Read about the 2013 Award Recipient`s trip through the Venice

Lynne Johnson Travel Award Blog Posts
I cannot begin to thank the Art Department enough for the amazing trip I had to Italy. For the
Lynne Johnson Travel Award, I chose to go to Venice, and I also made day trips to Padua and
Florence. While exploring the Venice, I had the privilege of seeing many of the Renaissance
works in the city in addition to attending La Biennale di Venezia.
As a bit of background, the Biennale is a massive international contemporary art exhibition that
takes place every two years, with the first Biennale being in 1895. During the event, different
countries set up national pavilions to showcase their best artists, and additional pavilions feature
either solo or group shows assembled by internationally renowned curators. This year, the
Biennale featured 88 national pavilions, and 47 additional shows, called collateral events. The
curator of the Biennale is Massimiliano Gioni, and his exhibition is titled The Encyclopedic
Palace (more information on this later). Gioni is the Director of Exhibitions at the New Museum
in New York and is the Artistic Director of the Nicola Trussardi Foundation in Milan.
I took an overnight flight from Atlanta to Venice, and arrived in the Italian city early in the
morning on July 25th. After dropping my bags at the hotel, I hit the ground running and began
exploring the city. I decided that on my first day I would be proper tourist and check out St.
Mark’s Square. I should have thought to purchase tickets ahead of time, because I spent much of
my afternoon waiting in different lines. However, each exhibit was definitely worth the wait.
First, I went to the Pallazo Ducale. After exploring the palace and admiring the architecture and
Tintoretto’s paintings, I went to see their special exhibition titled, MANET: Return to Venice.
This exhibit was essentially a survey of the works that Manet completed while visiting Venice.
However, the highlight of the show was the inclusion of Manet’s Olympia and Titian’s Venus of
Urbino. The curator placed the works adjacent to one another which allowed for a side by side
comparison reminiscent of such comparisons made in my AP Art History course. This exhibit
ended up being my favorite part of my day.
After leaving the Doge’s Palace, I ventured across the square to the Museo Correr. There, I went
to the solo show of English sculptor, Anthony Caro. His brightly painted assemblages often
appear to defy gravity, and were incredibly interactive in nature. Next, I made my way to St.
Mark’s Basilica. Unfortunately, the façade was undergoing restoration, so I was unable to
properly admire this wonderful example of Byzantine architecture. However, the lunettes were
still visible, gilded mosaics were indescribably beautiful.
My hotel, the Boscolo Bellini, was conveniently located right next to the train station. And, this
was quite fortunate because on my second morning, I hopped on a train to Padua. My main
reason for visiting the city was the see The Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel. The chapel’s walls and
ceiling are adorned with frescos by Giotto, who is considered by many to be the artist that began
the Renaissance. Not only did I visit this site because it was on my art history bucket list, but I
also wanted to compare the frescos in the chapel with the later Renaissance works that I was
seeing in Venice. The chapel was absolutely stunning, but due to conservation concerns, I was
not able to take any photos. However, I was able to find this photo online that gives you an idea
of the brilliance of the colors in the chapel.
After leaving the chapel, I visited several other sites in Padua. First, I went to the Palazzo
Zuckermann, which is a decorative arts museum. Afterwards, I made my way to the Piazza delle
Erbe to visit the Palazzo della Ragione. One of my favorite parts about the Palazzo was actually
the frescoed arcade which provided an amazing view of Padua. Additionally, the great hall
features a remarkable frescoed program with astrological and mythical themes. At the far end of
the great hall stands an imposing wooden horse, which was originally attributed to Donatello, but
the attribution has since been revoked.
The next day, I was back in Venice, and I decided to spend the next two days focusing on the
Biennale. To get to the two sites, which were on the opposite side of the city, I had to take the
vaperetto. This water taxi took us down the Grand Canal, and I was able to see some of the city’s
most famous sites, such as the Rialto Bridge.
At the Arsenale, I was able to see Massimiliano Gioni’s The Encyclopedic Palace. The theme for
this show came from an imaginary museum dreamed up by Marino Auriti. He wanted to have an
Encyclopedic Palace of the world, and spent the latter portion of his life trying to construct one
in miniature. My favorite installation in the exhibit was the 90 “Venetians” sculptures by Polish
Artist, Pawel Althamer, such as the grey metal figure below. Also, at the Arsenal, I immensely
enjoyed Mohammed Kazem’s installation, “Walking on Water” for the United Arab Nations.
This color video installation takes place within an enclosed dome, and it is a 360-degree
projection of the sea and their GPS coordinates. This is supposed to be a simulation of what it is
like to be lost at sea. The artist once fell overboard off a ship, and was floating at sea for half an
hour before being found. He considered this to be such a liberating experience that he wished
that the spectators could replicate the freedom he felt alone on the water.
At the Giardini, I was able to see many of the popular country pavilions, including the United
States, Germany, France, and Great Britian. At the US Pavillion, I really loved seeing the works
of Sarah Sze. I had previosuly seen one of her installations, but it was no where near as
remarkable as the one I saw in Venice. Also, she was one of the artists that we were considering
aquiring while on the buying trip, so it was fun to get to see her obatin this sort of international
recogonition. Her transformation of the façade of he pavillion was so cool, and was a neat
juxtaposition to the neo-classical architecture of the building. At the German pavillion, I was
surprised to see works by Ai Weiwei. I know that he is an internationally famous artist, but I
think that his work leaves a lot to be desired. To me, he is more of a celebrity than an artist.
After two days at the Biennale, I took a day trip to Florence. I must admit that my favorite works
from the Renaissance were the sculptures by Michelangelo, so I started my day by visiting the
Bargello. Here, I was quite excited to find Michelangelo’s Baccus. Also, once again I was
amazed by the frescoed ceilings, my favorite of which was this pattern of a royal blue
background with gold stars (pictured below). Additionally, I had not previously studied the
Fountain figural group by Bartolomeo Ammanati, and this work ended up being one of my
favorite works in the museum (pictured below). It was originally made for the Sala Grande in the
Palazzo Vecchio. Additionally, it was wonderful to be able to see Donatello’s David and
Verrocchio’s David in the same room.
After leaving the Bargello, I made my way to the Piazza della Signoria, where I was able to
many infamous sculptural works, including the copy of Michelangelo’s David and Bandinelli’s
Hercules and Cacus. I also walked over to the Loggia dei Lanzi look at Cellini’s Perseus with
the Head of Medusa and The Rape of the Sabine Women by Giambologna. Lastly, I admired the
Fountain of Neptune which was sculpted by Ammannati. These sculptural works were of
particular interest to me because I wrote a paper on the significance of their placement in Dr.
Barnes’ High Renaissance and Mannerist Art class, which was my first Art History class at
Wake.
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Additionally, I made sure to visit the Duomo to admire the facade, and I also stopped to inspect
Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise at the Baptistery. I was so surprised by the scale of these doors!
Also, I was really excited to see these since I had just written a paper on the doors in Dr. Titus’s
Art Issues course. Next, I made the short walk to the Ponte Vecchio, and after visiting there, it
was time for me to make my trip to the Uffizi.
I chose to only visit the Uffizi and not the Gallerie dell'Accademia for two reasons. First, I did
not have the time to visit both museums and see the other sites in the city. Secondly, I had visited
the Gallerie dell'Accademia four years prior, and had never been to the Uffizi. In the Uffizi, I
was thrilled to see the works by Botticelli, especially his Birth of Venus and Rites of Spring.
These works were in one of my favorite childhood storybooks, and I was so excited to see them
in person. Additionally, I loved the view of the Palazzo Vecchio that you had while standing on
the museum’s balcony. After leaving the Uffizi, I stopped by the Basilica of Santa Maria
Novella on my way back to the train station.
After my adventures in Florence, I was back in Venice for the remainder of my time in Italy. The
next day, I chose to start by visiting the island of Murano to watch a glass blowing demonstration.
I was amazed by the ways that the artisans were able to manipulate the molten glass. After this
excursion, I decided to spend the rest of my day at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the
Gallerie dell’Accademia and any other Biennale Pavilions that I discovered along the way. I
cannot express how much I adored the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Prior to my trip, I read her
autobiography, Out of This Century: Confessions of an Art Addict, in which she provides a
wonderful description of her home. So, not only did I love the art that she collected, I felt like I
had a connection with the home after reading that book. Also, while I was there, I went next door
to see Casa Artom! I still cannot get over the location of this house, and it made me which that I
had chosen to spend a semester in Venice, not just eight days.
While I was in Venice, the city was experiencing a heat wave, and it was 100+ degrees outside
plus the intense humidity. So, I joke that my favorite day in the city was this day because I was
in the air conditioned comfort of the Peggy Guggenheim collection and the Gallerie
dell’Accademia, which were some of the only air conditioned buildings in the city. In the
Gallerie, I was excited to find several works that I had studied in previous courses. I was blown
away by the scale of Veronese’s Feast in the House of Levi. Additionally, I spent so much time
admiring Giorgione’s The Tempest that the guard actually asked me to move along.
Two of my favorite shows that I saw on this day were the pavilion for New Zealand, Bill Culbert:
Front Door Out Back (Image Left Image), and The Universe of Unreality: Zhongbiao’s Visions,
which was curated by Gary Xu (Right Image). Culbert’s installation consisted of light sculptures
which were a combination of found materials and fluorescent bulbs. The presence of the bulbs
not only require you to reexamine the ordinary objects (such as chairs, cabinets and milk jugs)
which are normally taken for granted, but they also draw attention to the transient nature of these
objects. Additionally, Culbert wanted to comment on the historical emphasis of light in Venetian
art, particular seen in the works of Tintoretto and Turner. Before I could even begin to digest
Zhongbiao’s Visions, I was memorized by the way in which the multimedia show was installed.
A projector transformed the dome of the rotunda into a swirling image of the sky. Additionally,
the photographs and paintings were suspended from the ceiling in a seemingly haphazard manner.
This, along with the loud music emanating from the speakers, really created this disorienting
environment. Biao’s goal for this overwhelming environment was to create a critique of the
consumerist culture in China, but I am not sure if I he was totally successful in conveying in this
message. However, this show was one of my favorites because I was really intrigued by the way
in which the artist and curator manipulated the space of this historic Palazzo.
On my last day in Venice, I traveled all over the city to see the remaining items on my list. I
started by taking the vaporetto to San Giorgio Maggiore. After touring this iconic example of
Palladian architecture and admiring Tintoretto’s paintings, I wandered to the other side of the
Island to see the solo show of Marc Quinn’s work. This was quite the juxtaposition to the
religious images I had previously been examining. My favorite works in the show were Untitled
(seen below) and Self (Blood head).
After leaving the island, we traveled to the Dorsoduro sestiere to see the church, Il Redentore,
which is another Palladian building. The interior of the church was undergoing restoration, so I
was unable to see Veronese’s altar painting. However, I did enjoy looking at the paintings by
Tintoretto. Next, I went to the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa Dei Frari, where I had the chance
to admire Titian’s assumption of the virgin. It was remarkable to see an altarpiece of this caliber
in its original setting as opposed to in a museum. Lastly, I visited Ca’ Rezzonico, although I am
not the biggest fan of art form this period, it was really interesting to see how the palazzos of this
era were decorated by the wealthy families of Venice.
Additionally, the favorite Biennale show I saw on this day was Culture Mind Becoming, which is
a group exhibition featuring Chinese artists. My favorite work in this show was by Wen Wu,
called Self Separation. It featured a painting which has been sliced by the artist, then had some of
the paint scraped away and molded into blocks. Additionally, there was a video which
documented his process. Even though the subject of the painting was an ordinary, colorful still
life, I was really intrigued by the artist’s approach to his materials.
My trip to Venice was unbelievably amazing, and I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to
have been the recipient of the Lynne Johnson travel award!