tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post1726022810726008645..comments2024-03-28T07:52:07.647-04:00Comments on venezia blog: "Boy with Frog" as InstallationSteven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-24810411096934948972017-03-22T13:43:05.229-04:002017-03-22T13:43:05.229-04:00Thank you for the reference to the LA Times piece,...Thank you for the reference to the LA Times piece, Chapps, and for your own description and opinion of the piece in each of the two different settings. You make me want to visit the Getty again, and not only to see the boy with the frog. The last time I was there was so long ago that Madonna and Sean Penn were still a couple--dating or newly married, I don't know, but I do recall them in their matching LA uniform of that time period of plain white crew neck T and expensively distressed blue jeans running and laughing and calling a lot of attention to themselves in one of the big galleries. So though I was surrounded by timeless objects, those two succeeded in forever dating the experience in my memory. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-20970302541296855462017-02-20T18:15:24.164-05:002017-02-20T18:15:24.164-05:00Here's a great L.A. Times article on the insta...Here's a great L.A. Times article on the installation of the statue at the Getty, including a host of pics showing its new location. Scroll down to the bottom to get an idea of how it's first viewed on the monumental staircase, as you step off the tram.Chappshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06353391128368857455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-73096503283089400812017-02-20T18:12:19.696-05:002017-02-20T18:12:19.696-05:00It's a great piece - monumental, yet accessibl...It's a great piece - monumental, yet accessible. It always brings a smile to people's faces. The site in Dorsoduro was very hard to beat. Unfortunately, in it's current location on the large entry staircase to the Getty, the ocean is not visible. At the top of the staircase, yes, you can take in a spectacular view, encompassing a huge swathe of the coast and Pacific Ocean - and the beautiful gardens. I really wish they'd move it to one of the promontories over the garden. No armed guards. When you're up at the top of Getty's 'Acropolis' (it really does resemble a modern version of the Greek original), you're in the bubble of protection, with guards somewhere nearby and cameras of course everywhere. I'm just very glad that I got to see it in its original Venice location. Ephemeral beauty.Chappshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06353391128368857455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-15070289642774286182017-02-19T07:54:32.187-05:002017-02-19T07:54:32.187-05:00In some ways, Chapps, it seems like the Getty Muse...In some ways, Chapps, it seems like the Getty Museum is a pretty ideal location, because of the statue's pseudo-classicism--but I guess not if you've seen it before at the water's edge in Venice. I can see how that kind of land-locked setting would seem second-best in that case. But was the Pacific Ocean at least visible in the distance? And I'm assuming there wasn't an armed guard beside it at the Getty, was there? Just seeing the piece by itself would be nice. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-56983362081522757052017-02-18T22:17:16.272-05:002017-02-18T22:17:16.272-05:00We enjoyed seeing the statue in Venice a few years...We enjoyed seeing the statue in Venice a few years ago, and I do like seeing modern art in older settings. It would never have stayed, and indeed, it was taken away in 2013. A couple of years ago, I was visiting the Getty Museum here in Los Angeles, and what a surprise ... there was the Boy With Frog on the front steps! I believe this is now its permanent home, but I have to say that I think it was better suited to the edge of the Grand Canal. It seems a little bone dry in its current location. Chappshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06353391128368857455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-10879405934110513532011-05-26T17:51:17.109-04:002011-05-26T17:51:17.109-04:00Annie,
I'm really looking forward to the Bie...Annie, <br /><br />I'm really looking forward to the Biennale and hope to see a lot--or why not all?--of it. I didn't realize until this year that it ran so long (from June 4-November 27). I just came upon a "comprehensive guide" online that looks promising: http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/33767/artinfos-comprehensive-guide-to-the-2011-venice-biennale-national-pavilions/Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-6300428816692559532011-05-26T13:04:04.045-04:002011-05-26T13:04:04.045-04:00Annie,
I think your suggestion of costumes would...Annie, <br /><br />I think your suggestion of costumes would be more in keeping with how most people (certainly visitors) respond to the statue: as a fun spectacle. Which is the kind of positive response that most artists would love to get.<br /><br />But having (perhaps obviously) spent far too much time sitting near the sculpture and taking the whole scene in while being eyed watchfully by whichever guard happened to be there, I was struck by how the presence of the guard eventually made it seem a little like the monument of some occupying force: as unwanted and unappreciated by the residents as anything posted by the French or the Austrians must have been in the 19th century.Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-8636428629850292692011-05-25T18:17:37.627-04:002011-05-25T18:17:37.627-04:00I like your take on it as an Installation, with th...I like your take on it as an Installation, with the guards an integral part! I think the guards shouls have to wear gondolier outfits or Carnivale costumes. Agree that it would fit right in with all those crazy sculptures in the DC Mall (many of which I really love). <br /><br />I hope you'll keep us posted about any unique/interesting/bizarre art that's around town during Le Biennale this summer. <br /><br />Just an FYI - there have been problems with Blogger and commenting for several weeks now. It's not just your blog. :)Anniehttp://www.slowtrav.com/blog/annienc/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-38114620317744200942011-05-24T06:32:27.532-04:002011-05-24T06:32:27.532-04:00I'm sorry you're having trouble leaving co...I'm sorry you're having trouble leaving comments, I should look into and see if there's something on the site that has to do with that.<br /><br />In any case, I suspect the security is paid for by the Pinault Foundation that has the lease on the Punta della Dogana. Or I should write, I HOPE it is, as I lived in NYC long enough to have seen plenty of examples of tax payers picking up the tab on facilities, for example, that lead only to huge private profit. (Alas, that now seems to be what is meant by "The American Way.")<br /><br />I did see an old article from 2009 quoting Venezia's mayor as assuring everyone the work would be up only until the end of that year's Biennale... So why is it still up? You got me...<br /><br />I'm not advocating that anyone try to mark up the piece, just imagining what might happen if the work was left alone as a sculpture--left that is, exposed to the social elements of its actual surroundings.<br /><br />As it is, I think it's unfortunate that a public site once so important to Venetians & visitors alike--where, to quote the artist himself in a 2009 NY Times piece, "couples have fights, break up, get engaged, and have their first kiss"--is now monopolized by a purely private interest.<br /><br />For the sake of historical education, I'd suggest they at least put the guard in an early 19th C. French or Austrian uniform.Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-28472428892518250392011-05-24T06:28:45.157-04:002011-05-24T06:28:45.157-04:00(I still have troubles leaving comments for you! I...(I still have troubles leaving comments for you! If there are multiple comments from me, destroy all but this one, please.)<br /><br />So, who is paying for the security presence? And, you'd have Buckley's chance(none) of getting near there with an aerosol or marker pen. The guards might find their task VERY boring, but they do it well.<br /><br />I thought the lad was going to be removed. What happened to that idea?ytaba36noreply@blogger.com