Seeking For The Breeze That Isn’t There - Venice Biennale: The American Pavilion

A lot has already been written about the American Pavilion and the controversial selection of the artist to represent Americans at the Venice Biennale this. What is there left to comment on? How about the content of the exhibit? Work covering a 22yr period. Is it a mini retrospective or a justification? Filling a void? Works that are Not Titled Yet – “an allusion to the fact that each is essentially still in a state of becoming”. The title: Call Me the Breeze borrowed from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1974 song refers to a man always moving, a man that does not “want nor tolerate” attachments. He is in perpetual movement. An opportunist “blowing down the road”. “Well, I got the green light, baby I got to keep moving on” While visiting the pavilion on three consecutive days, I never experienced the sensation generated by a breeze. I was never moved. Allen’s pieces are very sedentary to me, they do not cohabite but rather coexist. Their presence is highly decorative. Too decorative to emote. Maybe this is the result of the sculptor’s process: “Allen tinkers with materials with his fingers without looking, letting a form take shape”. It becomes an object. Objects are all around us and have different functions in our everyday life. They are ornamental, functional, emotional or symbolical. For me Allan’s sculptures are well crafted ornaments. Additionally, I wanted to obtain the impressions of American visitors who had just visited the pavilion. These are a few examples:

“It felt very empty”.

“We were told that Art is supposed to make you feel something, we did not feel anything”.

“It looks like the things you see in hotel lobby”.

“Why are all the pieces named Not yet Titled, the artist did not have time to finish before the opening?”.

In keeping with the tone of these comments, I sat and watched as the visitors entered and departed the American Pavilion. I noted how little time most spent inside examining the art. This seemed to be the final artistic comment.