Has the Venice Biennale’s World Been Turned Upside Down for Good?

When George Washington (with some help from the French) forced the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown to end the American Revolution in 1781, the British played a little ditty called “The World Turned Upside Down” at the surrender ceremony. At this year’s Venice Biennale, the world of national art exhibitions and competitions may be turned upside down for good thanks to a new revolution in anti-nationalism challenging the old system. Guillermo Calzadilla and Jennifer Allora’s Gloria, part of which (called “Track and Field”) features a tank turned upside down in an inversion of militant nationalism (shown above), belongs to the contingent representing the United States. Since 1895, the Venice Biennale has provided a forum for countries to compete in an arts Olympics, but will that tradition last much longer? Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Has the Venice Biennale’s World Been Turned Upside Down for Good?"

[Image: Guillermo Calzadilla and Jennifer Allora. Gloria. 2011.]

Dropping a Dime on the Questionable World of Art Prizes

One of my favorite outdated slang phrases is “drop a dime,” which alludes to the days when a phone call still cost 10 cents and means to tell the truth about someone or something—essentially, to call them out. Last April, controversial Australian artist Richard Bell admitted that he picked the winner of the Sir John Sulman Prize, Australia’s most prestigious art prize since 1936, by tossing a coin onto a floor covered with artists’ names. The lucky coin landed on Peter Smeeth’s name, making The Artist’s Fate the winning submission. Bell (shown above, holding the now infamous coin) still refuses to apologize, claiming that “[m]ost artists know what these prizes are about. They’ve got very little to do with art and much more to do with the institution.” Ever the agent provocateur, Bell dropped a dime on the reality of art prizes with his coin stunt and started a new discussion of what the fate of art prizes should be. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Dropping a Dime on the Questionable World of Art Prizes."