We have all, at one time or another, made a journey to see a work of art. I have traveled to Illinois to visit the Art Institute, many of my class mates drove to Ghent to see the Ghent Altarpiece, and thousands of tourists from all over the world (including those on this program) have…
Author: Patrick Wigent
Crapumenta?
We have just returned from 5 days in Kassel for the monumental documenta 14, the quinquennial exhibition hosted in the German industrial city for 60 years. This, however, is the first year that documenta has taken roots outside of its German home. The curator Adam Szymczyk split the exhibition in two, hosting half in the traditional…
The Liberal Bubble Abroad
On one of our final days at the Generator Hostel in Venice, I was talking with group of people from England, and the conversation made its way to economics and politics. The discussion progressed, as political discussions between those from the United States and other countries often do, to the differences between the United State…
The Capuchin Crypt: Bones, Religious Meditation, and the Tourism Industry
This past weekend, three of my fellow students and I were able to take a two day trip to Rome by bus. 20 waking hours in one of the most important cultural centers of the Western world was a daunting task, so, in order to cope and see as much as possible, I went into…
Iceland and Finland: Partners in Absurdist Installations
There is a jarring juxtaposition between the experience of walking through the curated exhibit of the Venice Biennale and hopping from pavilion to pavilion. The international exhibition, entitled Viva Arte Viva, has been clipped, pruned, and polished by Christine Macel in order to provide a slick, cohesive experience that has been neatly thematized, branded, and…