Pictures of an exhibition.(Venice Biennale curated by Francesco Bonami and others)(assessment by Scott Rothkopf, Linda Nochlin, and Tim Griffin)

Francesco Bonami's Venice Biennale--"Dreams and Conflicts: The Dictatorship of the Viewer"--delegated responsibility to nearly a dozen curators and, ultimately, to the viewers themselves. The exhibition's 50th edition brought an end to the monolithic "Grand Show" of yesteryear, for better or (as the consensus seemingly would have it) for worse.

And the unseasonable weather didn't help. At June's heat wave-plagued vernissage, many openly wondered whether it was the lack of inspiration or rather the perspiration that was dampening their enthusiasm. We invited three ...

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