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Hughes to Biennale: drop dead - Front Page - Robert Hughes - 2003 Venice Biennale - Brief Article
Art in America, April, 2002 by Marcia E. Vetrocq
Putting an end to two months of speculation, Time magazine critic Robert Hughes disclosed at the end of February that he had declined the position of visual arts director for the 2003 Venice Biennale [see "Front Page," Feb. '02]. In comments to the New York Post, he characterized the Biennale as being a "shambles," and in the hands of "ditherers." Evidently unaware that the Biennale has survived near-death experiences before, Hughes wondered if the event would even happen at all.
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According to sources in Venice, however, Hughes's demands stood in the way of any accord. He is reported to have asked for an enormous fee--as much as six times the amount paid to his predecessor, Harald Szeemann--to "ideate" the show. It was widely assumed that it would have been necessary to appoint an additional, on-site curator to organize and realize the event, since Hughes has never organized an exhibition before. That's an interesting division of labor for a critic known to be intolerant of the premises of conceptual art.
Hughes's brief involvement with the century-old international show may itself be seen as a symptom of the chaos he described. The invitation had come directly from Vittorio Sgarbi, Italy's undersecretary of culture, who bypassed the Biennale board's nomination process. Rather conservatively inclined compared to Szeemann, Hughes was seen as being a reliable guarantor of a Biennale more pleasing to the tastes of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's administration. That usurpation of power was one factor in the early departure of president Paolo Baratta and other board members.
In a dazzling display of finger-pointing, Sgarbi laid the blame for Hughes's decision at the door of Franco Bernabe, the ministry's own choice to be the Biennale's new president. A prominent businessman with no experience in cultural administration, Bernabe had come to New York in early February, meeting with P.S. 1 director Alanna Heiss and other art world figures, Hughes included. And that, complained Sgarbi in comments widely reported in the Italian press, was when the deal went south. Said the undersecretary sourly, "Evidently Bernabe is incapable of maintaining a relationship with people with whom we have opened a dialogue."
Meanwhile, the Financial Times Web site reported that Thomas Krens intends to call for a change in the process by which American artists are selected for the Biennale. Citing the Guggenheim's "ownership" of the U.S. pavilion ("stewardship" might be more appropriate) and the financial and logistical support it provides, Krens wants the Guggenheim to name the artist who will represent the U.S.--if not always, then every three turns, beginning with 2003. The selection currently is determined by a panel of curators, artists and arts professionals. Calls to the Guggenheim requesting a clarification were met with the reply that a substantial statement of the Guggenheim's position would be available by Feb. 25. As we go to press, the release of that statement has been delayed indefinitely.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Brant Publications, Inc.
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