Discover Top Posts Tagged with #geoffreyfarmer

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#GeoffreyFarmer making a splash (or maybe a soak) at the #CanadianPavillion #VeniceBiennale #contemporaryart (at La Biennale di Venezia)

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Biennale - Canadian Pavilion

I was captured by the beauty of the Canadian Pavilion at the Biennale. To me, the tree growing through the roof of the structure suggested the defiance and persistence of life in the face of obstacles, and the abundance of flowing water and powerful explosions of the geyser seemed vivacious and nourishing. Especially when viewed on a day as lovely as the day of our visit, with the vibrant green landscape of the Giardini and the water glittering beyond the pavilion, the Canadian Pavilion to me seemed whimsical, beautiful, and refreshing.

Of course, this is not what the artist had in mind, as made abundantly clear by his statement. Geoffrey Farmer created a work about trauma, suffering, and deep loss. Having read the statement first, I thought that the piece of writing was about what turned out to be the American Pavilion, since that space, to me, evoked anxiety, loss, and trauma. The relationship between Farmer’s artwork and his statement came as a surprise to me, a disjuncture that raised questions about the relationship between writing and art. Evidently, there is a difference between describing a work of art in words and attempting to use both a work of art and a piece of writing to communicate the same message. The Canadian Pavilion attempts to do the latter. Since visual language and written language employ different strategies and rely on different faculties of interpretation, the latter also leaves more room for an apparent mismatch. However, I also feel that some of the mismatch I perceived was a result of the deeply personal nature of Farmer’s work. The visual language he employs reflects what he has decided is the best way to communicate his attempt to deal with the trauma that he explains in his writing. But is communication a two-way street? Is the viewer always supposed to understand what is going on, and what an artwork represents or means? If this were the case, I imagine that a majority of modern artwork would have to be deemed ineffective, because most viewers need some kind of background about contemporary art (be it art education or an introduction to the concepts an artwork attempts to convey) in order to feel that they understand it. It seems to me that viewer comprehension is not an essential component of art. Yet at the same time, if an artist hopes to communicate a message to viewers, some of the onus must be on the artist to communicate in an accessible visual language.

Geoffrey Farmer, A Way Out of the Mirror, 2017. Wood and water, Canadian Pavilion, Biennale, Venice.

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Amazing, poetic, and dramatic! #geoffreyfarmer love it! #biennaledivenezia2017 #canada

#biennaledivenezia2017 #geoffreyfarmer #canada

42 days to the next #biennalearte2017 We decided to put you in the right #mood for #art by presenting some of the exhibiting #artist. The principle is, the country of origin. So for example, #geoffreyfarmer will represent #canada ... and we have canadian #sunglasses by #northernlightsoptics #instaglasses #opticianvenice #optician #venice #luxuryeyewear #luxuryglasses #boudoirvenice #boudoiritaly #boudoiritalia #luxurysunglasses #lifestyle #sensationaleyewear #shades #fashioneyewear #italianstyle #instafashion (presso Giardini)