When this boat has its first contact with water today, will it triumph over art? Does humanity’s apotheosis await us for the project’s finale, as in the classic drama, or will it all end in disaster, whatever form that may take?
The tension mounts. The fact that the boat has made it this far at all borders on a small miracle. The route was indeed more difficult than anyone had anticipated. Every day for the past three weeks we all seized on the latest news from the Alps. In our sala fans gathered every day in order to hear the latest update. Once there was no contact for several days and unease began to spread among the art community.
Humans clearly seem to love extremes. When two artists set out to get a boat over the Alps with their bare hands in order to come here to Venice to see the crème de la crème of the art world, at first one does not know quite what to make of it.
Is this all about an artistic and physical challenge, a new extreme sport offering artistic quality in its stage setting and image motifs alone – a red rubber dingy upon a glacier with two unshaven, haggard men?
Or is hauling a 150-kilogram cutter over the Alps more of a caricature of art? Is this the making of art – a satirical take on getting to the Biennale with whatever means necessary?
Could this actionist transalpine drama be a political demonstration against climate change? Or does it have a prophetical dimension? The water level is constantly rising and could even reach the Alps. It may therefore be wise to make a point out of taking a boat up into the Alps right now, since we know full well that the water will make it there before long. The threat is not really that absurd. UNESCO has calculated for Venice that the water level in the Adriatic Lagoon will rise by 50 centimetres by the year 2100 and that the town therefore could well be under water 250 times a year.
There is also a biblical tradition in setting a boat down on land well away from water. Noah also built his ark where there was no water far and wide. For this he was ridiculed by everyone and even began to doubt himself – until the flood came. It is known as the deluge (‘sin flood’) and is a central story to three world religions.
Or will we refer to the art action as humanity’s hubris, of Man’s own overestimation? Are we witnesses to an artistic drama in which Nature is to submit to the means of art? Natural boundaries are crossed as we cease to accept that a boat is supposed to sail across water and not across mountain peaks. Humanity’s yes-we-can rage has encountered a striking precedent. Parallels to current news reports are evident: despots and dictators act with oppression and their populations suffer. Unprecedented disasters are caused by once celebrated technological achievements such as nuclear technology. With growing frequency we experience the collapse of Nature due to the rise in living standards going hand-in-hand with the stripping of natural resources.
The Bible is full of similar stories that deal with humanity’s conceit. They are a collective reminder, as it were, of how something similar was already being attempted millennia ago.
The most prominent myth tells of how humanity sought to reach for the skies. It is the story of the Tower of Babel. A tower is built that is to reach unto heaven. The goal: “So that we may make a name for ourselves.” (1 Moses 11.4) God takes a look at everything and confuses humanity by making everyone speak a different language. Consequently, the project cannot be continued. God does not intervene because he fears for his power: in the Bible we hear an undertone of irony in that God has to descend from heaven in order to inspect this construction, so small is it from where he sees it. Yet he intervenes in order to protect his creatures, who once again fail to grasp the human scale and do not know what is good for them.
If the boat project stands in the tradition of this human hybrid, then there is the option that today the project may fail. Maybe a confusion of language will prevent the two artists from communicating with each other. An interesting variation for the Biennale. Likewise interesting for humanity as it seeks its happiness in venturing ever “higher, bigger, further”. Having already reached its limits it now slides into ruin.
Yet failure can reveal something jubilant. “It is not until Man measures himself against resistance that he recognises himself,” said Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Experiences of failure go deeper than those of success. They make us more human, more sensitive. Luther said on this: “Sin with courage, yet believe with greater courage and rejoice in Christ, the Lord is above sin, death and Satan.” What he means comes down to: Human failure is inevitable. Face it. And more: Have faith! And defy those human standards by looking to Christ, who sets an example by living a different life.
However the actionist, transalpine drama finishes, it is an art project with cryptic, great symbolism and astonishing twists. It therefore fits well into this protestant community that for centuries differed from the customary habits of this town.
We therefore thank the artists and everyone who has made this drama possible.
BP, priest of Comunitá Evangelica Lutherana, Venezia
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