Venice Marathon 2014

Tomorrow is the big day, and Venice is ready. 

 7,000 runners from around the globe will participate in the 29th Venice Marathon. The weather forecast is sunny, 65 degrees, with no chance of rain.  Should be perfect for a 26 mile run. 

A temporary bridge across the Grand Canal was put into place yesterday, connecting Dogana Point on the Dorsoduro side of the canal to St. Mark's.  Spectacular to see without runners, I can only imagine how emotional it must be for runners to find themselves on the Grand Canal with such an 

incredible view.

             

 This afternoon, workers completed the finish line area which is located along Riva di Sette Martiri just before the entrance to the Public Gardens.  The TV camera trucks are in place, the reviewing stand and port-a-john have been set up, and even tents with cots so the runners can receive massages after crossing the finish line.

Last week, workers completed the last sections of  ramps on all the bridges between St. Mark's and the garden. The ones along the Zattere had been completed in the prior week. 

When I see the ramps going up every year, I know it won't be long before the marathon takes place. In prior years, the ramps have been left up for at least a month after the race, to give anyone (tourists and residents alike) with mobility issues a bit of a break.





This is the route map of the Venice Marathon, beginning out in the countryside, in Stra.  Twenty of the race's 26 miles are run outside of Venice, with the last 6 miles run from the cruise port to the public gardens.

While I was searching for a route map, I came across this interesting "fly-by" route of the Venice Marathon on You Tube. Click the link to view it, it's fun.

In previous years, I've taken a position along the Zattere just at the entrance point from the cruise port, so I could see the runners in the front of the pack as they hit this long stretch of sidewalk and make their way towards St. Mark's square and the last bit of running.  Last year the crowd was going nuts because an Italian runner was in the top contenders. He came in third, which is a very good showing considering the winners usually are runners from Kenya, and those guys are some very fast runners.

This year, I will be right by finish line, with camera in hand. My hairdresser, Simone, is running the race this year, I think I may be more excited about this than he is.  I bumped into him last night on the street in the vicinity of Rialto, so I had a last minute chance to wish him "Buona Fortuna"  He may need every little bit he can get. I probably should light a few candles for him right before race time, just to be sure to give him every last bit of help possible tomorrow. The poor guy injured his ankle a few weeks ago, and it's not good.    He informed me he is running tomorrow anyway, pain or no pain.

On your mark, get set.....

Biennale 2013 - The Encyclopedic Palace

As I mentioned in my last post, I now have my permanent Biennale pass, which allows me entry into any of the Biennale exhibits anytime between June 1 and the closing day, November 24.  With this in my possession, I decided to go spend a few hours soaking up some culture yesterday.  Mike still needed to get his pass, which required him to show up in person with his identification documentation. Off we went to  the Giardini ticket booths as soon as they opened at 10 am. Our plan to go early paid off- the lines were short, no one cut in front of us, we moved quickly. Before we knew it, we had a second pass in hand. 

We'd taken a look at the exhibition maps the other day and had already decided to begin our Biennale exploration at the Arsenale.

This year Italian born Massimiliano Gioni, the youngest curator of the Venice Biennale, chose the theme Il Palazzo Enciclopedico after Italian-American artist Marino Auriti's concept of a museum (the Encyclopedic Palace) to contain all the world's knowledge. The exhibition, The Encyclopedic Palace, housed at the Arsenale, includes works by 92 artists (hope that's correct, I counted the list) from around the globe.

The exhibition hall is huge, it's contents almost overwhelming.  My plan was to carefully view each exhibit, pay attention to which artist did which work, and to read whatever information was available for each exhibit. I took notes. I took photos. I looked. I learned. I liked. I disliked.

There were many exhibits that were videos, and in general these did not appeal to me. I can't even put my finger on exactly why, they just did. After watching a few of them, I found I was quickly walking past these after just a moment or two perusal.

Here's my list of likes from this collection, in no particular order:
Lin Xue, Hong Kong, 1993-1995 untitled scroll - ink drawings using bamboo pen, with incredible detail

R.Crumb , Philadephia,2009 Illustrated book of Genesis- a monumental number of illustrations depicting the entire book of Genesis, including who begat who, with Crumb's interpretation of what every person looked like.

Shinichi Sawada, Shiga Japan, clay figures and masks.

Matt Millican, Santa Monica California- collage on paper and cotton, Learning from that Persons work

 








Pawel Atthamer, Warsaw Poland, 2013 - "Venetians " - Polyethelyene Resin and metal sculptures . A collection of 90 scultures

Yes, I really enjoyed all the Venetians!

And for the winner of the Dislike category?  Here you go:

This is part of a series of works by Carol Rama of Torino, Italy, painted in 1939.  Each of the paintings were a bit disturbing to me. Can you guess what rating I might have given this?  You got it.

Following several hours inside this main exhibit, I visited the nearby exhibits of the Vatican, exhibiting for the very first time this year; United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Republic of Kosovo, Turkey, Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Indonesia.

My favorite of these ?  Definitely the exhibition of the United Arab Emirates titled Walking on Water by Mohammed Kazem 2005/2013.  You enter a chamber surrounded by the images and sounds of a very rough dark sea. You feel as though you are lost at sea, and even though you are stationary, you feel very wobbly upon leaving the chamber. An interesting experience.

Outside the Biennale exhibit spaces, here in Castello you can't escape art. The latest installation  to arrive on Via Garibaldi- a line of blue tempra paint. I've witnessed more than a few locals having some choice words to say about the blue line.  After this morning's rain- no more installation!

Biennale Blogs

It's that time of the year  when the entire art universe descends on Venice for the International exhibition of contemporary art. In reality, it's held every other year, on the odd years, hence the name "Biennale".  On the even years, there is a Biennale, but for Architecture instead.

Each country that wishes to exhibit can do so, and selects some of it's most notable artists for the honor of exhibiting here at Biennale. There are 30 permanent pavilions located at Giardini ( the public gardens in the district of Castello) to house the exhibitions of returning regular countries. Other exhibits are located in the Arsenale, as well as all over the rest of Venice in non-used churches, palazzos, and other rented spaces.

This year, the 55th Biennale, kicked off a few days ago. I have to admit that having spent the last 5 years living way on the other side of town in Santa Croce, I barely noticed the onslaught of the art world at Biennale time. I have attended bits and pieces of Biennale before, but have never done the entire exhibition. I'm about to change that statistic.

Truth be told, I'm not much of a contemporary art fan.  Probably not the wisest statement for me to be making, in as much as I am married to an artist, and have a daughter with a fine arts degree who is a budding artist herself. Nevertheless, it's the truth. I'm not a great fan, but I have been known to be a critic. Mike is a pretty good realistic painter who took a turn to the dark side years ago when he decided he preferred to paint abstract instead. Again, remember I have already mentioned that I am not a great fan of contemporary art. It's not so much that I am not a fan of it, it's more that I just don't understand it. Ok, so fairly often when Mike would bring one of his abstracts up from his studio, I'd give my opinion, using what I called my "Crap scale". I'd rate his pieces Crap, really crap, total crap, and pure unadulterated crap. It was just between us, and all in fun.  (In reality, Mike's abstracts are very good. He's had several exhibitions, sells his work and had had several commissioned pieces).

Living near both Arsenale and Giardini, it's been hard to miss all of the Biennale preparations going on around us for the last 2 weeks. I almost felt a little left out not having been to any of the big exhibitions before, so I decided this year would be different.  I researched my options for tickets and discovered I can purchase a "Permanent Card" which is available for residents.  I even tried to purchase the ticket on the Biennale website, only to find out that advance purchase of this particular type ticket isn't allowed. I have to wait until June 1. Guess where I will be on June 1. That's right. You'll find me at the ticket office at Giardini waiting patiently in line for my own pass for this season.

My plan is to hit each and every exhibition, both the permanent pavilions and all of the collateral locations all over Venice. Biennale runs from June 1, the public opening date, until November 24. This week are the   opening events that are open only to special ticket holders and the press, and all of the gala pre-opening events that are invitation only.  You'll see my coverage of the exhibitions here on my blog as I experience all of it myself.

Who knows what I'll learn by exposing myself to something new. It's bound to be an interesting experiment. And- I plan to use my "Crap" rating scale only if necessary, but modified slightly to fit the circumstances. For Biennale it will be  Crap, Really Crap, Total Crap, and Crappissimo (that's Italian for "the most crappy").  Again, it's only in fun, and just between us. I know that this is an exhibition for the best of the best in the art world, and I have the utmost respect for the talent of these artists and newcomers.

Postscript:

Yesterday I stood in line at the Biennale ticket office at Giardini to purchase my season pass. I had already had a very long day, and the line seemed endless, but I was determined to find the patience to accomplish my task and go home with pass in hand.

Slowly, slowly, slowly the people ahead of me in line got their business taken care of. We inched forward. Just as there was only one couple ahead of me, I noticed a woman dressed entirely in red appear in front of me. She looked at me, I raised my eyebrow, she said, "Oh, I'm just here to join up with my friends", and pointed to the couple ahead of me. Ok, I could handle that.

A minute later, another pair of women put themselves in the line between me and the couple at the window who are just about to complete their transaction. I told these two women that the line is way behind me. One of them, with a very distinct French accent, proceeds to tell me that her friend has been waiting for her to arrive, and was standing off to the side of our line chatting with other people while she waited. So now that she's arrived, they are taking their turn at the window.  I explain again that  the line starts at the back. This woman proceeds to say she is taking her turn now, in front of me, given that she has finally arrived, and her friend has been in the "waiting line" over to the side for awhile. There is no "waiting line". I, and all the people behind me, have been in the only "waiting line" there is.  I told her I didn't understand this other "waiting line concept, her friend was over there chatting and was not in line" but she wasn't cutting in front of me. I'd waited, and it was my turn. This woman again decides she is going to educate me on how it is ok for her to cut into line because her friend was chatting while waiting for her.  This is a new one for me. She was mighty persistent, but  I stood my ground.  She kept trying, and finally asks " Are you this aggressive in your daily life? "

Funny, in my opinion, she was the aggressive one, attempting to push her way into the head of the queue.  I declined to respond. The look on my face said it all. What did she do? She cut into the line in front of the person just behind me, who let it all happen without saying a word.

I did not have a good first foray into the world of Biennale. But I did walk away with my permanent pass in hand, mission accomplished. Here's to better Biennale days ahead.