Pavilion Politics

8/21/2013 - Venice, Italy

My second day at the Venice Biennale, I visited the main row of national pavilions and the other main exhibit hall. By the end of it, I was moving pretty quickly. I could not comprehend any more art. My brain was full.

Yesterday's art had universal messages, but these national pavilions were more specific to their countries. Japan and Greece both had artwork about recent crises in their own countries (Fukushima and the EU monetary crisis). I was surprised to see that some pavilions seemed to comment on other countries' problems. Russia, for example, used the Greek crisis to make a statement about greed and corruption. The British, as if in response, explicitly mentioned the Soviets in some of their Cold War art. Most predictably, the Venezuelan pavilion had a street art exhibit asking "Quienes son los terroristas?" implying that the U.S. is a terrorist nation. 

Pictured: The U.S. pavilion, one of many with environmental themes.