Why Angelina missed the New Zealand party at the Biennale

The Emirates flight on the way to Venice was screening the apparently convoluted film, The Tourist starring the apparently talented Angelina Jolie.

The film is largely set in Venice and involves Angelina driving boats up and down the canals of Venice although why, in never made clear.

One possibility is that she was in search of the Palazzo Loredan where the New Zealand biennale show is on but she was a year out and her attempts to find Michael Parekowhai and his work were fruitless.

If she were to do it all again she wouldn’t miss the palazzo as it is now adorned with a huge banner advertising. “Michael Parekowhai, New Zealand – On first looking into Chapman's Homer”.

And she missed a couple of great opening events. Last Tuesday morning there was an early morning Maori blessing attended by a few select patrons and media, which was a different approach from previous years when there had been a full kapa haka show in St Marks Square.

The palazzo rang with sounds of a Maori blessing with the audience giving full voice to the refrains. The blessing acknowledged the debt the exhibition owed to the two intertwined cultural heritages of Maori and European. There was also a moving version of Pokarekarerana by singer Aivale Cole which reinforced that notion of a shared New Zealand cultural icon.

Then on the wednesday night there was the official opening where the artwork was central to the evening Wednesday night the art was central with the playing of the carved Steinway piano “Story of a New Zealand River”.

At the official opening the next day a large group of patrons, curators, critics and artists attended the opening ceremony where the bright red piano in the central hall of the palace was continually playing a mistune of classical and traditional tunes as well as accompanying Aivale Cole.

The red piano is an part a reference to the way in which early pakeha attempted to preserve Maori artefacts by covering up the red ochre with a slosh of red house paint. It also references Venice’s most famous musical son Antonio Vivaldi - “The Red Priest” whose music and operas is known the world over

The exhibition will be visible to the passing tourist and Venetians. Not only is there the large sign, the passerby can also see the huge bull and piano (On a Peak in Darian) through the opened front doors of the palazzo which acts a great symbol about the nation of new Zealand barging into the European Art Scene..

The multi-layered show has some possibly unintended connection. On the face of the Palazzo Loredan are a couple of full size Knight Templers guarding the building and ensuring there are no rampaging bulls.

These figures provide a subtle link to the New Zealand soldiers who in 1945 liberated Venice and who were billeted in the area around the palace. For what they did they have become part of Venation histology and mythology

At the opening event, Jenny Harper the Director of the Christchurch Art Gallery and New Zealand Commissioner said that the realities of presenting exhibitions in Venice were fraught with financial and political issues.

“The benefits of participating in the longest running and most prestigious biennale of the art worlds are unparalleled for raising New Zealand’s cultural status and international reputation.

She said that continued government funding was curial as was the need for additional private funding, which this added over $300,000 to the project.

“I am convinced we need to be at the Venice Biennale long term. Each time we take part new Zealand‘s reputation in the art worlds is deepened and further opportunities result, some tangible and short term while others are less tangible and.. Longer term but all broadly speaking economic cultural and reputations”

While having jenny Harper and other New Zealand art luminaries open the show we paled in the promotional area by Australia who managed to get Rachel Griffiths to tell the Australian crowd about the importance of funding art in the international arena to help in identifying the country culturally.