The 25th São Paulo Biennale (review)

THE 25TH SAO PAULO BIENNALE Mar c h 23 - June 2002 As I cruise al ong t he highway, dusk set t i ng heavi l y on an eveni ng in t he height of summer, I see i n t he dist ance large red let t ers si gnal i ng HOTEL f rom t he roof of t he Oscar Niemeyer Bi ennale Bui l di ng sit uat ed i n t he i mmense Ibi r apuer a Park. Carmela Gross, an art ist f rom Sao Paulo, emphasi zes a hot el i n capi t al s where r oughl y 200 art ist s f rom about 70 count ries checked i n, havi ng seen i n t heir rear-view mirrors a world i n cont i nual crisis and consi der abl e change. Visit ors, even school chil dren, f lock around. The Biennal e is a popular venue, pl aying an i mpor t ant part i n i t s 50 years of f ost ering art i n Brazil and spaw ni ng a gr ow i ng int erest i n art r egi onally . The vi si t or s get t o experience works by t he great st ars of t he art world whose exhi bi t i ons t hey never woul d have got t en a chance t o see in t he Unit ed St at es or Europe. The biennial e's pedagogi cal f unct i on shoul d not be underest imat ed by people in t he West , spoi l t by wel l -st ocked art museums and mega-exhi bi t i ons wit h sizabl e budget s. But where were al l t he West ern crit ics when one of t he largest and most i mpor t ant exhi bi t i ons on t he pl anet opened i n t hi s Third World count r y? Do one's own val ues and personal crises creat e a kind of ment al bl i ndness ? I was posit ivel y surprised by how well t he richly diverse bui l di ng, buil t in 1953, worked for t he Biennal e wit h i t s open shaf t s of l ight , a lat e f unct i onal ism i n whit e wit h undul at i ng ramps. I n cont rast , t he out side of t he bui l di ng was an anonymous box, conveni ent l y keeping t oget her diverse ongoi ng exhi bi t i ons, as if package-wrapped. The t wo largest Lat in American Boni t a Alice, ''Spir it 2002" 2002, Sao Paolo Bienal, Phot o Christ ian Chambert Cheri Samba, QuelAvenirpournot reArt , 1997, oil, 130 x 194 cm, Phot o Christ ian Chambert biennial s, Havana and Sao Paulo, are each ot her's opposi t es when i t comes t o pr esent at i on. I n Havana t he works are generousl y spread around t he cit y, and are at t imes dif f icult t o f i nd. In Sao Paulo, on t he ot her hand, t hey are placed in and around t hat si ngl e huge bui l di ng. I n t hat way t he ar t , par adoxi cal l y enough, reaches a larger audi ence t han i f it had been scat t ered al l over t hi s di f f i cul t -t onavigat e cit y of 20 mi l l i on. I n Sao Paulo, based on t he consi derably older Biennal e i n Venice, represent ing one's nat i on i s part of t he basic concept , a f ar cry f rom t he case i n Havana. Unf ort unat el y onl y f our Af rican count ries t ook part i n t he Sao Paulo bi enni al : Cameroon...