Greetings from the Venetian Lagoon, where a surprise lays behinds each twist and turn. A world on water, here you can only rush around as fast as your feet will carry you, for there are no cars or bikes allowed on this chain of islands. In a city as complicated as the worlds most metropolis city it is easy to get lost in it's warp of alley ways and tunnel like streets. No need to fret however gelato is only one euro and is in abundance for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so if you go slowly not to drip your ice cream you may not only see Venice but actually experience it.

I arrived a few weeks before the opening of the Venice's 51 st Biennale. The city was not yet full to it's capacity of globetrotters as it is now. I tossed my map away a day after arriving figuring it was of little use to me, seeing as though one could not

 

possibly fit every street name on one useful piece of paper, the funny thing is when you stop looking you always seem to find what it was you were searching for.

In its 110 years history, this would be the first Biennale organized by two Spaniards accomplished art critics, curators, and people, and two women at that. Maria de Corral and Rosa Martinez both historians, would conceive what some are saying will be the most intresting show in its' span. "The Experience of Art" (Italian pavilion) and "Always a little Further" (arsenal) give a two-way reflection on the state of art today.

With over 419 artists, 105 exhibitions, in 148 days many conversations have revolved around the topic of functionality. What is the purpose of such an

event, was it necessary in this day and age, if there is one in every continent, and most every country at what point does it become overload? To that I quote curator Hou Hanru who say's in an interview with Venews " They (biennales) are now actively contributing to reconstruct the global art scene" and that it is "crucial to make these events more of a real laboratory of artist and cultural experience."

However a larger more looming question appears, as the viewing public now floods the gates of this mammoth exhibition, can art lead, inspire, or influence us to overcome the past and move us confidently into the future? Once the "guides" (as Rosa Martinez refers to herself) are removed will the work be all the beckon the public needs?