Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Venice, Italy. I hadn't been to Venice in a number of years and was truly excited to visit again. Whether you are an art lover or not, Venice is a feast for the senses and can be visited numerous times without ever becoming boring. Naturally, my camera bag had to come along.
My pied-à-terre was in a chicly renovated 15th century palazzo in the center of Venice, which was once home to the 99th Doge of Venice, Francesco Molin. It turned out to be the perfect place to rest and recharge after long days of criss-crossing the city and its 391 bridges. It even had its own vaporetto (water taxi) dock.
The navel of Venice is the Piazza San Marco, or San Mark's Square in English. Napoleon once called it "the world's most beautiful drawing room". Established in the nineth century, it is also the lowest point in Venice and therefore the first to flood in "Aqua Alta". For all you coffee aficionados, the piazza also houses the world's oldest coffee shop, "Caffé Florian", and probably also its most expensive.
By the way, no more pigeons at St. Mark's Square. Feeding the pigeons was officially banned in 2008 after the pigeon population had reached a height of 130,000 - more than two pigeons for every resident.
Like other photographers, I ventured out early mornings in the hope of capturing unique scenes without too many people in the way. It helped that it was still early in the season and the morning temperatures were at freezing point. Very few tourists, but my fingers and ears were frozen after a few hours.
After reviewing my shots, my raw material, I realized how challenging it was to create distinctive imagery on a subject that has been photographed so intensively as Venice. I decided that the key differentiation would be in the editing, at least for some of the shots. This is how "Venice with a Spritz" was born.
Following, I arranged, and re-arranged, multiple shots of the same scene, and created composites - in other words, a collage of single shots. Doing so allowed me to present multiple angles and multiple exposures in the same final image. As a result, you get an appealing visual with better representation, depth, and detail. Granted, it is a departure from the photographic norm and it takes a little to get used to this type of imagery, but pushing the envelope is needed to stand out from the crowd.
I am only showing a few examples of the collages here. You can see more on my website under "Venice".
A second group of images, "Abstracted Venice", is a departure from the often "traditional" feel of Venice photography. Typically, we are presented with images that evoke melancholic, sentimental, or romantic feelings - a remembrance of times gone by. Often the images are monochromatic, some tinged with sepia to make them appear even older.
Rest assured, the images in my series are different. All very abstract and hardly identifiable as Venice, they are rather cheerful and full of vibrant colors. Again, I am only showing a few samples here. You can see more on my website in the Venice section.
Now to the gastronomical part ...
Besides being up early and photographing, I ate and drank my way through Venice. My sister, whom I hadn't seen for a few years due to covid, joined me from Germany, and she is an excellent travel companion. Or should I say "partner in crime"? Besides shops and galleries, the business of Venice is eateries and bars - one next to the other. The smell of freshly baked goods and fresh coffee is everywhere, and so is the sight of "Aperol Spritz", the ubiquitous aperitif. No human can resist.
We used GoogleMaps as our main navigation system. It works well all over the world, but in Venice it fails frequently as the satellite system is not always accurate enough in the narrow alleys of Venice. Occasionally, you would find yourself in front of one of the 175 canals with Google insisting to "continue straight" - no bridge or gondola in sight. We were not the only ones. It was hilarious to see people yelling at their navigation system for giving them the wrong directions. Well, part of the fun in Venice is to discover hidden alleys. You can always stop for a "Spritz" somewhere and turn it into a veritable "Spritztour", the German term for a joyride.
One of the many things to do in Venice is to explore its different areas. A walk to and through Castello, its largest district and located at the east side of Venice, takes you away from the crowds and along the water and the "giardini" (home of the Biennale pavilions), to the Arsenal, the former industrial hearth of the Venetian Republic. The residential area for the "arsenalotti", the name for the workers living there, is in the side streets of Via Garibaldi. While Via Garibaldi itself is Venice's widest boulevard (achieved by means of filling in a canal), and filled with restaurants and lovely cafes, the residences alongside are simple, quiet, and very different from the pompous palaces one is saturated with in Venice.
A typical view is the colorful laundry hung across the streets. Clothing items in all shapes and sizes are hung to dry in the sun and the criss crossing lines form a net overhead. Looking the clothing choices, one cannot help but picturing the lives of the families living in the homes.
When in Venice, take a boat trip to the neighboring islands of Burano and Murano. Murano is famous for its glass blowing artisans and their colorful and extravagant wares. Burano's fame is derived for its former poverty - a fishing village that painted its houses in bright colors to distinguish the homes for the returning fishermen.
With all the walking and sightseeing, the week went by quickly. Besides trying to create new work, I was proud to be an exhibiting artist in Venice at the same time. Ten of my artworks were on display at the Venice International Art Fair, with a second exhibition at Palazzo Bembo to follow during the prestigious and very hyped Biennale, and a third exhibition over the summer in Rome. This made me feel almost like a celebrity.
Venice, over the centuries, has produced some very famous people. Among them the painter Tintoretto, composers Vivaldi and Monteverdi, playwright Carlo Goldoni, explorer Marco Polo, famed playboy Casanova, and, much more recently, Johnny Depp, just to name a few. Venice has also been an inspiration to artists from all over the world. Rilke, Proust, Ruskin, Hofmannsthal, Lord Byron - all have produced literary masterpieces while spending time in Venice. Not to forget, Thomas Mann with his classic "Death in Venice", a must-read on Venice.
Venice continues to be a place for artists. Not just the Biennale del Arte, which is now in its 59th iteration and open until November. Galleries are showing their wares all over town, from spectacular installations in private palazzos to small outdoor venues. Venice has something for everyone and is worth many visits. I certainly plan to return.
Before I end, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my dear friend Maria Oddy, who is proudly sponsoring my three exhibitions in Italy. Maria is a very forward-thinking local entrepreneur, and always open to new ideas. Feel free to connect with her.
Credits:
Hilda Champion