Valuable Time With You

Valuable Time With You. Venice, Italy. October 2017.

Venice, Italy. September 2017.

This is Domenico, one of my dearest friends. We traveled to Art Biennale in Venice together two years ago and returned again this year to see Vive Arte Vive! As a seasoned attendee of both the art and architecture Biennale, Domenico navigates the Giardini by heart and has an eye for detail that I can only hope to emulate. 

Here we are inside an installation in the Korean Pavilion designed by Lee Wan. Lee's work entitled "Proper Time: Though the Dreams Revolve with the Moon" is an installation of 668 clocks that cover the walls of this room from floor to ceiling. Each face has the name, birthdate, and nationality of various individuals Lee met while researching economic circumstances around the world. Despite its uniformity, the clocks do not move in unison. The hands move at a speed that is determined by the amount of time the subject has to work in order to afford a full meal. 

But, back to Domenico. He is my better half in all ways: sophisticated, articulate, and wise beyond his years. The time I spend with Domenico is precious and so when I took this photo, I thought it was, for lack of a better word, timely. I can only hope our Biennale trips together continue on as a tradition because every trip with Domenico is an education I cannot get anywhere else.

Private Vaporetto Ride

Private Ride. Venice, Italy. September 2015.

The Red Sea

Red Sea. Venice, Italy. September 2015. 

This was an installation created by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota titled "The Key in Hand" for the Venice Art Biennale in 2015. Housed inside the Japanese Pavilion in the Giardini, it was beautiful, immersive, glowing. When you entered the exhibit, you were surrounded by a web of red yarn with individual keys hanging on each string. You felt as though you were "swimming" in a red sea and every surface inside reflected an electric crimson glow. This boat was a central focal point, however just one piece in the multi-roomed pavilion all interconnected by the yarn and key adorned cielings. I would do a poor job in summarizing Shiota's description of what the boat, red string, keys, and other items signify in the exhibit so I leave her description here for you to explore.