pavilion simply because it was fun and I got to play with a bunch of kids. Inside the grey and pedestrian pavilion are childhood playground games like swings and ping pong, devoid of any color. I hopped on one of those foot-propelled old-fashioned carousels and was spinning myself around when some little girls jumped on. I hopped off and started spinning them so they could go faster -- but not too fast -- when suddenly the carousel kicked into warp speed after a 12-old-boy hopped on. The kids were just flying, and my memory lit up with colors and swirls and green grass and trees and pine needles and brown earth, and how when we were kids we would spin ourselves right off the carousel, and how much fun that was, which is the simple message of Mnemonics. Fun for grownups, too!
"Mnemonics refers to the power of space to generate strong, vivid memories." The Romania Pavilion on La Biennale site is here.
La Biennale di Venezia - 16th International Architecture Exhibition runs through November 25, 2018. Go to La Biennale for more information.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
As a lay person with no background in architecture except for what I've learned by living in Venice, the most architecturally beautiful city in the world, for 20 years, what appeals to me at #FREESPACE, this year's La Biennale di Venezia 16th International Architecture Exhibition is probably different than what appeals to professionals in the biz.
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