Sculptor Anish Kapoor's ‘Ascension’ was supposed to be a major highlight of the 2011 Venice Biennale. A whisp of smoke, which ascends from the floor to a massive extractor fan fixed in the Basilica di San Giorgio’s ceiling. The work tries to emphasize the ‘immaterial becoming object’, as the artist himself suggests.
He was quoted as saying that what is and what seems to be in his work often get blurred. In Ascension, for instance, what interests him is the idea of immateriality turning into an object. He added, “This is exactly what happens in the work: the smoke becomes a column. Also present in it is the very idea of Moses following a column of smoke, or a column of light, in the desert."
Visitors were a bit bamboozled after a tornado-like smoke column spluttered, letting out something more than just a faint stream of vapor. It disintegrated after several meters. According to the artist’s spokesperson, staff on-site had to close the show, after the work did produce less smoke than was usual.
The spokesperson described it as a subtle work of art ‘open to misinterpretation’. But art critics could barely hide their disdain. For instance, Waldemar Januszczak asked: "What should be big, firm and erect is a bit of a flop."
A major museum expert defended the work by stating: "It's rather tricky with site-specific commissions. They are required to live & breathe in that space. Openings may not replicate how it’s going to look during an exhibition. At the start, you’ve 300 people; later on, there may be 30 coming through the door. I’m sure it will be awe-inspiring during the rest of the Biennale.”
However, a confused visitor added that the organizers wouldn't let us in; when they did, it (the installation) didn't work". The Biennale's official site terms it a ‘clear example of that branch of contemporary art research not wanting just to surprise, but to offer the start for reflections on certain actual and delicate issues."
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