Day Thirteen -- Labor Day in Venice

It was a national holiday in Italy -- Labor Day.  We figured that would mean even more people in Venice than the day before.  After breakfast we headed out in search of a gondola ride before the cruise ship crowds could flood into Venice. We asked the first gondolier we saw if he could take us on a route with most of our time off the Grand Canale. He said he could and tried twice to upsell us for a longer route. We stayed strong. It was great fun. We didn't pay extra for the singer and accordion. We did our own singing under the Rialto Bridge. 

 

We took pictures of everyone who took photos of us. We passed two homes connected to Marco Polo.  In 30 minutes we were back on the sidewalk in front of our hotel.

 

We headed to Palazzo Grassi for "Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable" by Damien Hirst. There was already a line to get in. Once in we marveled again at the 60 foot sculpture we saw yesterday entitled "Demon with a Bowl". This photo taken from in between two floors shows the sheer size of it.

 

This exhibit is based on the premise that all these works of art are items recovered from a shipwreck that happened 2,000 years ago. These works of art were raised from the bottom of the ocean on Damien Hirst's dime.  It is such a massive exhibit it takes place in two different museums.  At the Palazzo Grassi there is a video showing divers recovering the items.  At the Punta Della Dogana you see these words as you enter -- "Somewhere between lies and truth lies the truth." We did both museums. It took about four hours.  As you begin you see amazing items covered in coral. As you move further in you realize that things don't make sense -- a coral encrusted transformer.  Coral encrusted sculptures of Mickey Mouse and Goofy.  

 

Across from this sculpture called "The Diver" is a photograph of divers finding the statue. The photo is entitled, "The Diver with Divers."

 

You begin to figure out that these aren't ancient treasures. (We weren't surprised because we read about the exhibition the night before.). On the back of one item it says "Sea World". On the back of another it says, "Made in China".  You begin to see the whole huge display as a grand gag and you don't mind. Part way through I thought to myself, "Somewhere between lies and truth lies the truth that it is all lies."

 

But then I began to see messages. Like the "Five Grecian Nudes" in pink marble that look like Barbie dolls. Near them is a photo of these Grecian nudes at a surrealist exhibition -- a comment on how we have portrayed the female body into a form that is not accurate. I heard in my head: " Somewhere between lies and truth lies the truth that the world lies to us about the truth.

 

The artwork was funny, (Remnants of Apollo)

 

grotesque, (The Minotaur)

 

memorable, (Proteus)

 

beautiful, (Aspect of Katie Ishtar Yo-landi)

 

brutal, (Cronos Devouring his Children)

 

 and like nothing I had seen before. (Sun Disc)

 

Back at Rialto Bridge we went shopping for some souvenirs of Venice. It started to rain lightly and we returned to our room to pack.  Tomorrow we leave Venice...and Italy. It has been a grand adventure and an absolutely great time with my sister. How lucky I am to have such an amazing sister.