Page 18 - The Venice Biennale 2001 issue of World of Art Magazine

those figures who contributed to the artistic
r e v o l u t i o n s o f t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y. a l l
present in on e s i n gl e e x h i b ition, wi t hout
divisions of time or space.

it is no coincidence that the international
exhibition begins with the social utopia of
Joseph Beuys and his sculpture “the end of the
twentieth century” (1968), which opens e way
49. biennale di Venezia
to a single massive exhibition extending from
the italian Pavilion in the castello gardens
through to the arsenale spaces of the corderie,
the artiglierie and the gaggiandre: one single
itinerary in which the public is led from one
surprise to another.

and this enormous Plateau of Mankind
embraces not only the works that are part
of the international exhibition proper, but
the entire exhibition - that is, the national
participations in the giardini pavilions and
t h o s e o r g a n i z e d a t v a r i o u s o t h e r v e n u e s
throughout the city.

the Plateau of Mankind does not set any
limits of geography or theme; and it is also
open to contributions from the other arts:
cinema, poetry, music, theatre and dance.
some of the artists of the cinema have taken
up the challenge and opportunity offered,
abandoning their usual space (the cinema)
and their usual public, to measure themselves
against the exhibition space itself. in the
same way, poets will offer their own work
in exhibition alongside the works of visual
artists; and theatre, dance and music will
also dedicate part of their own programs to
participation in the great event. in this way,
the Biennale di Venezia will carry forward
its long-term project for interaction between
the arts, with all the various sections of the
organization involved in continual creative
engagement.
t h e e x h i b i t i o n s p a c e s s t a n d a l o n g s i d e
the spaces for theatre, the teatro Piccolo
arsenale and the teatro alle tese. thus, in
the very heart of the arsenale complex, there
are venues in which the time and rhythm of
theatrical spectacle can unfold in the midst
of the continuing presence of the exhibition.
this unbroken dialogue between the directors
of the various sections of the Biennale di
Venezia has molded the 49th international
exhibition of art into a single great event that
will attract the attention of the international
world of art.

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