The best of Venice Biennale, 2013

[Heith]

Here a series of posts with artists and artworks of interest that I found from Venice this year. There was quite a lot of, how should one put this, magic in the air- the curator had chosen very surprising works and artists to be a part of the exhibition. The experience was simply thrilling, and I wished very much that SOA members would have been a part of this journey- I did think of you folk a lot when there! I was going to post this on the member's section first but then decided that perhaps this is something that will interest also non-members.

The Biennale is a huge event, with two main arenas of which I visited two- Giardini (which I felt was the better one this year) and Arsenale. The exhibitions consists of art, architecture, cinema, dance, music, theatre and more. Also, there's pavillions for different countries and tons of smaller exhibitions and galleries. I had time to visit just the two mentioned above, and even that brought hundreds of artists to my attention. Brilliant!


SCHINICHI SAWADA (Japan, 1982-)

Shinichi Sawada was born in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Upon completing several years of study in a specialized school, he was received into an institution for the mentally disabled, in the city of Kusatsu. Diagnosed as autistic, he found employment in the hospital bakery. Later, he attended a workshop where he worked with clay. In 2001, the professor directing that workshop launched the construction of a small potter's cabin built of layered sheet metal. It was located deep in the wilds, a few kilometers from the institution. It is here, in this rough-and-ready facility far from the bustle of the city that Shinichi Sawada, together with a few other patients, creates his sculptures.

His magical and monstrous creatures seem to be the fruit of a personal mythology. The creator works silently and with unflagging regularity. The bodies of his sculptures bristle with densely juxtaposed spikes: using his long, slender fingers, he plants these one by one into the either round or cylindrical shapes constituting the central body of each piece. After shaping the bodies, he fires them in a large wood-fired kiln built of earth and ignited only twice a year. This gives them their brownish-red hue in lighter or darker shades, depending on the flames. Subsequently, he sets them down side by side on the shelves of the makeshift studio where he works twice a week.









Isn't he great? These were fantastic!

[Nefastos]

Those spiked pretties are almost like astral imps petrified.

The creator works silently and with unflagging regularity.

There's this funny similarity - & yet difference - between the Japanese people & the Finns that's almost spooky. The Japanese seem to have much more self-control & discipline wherein Finns have more primitive kind of energy, but both of these cultures share that almost monomaniacal madness concerning one's work of choice. There's something magical in that intense personal concentration or, like we say it here, "pänkkiys" (= doing something in one's own way, regardless of anyone else's opinions).

Also: Sigh. I've yet to visit the great Venice, one of the most Venerian cities there are in the world...

[Heith]

Also: Sigh. I've yet to visit the great Venice, one of the most Venerian cities there are in the world...

Venice is pretty much just a shell, or a facade. Still, in the right company, this art Biennale is worth seeing. But I don't think the city itself is amazing though- other parts of Italy have given me much more. I did get a mild Venice sickness, which was cool.

And yes, there is a spooky similarity between the Finns and Japanese. Even something similar in the rhythm of the language. Perhaps the Finns would be more like the Japanese, if history would have gone a little differently. I mean this whole thing of always being under someone's foot does leave a mark I guess.

Next one on the list (again proceeding in random order)

EMMA KUNZ (1892 - 1963)
"Shape and form expressed as measurement, rhythm, symbol and transformation of figure and principle"

Emma Kunz was a healer. She didn't really consider her work to be art, but created her large drawings on millimeter graph paper with the help of a pendulum and healed her patients with these. Each drawing was completed in a single session and colored with crayons. The drawings were also supposed to transform negative energy. She said; "My drawings are designed for the 21st century. They also convey composition and form as dimension, rhythm, symbol and transformation of numbers and principles."

Kunz also claimed to be gifted with telepathy and prophesying. During her school years, she developed radiesthesia, a form of divination employing energy fields.

She achieved successes through her advice and treatments that often edged on the limits of miracles. She herself rejected the term miracle because she attributed it to the ability to use and activate powers that lie dormant in everyone. Not least, it was this gift that permitted Emma Kunz to discover in 1941 the power of the Würenlos healing rock that she named AION A. Apparently, this rock powder is available in Swiss pharmacies and chemist shops.

[Nefastos]

"Shape and form expressed as measurement, rhythm, symbol and transformation of figure and principle"

I hold a conviction that precisely this kind of art is to work with the axis of being, & when studied diligently, will give a great insight regarding the whole existence. To understand the basic concepts as geometric mandalas, coherent shapes that hold in themselves the rhythm & angles of feelings (that is, dynamics of differentiated energy), is like a portal from the fragmented mundane world to other worlds beyond=within it. If there were not the brotherhood's manual work, I'd have put my energy into studying the cube of Metatron & how to create the specific spirit sigils out of its basic lines - just like Kunz here has been doing. Sooner or later I can return to that work!

It is like a macrocosmic, more theurgic & holistic way of creating the sigils, whereas in goetia the spirits' lines are drawn from broken geometry which is necessarily subjective & astral. Seals that hold their geometric structure like the ones pictured above summon the "angels", i.e. beings that can uphold & restore holistic balance, including but not limited to healing. (Of course, when there's already steady rhythm acchieved, then what we need is a flaw to be able to Create. But the work of goetia forever rests upon this basic structure of theurgy. Without archetypical patterns there can be no bending of the forms, either. Without God, Satan also would cease to be.)

[Heith]

...whereas in goetia the spirits' lines are drawn from broken geometry which is necessarily subjective & astral. Seals that hold their geometric structure like the ones pictured above summon the "angels", i.e. beings that can uphold & restore holistic balance, including but not limited to healing. (Of course, when there's already steady rhythm acchieved, then what we need is a flaw to be able to Create. But the work of goetia forever rests upon this basic structure of theurgy. Without archetypical patterns there can be no bending of the forms, either. Without God, Satan also would cease to be.)

I thought about this yesterday, when I was out for a walk. I have a half-formed idea in my mind, that has to do with a geometrical shape. Sometimes I almost get it, when I don't think about it too much- when observing passively. It seems to be circular, with two or three inner circles as well. And then a lot of small stuff.

So I think we should perhaps talk about this a little bit at some point, when we can meet up, if it seems that this sigil is important to my work- I might drop by Helsinki in the coming months, if I can be bothered to add a dash of Fehu- rune in my morning juice and get instant money. (Or, a cow).

Back to the Biennale, however-

HARRY SMITH (1923 - 1991)

A mystic, artist, bohemian, ethnomusicologist, collector and filmmaker, Harry Smith is probably most known from his experimental work with film. He made animations, where themes of mysticism, surrealism and dada are present. His one hour animation Heaven and Earth Magic was presented at the Biennale, and I believe the Finnish band Hexvessel also tip their hat to Smith with their second album No Holier Temple. Not all of the artist's films survive, as he destroyed, traded and sold some away. Same story with his paintings- while some photographs of them apparently survive, he destroyed the originals. Much of his works were inspired by Kabbalistic themes, such as the Sephirah.

Smith's parents were Pantheists Theosophists, (with interest towards Blavatsky) and his grandfather was a founder of a Freemasonic fraternity. Smith claimed that he received a shamanic initiation at a young age. He studied the Enochian system, and though he worked with OTO, he was never a member. Instead, he was a consecrated bishop of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.



Heaven and Earth Magic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbjSSyAo9WA

[Jiva]

I didn't realise that Hexvessel's Heaven and Earth Magic was a tribute to anything, thanks for pointing that out. I just finished watching it for the first time. Not totally sure what it's about, but I liked the artistic style, especially the last 10 minutes or so. I guess this is the most obvious section, but I'm a fan of film noires, so it reminded me of sections where the protagonist is drugged or knocked out causing film to overlap and spin around in a wild and psychedelic way .

I guess Smith was an influence for Terry Gilliam? As a Brit I'm basically programmed to like anything even slightly similar to Monty Python .

How large are those 4 sculptures in the first picture? I assumed they were relatively small ornaments, but after seeing the massive totem pole in the next picture I'm not sure.

[Heith]

I guess Smith was an influence for Terry Gilliam? As a Brit I'm basically programmed to like anything even slightly similar to Monty Python .

Of this, I've no knowledge. But I think it's possible, as Smith is so well known.

How large are those 4 sculptures in the first picture? I assumed they were relatively small ornaments, but after seeing the massive totem pole in the next picture I'm not sure.

They were not very large. Perhaps 30 cm high. But it's possible that the ones on display were of the smaller variety.

LEVI FISHER AMES (1843-1923)

Levi Fishes Ames was a self- taught folk artist. He first began whittling while a Union soldier in the Civil War, and after suffering an illness that prevented him from doing farm-work, committed much of his time to try and earn a living in other ways- woodcarving and repairing instruments. Ames created a vast wooden menagerie of animals from around the world, as well as bizarre or heroic characters. After Ames had accumulated several hundred individual carvings, he decided to house them in wooden shadow boxes, hand labeling the carved figures and branding his initials into the top of each box. The glass-fronted boxes were customized to accommodate the various-sized carvings. Hinged in the center, they open like a book to reveal the creatures within. Each side may contain one or several carvings with a similar set on the opposing side.

In addition to his fantastic collection of animals real and imagined, Ames carved other objects. His intricate and beautifully realized walking sticks attest to his skill, while small wooden tools and odd items carved from shell, stone, and coconut shell evidence his love of experimentation and exploration. Over the years, he also whittled items such as wooden chains from a single tree branch and types of carvings generally thought of as "tramp art" or "hobo art," along with many Masonic and fraternal symbols and logos.

Ames was inspired by circuses, and even ended up as a touring act himself. For almost thirty more years—until his death in 1923—Ames would carve in front of audiences while spinning yarns about the animals in his show. Various family members would play on musical instruments made by Ames and tap dance to attract and entertain people.










These beasts remind me a little bit of "Where the Wild Things Are", one of my favorite books as a child. Maybe that's why I liked them so much