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Last evening there was a Pow Wow at the Guggenheim -- a phrase coined by the artist, Ludovico de Luigi, for a vernissage where the whole town gathers for a bit of gossip and wine, based around an art preview. As one guest put it: "It seems like everybody is here. I don't even see these people on the street!"

Well, that's not entirely accurate because the heavy hitters were there the night before; plus, there were some regulars who were missing-in-action.

The theme of this Pow Wow was COMING OF AGE. AMERICAN ART, 1850S TO 1950S. Since the Guggenheim hasn't put up its English translation yet, we'll swipe this one from the E-Flux site http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/5595

"In the early 1900s, the prominence of American modernism grew so as to proclaim New York, and no longer Paris, the center of the artistic avant-garde. Proponents of American modernism such as Stuart Davis, Man Ray, and Patrick Henry Bruce defined abstraction in their use of bold, geometric shapes and colors to create an American vision deriving from European Cubism. On the other hand, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe and others in Stieglitz’s circle were using reductive shapes and lines to create a modernism that held allegiance to organic forms. Artists such as Charles Sheeler and Edward Hopper, however, preferred representing scenes inspired by American city life, preserving in their works a link with modernism."

Still this war goes on between Paris and New York, exemplified by the battle over the Dogana. You can read about that in a New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/07/arts/design/07veni.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/A/Ando,%20Tadao
I try to stay in the dematerialized zone. In fact, I hear that these days everybody loves each other.

As the artist, Lawrence Carroll, strolled by, someone I was speaking to said, "He's starting to resemble his art." It was funny because I was thinking the same thing! To read more about Lawrence, go here: http://venetiancat.blogspot.com/2008/02/lawrence-carroll-at-correr-museum.html

I got some red wine and bumped into another artist, Gianfranco Perulli, who decomposes domes in general; domes in Venice in particular. I tried to swipe some images off his website, but Gianfranco moonlights as one of Venice's powerful attorneys, in addition to being a University professor and lecturer among many other things -- in fact, his Curriculum Vitae can make you dizzy -- so maybe he has some iron-clad anti-photo-theft thingy on his site. Lawyers have the strangest quirks! To view Gianfranco's site go here: http://www.gianfrancoperulli.it.

Then I spotted Ludivigo de Luigi speaking to the new American Consul of the United States of America, A. Daniel Weygandt, who is based in Milano. The conversation went something like this:

"Cat! Cat! Here is the new American counsel."
"Ludovico, I had lunch with Dan about three months ago."

Ludovico and I are sort of like the battle over the Dogana personified except it's Italy vs. America instead of France. He has been married twice to American women (in addition to other nationalities) and they are now both in the grave. At my book launch he gave a raunchy discussion about how he met his first wife and their escapades in the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

An owner of an art gallery here in Venice was also part of the conversation, and he introduced me as "one of Ludovico's subjects." I immediately clarified: "The only thing Ludovico has ever painted of me are my blue eyes, surrounded by red feathers, hovering over the Grand Canal close to my apartment by the Rialto Bridge. Next to my eyes was a Campbell's Soup Can tipped on its side, tomato soup spilling into the canal, a limp hand dangling from the can, entangled with a fine gold chain. I asked him to at least give me some assistance from above, some Red Light from Heaven or something, but I don't think he ever did it."

Last year, Anny Carraro (whom I adore) won the New York Film and Video Festival Best International Director for Best Documentary she a flick made about Ludovico called "Impossible Venice." To view more about Ludovico, go here: http://www.impossiblevenice.com/?lang=2

In any event, I really like our new American Consul, Dan Weygandt. He came to us from Beirut. In fact, the car he drove was bombed shortly after he left. I am not sure he is much safer here.

Ludovico said he thought the exhibit was excellent, especially because Italians would realize that Americans played an important part in modern art. I went to get more wine, and when I got back, Dan was up on the stairs next to Philip Rylands, the director of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, speaking into a microphone that needed amplification.

Later in the evening, I went through the exhibit with an Italian woman who specialized in Old Masters. She gave us a zippy commentary, saying that American art began with Edward Hopper, and that American artists were copying Europeans before that point. I ran that comment past Philip, and he emphatically disagreed. I wish I could remember exactly what he said so I could quote him, but I can't, so I won't, but it was clever. Philip is one of the few people on this planet who still have a sense of humor.

In my completely uneducated opinion, I will say that the Europeans seem to be more about Freud, whereas the Americans tripped onto Carl Jung. I was speaking to an Italian psychiatrist after I saw the exhibit, who was a Freudian. She said, "Jung is in secret code." I replied, "Jung is not in secret code. It is all a matter of one's personal level of understanding."

Disappointingly, the effect of the disastrous dollar is showing up even at the Guggenheim: usually we get some snacks to munch on, but last evening we only got nuts.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

COMING OF AGE. AMERICAN ART, 1850S TO 1950S
June 28 - October 12, 2008

Opening hours: daily 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Tuesday and December 25)

Peggy Guggenheim Collection
701 Dorsoduro
30123 Venice
ITALY
Phone +39 041 2405411
Fax +39 041 5206885
Email [email protected]
http://www.guggenheim-venice.it

Press Office:
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Tel. +39 0412405404; [email protected]

So much is happening in Venice! I have been running like a maniac since I've been back from the mountains. Yesterday, I was at a press conference with the mayor, Massimo Cacciari, who announced an exciting new Jewish festival, Festival dell'Arca, in The Ghetto which will start on Sunday, May 25th and run through June 1st. There will even be an actual ark! It is to promote a deeper understanding of the Jewish culture, and I have to say that it sounds fantastic, with theatrical performances, music, lectures and conversations., etc. They hope to make it an annual event.

For example, on May 29th at 9:00 straight from Broadway will be a presentation of Iris Bahr in her one-woman show called Dai (Enough). From Amanda Cooper's CurtainUp review: "...A BBC reporter who has been covering the Israel-Palestine conflict for months decides to head into a local Tel Aviv spot (the coffee shop) in order to get an Israeli civilian perspective on the conflict. After a number of revealing interviews with a surprisingly international group (no more than a couple Israelis in the bunch), a suicide bomber enters the shop, killing all (or at least most) of the people we have just heard from. I'm not being a spoiler here. Bahr's play structure has us viewing each individual's moment of bomb impact throughout the evening. Each person's life story/interview is interrupted by the explosion. If this sounds like overkill for the viewer, it isn't...."

Another highlight will be the renowned performer Moni Ovadia in Kavanah, Stories and Songs of Jewish Spirituality, together with Arke String Quartet, on June 1st at 9:00pm.

Here's the link to the entire program: http://www.atduende.it/index.php?page=programma

Tickets are 15 euro, 10 euro for students and seniors.

Next, I dashed over to the L'Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere e Arti in Campo Santa Stefano for the conference in preparation for Coming of Age - American Art from 1850 to 1950. From the Guggenheim's site:

"AND THEN PEGGY ARRIVED
1948-2008: 60 YEARS OF THE PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION IN VENICE

To celebrate 60 years of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the museum offers a calendar of activities to supplement the temporary exhibitions. There will be lectures, free guided visits to exhibitions, a movie program during the summer, educational workshops."

Here is the link to that: http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/news.php

The evening before was the opening of the exhibition Barca xe Casa, wonderful photographs from one of my favorite organizations, il Circolo la Gondola (as you know if you read this blog) over at the lobby of the bank, Cassa di Risparmio Venezia in Campo San Luca. You can wander into the lobby through May 30th and have a look at some beautiful, haunting photos of Venice from the 1940s. through 1960s. The hours are bank hours, 8:30am to 1:30pm, and then 2:25pm to 3:35pm. And here is the link to that:

http://www.cflagondola.it/Mostre/Barca/index.html

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

by Renee Kirchner, Teaching Tips Contributing Editor

Autumn, also known is fall is the transition season between summer and winter. In the northern hemisphere autumn starts in September and in the southern hemisphere, it starts around March. Although there are different definitions of autumn, it is generally assumed that autumn lasts from September through November. During these months the days begin to shorten and animals and plants prepare for the upcoming cold season.

When we think of fall, we usually think of beautiful fall colors such as red, yellow and orange on the trees. As the days become shorter, trees do not have enough light for photosynthesis. The leaves begin to stop producing the green chlorophyll and we begin to see pretty fall colors such as yellow and orange. Small amounts of this color were in the leaves during the summer, but the green chlorophyll covered it up.

Try this fun art project with your children:

FALL LEAVES (Torn paper collage)

Supplies:

Black construction paper (8 _ x 11)
Brown construction paper
Red construction paper
Yellow construction paper
Orange construction paper
Glue

The black construction paper will be the background for this collage. Tear red, yellow and orange construction paper into small one-inch pieces. These will be the leaves on the fall tree. Using a pencil, draw a tree trunk in the brown paper and carefully tear it out. Glue the tree trunk onto the black background. Arrange the leaves on the tree in a pleasing way and glue them down. It looks nice to scatter some of them on the ground for a true fall effect.

The black background will make the bright colors seem more vivid.

Fall Books to Read:

Fall by Nuna Roca. Barron’s Educational Series, August 2004

This title is for children in preschool through grade 2. Filled with colorful illustrations and sample projects and crafts, it is a great introduction to the season of Fall.

When Autumn Falls by Kelli Nidey. Albert Whitman, September 2006.

As the heat of summer fades, fall begins. The temperatures drop as well as the leaves from the trees. Children will enjoy reading about familiar fall pastimes such as piling leaves up and carving jack-o’-lanterns.

Now It’s Fall by Lois Lenski. Random House Children’s Books, October 2000 (reprint).

This newly reissued classic by Lois Lensky holds all of the pleasures of fall. A whole new generation can fall in love with her books.