ITALICS – The Jews of Venice

I dislike moralizing in art. In truth, I bristle when anyone tells me how I should feel about anything. Blame it on my father’s childhood under Nazi occupation, or my post-punk childhood in suburban California. As Oscar Wilde declares in the preface to Dorian Gray, “No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an un-pardonable mannerism of style.”

Nevertheless, a month ago I found myself hurtling toward a global art event replete with ethical sympathies, The 60th Art Biennale di Venezia. Brazilian curator Adriano Pedrosa, celebrated for his innovative museum shows in South America, had gathered artists together under the banner “Stranieri Ovunque,” or “Strangers Everywhere.” Like many curators before him, Pedrosa stated his admirable intention to include neglected voices: voices from the global south, indigenous voices, queer and marginalized voices. So far, so good.