So Long Celebrity Status

American Pavilion Superstars

This was the last day I ran at the Biennale. I already miss the superstar status. I have an awesome 1 minute video of my last run. There is an exuberant husband and wife team cheering me on and a man running up to take a photo.

This was such a super experience. I had a great time visiting the city and hanging out with the Guggenheim staff. I saw some incredible artwork by many of them including Diana Cordoba Barrios, collages, Michelle Galletta prints and Matthew Attard sculptures. I unfortunately do have a link to Matthews work – so send me one Matt!

It was great to meet and share a house with Dave Durante and  Sadie Wilhelmi. They are amazing athletes and their performances were incredible to watch. Yes I will certainly miss it all.

Wow I am so happy here I look like am going to bust!

I flew home via Madrid and when I sat down on the plane, the women next to me said, “hey you are the runner!” Yes I had a huge grin on my face, she had at the biennale the previous week and saw me run. I got to celebrate my celebrity status one more time before coming home to paperwork and student complaints.

Okay one last video just for the fun of it you can see me flopping around with excitement at the end:

Hilary Lorenz in front of Track and Field Title Plate

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One Week in Venice

If you think I am sitting at outdoor cafes along the Canal Grande seeping wine or drinking espresso you are dearly mistaken. In the last 6 nights I have not eaten at a restaurant, only once had espresso, and have only had one glass of wine at a cake party last night.

You must think I am crazy to not partake in all kinds of extravagance in Italy, but Venice does not seem extravagant in behavior, in art and history yes.
Last night the party, made by Tuey, one of the Guggenheim interns who works at the American Pavilion, started at 6:30pm near a church. The entire square was completely empty. Tuey made a cake, named “Patrick” and we all sang Happy Birthday. The party was very well represented with friends from Norway, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Australia, Japan, the US and my personal favorite Canada. I am sure I am leaving someone out.  At 9:00pm we went to a bar to listen to a band. The bar was filled with the young fun people of Venice. Because I live in Lido, kind of like Brooklyn to Manhattan, I went home at 11:00. (Or maybe because I am old and I hate being tired in the morning) The boat I came on had stopped running so I had to walk to the other side of Venice. There was no one on the streets as I navigated the narrow passageways. I got to the vaporetto and waited 17 minutes to get my boat to Lido, another 15-20 minute ride. I realized today that it already seems normal to take a boat to work. I had not even noticed that there are no cars or bikes in Venice, but clearly one sees the canals filled with boats moving people, fruit, furniture, everything that the island needs.

On a typical day I am up at 7:30 and out the door at 8:30 to be walk around to see anything that is open. Today I saw an amazing video exhibition by Lech Majewski called the Bruegel suite at Chiesa di San Lio, the Church of San Lio. The video used paintings of Bruegel with real like actors in period dress performing events up to and including Christ’s crucifixion. Just thinking about Bruegel and crucifixion you can you imagine how intense this is. And being shown in a church in an alter piece format it is pretty hard to top.

I also visited the first market, the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frai, one of the largest churches in Venice, completed in 1440. It has a treasure trove of art from Titian including his tomb, Bellini and Donatello. Next door is the Scoula Grande di San Rocco completely decorated by Tintoretto who spent 23 years filling the interior with depictions of the saint and his heavenly consorts. This is the most spectacular thing I have seen.

Lech Majewski

San Roco

The other excitement, a man asked me for my autograph today. It told him I am not the artist and he said, “I know but YOU are the runner on the tank.” Yes, I really like giving my autograph.

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Gloria – Venice Biennale

Venice Biennale

Running in the Venice Biennale. The biggest and most illusive artist dream is to be in the biennale, and one never knows how they might get here. Never in a million years would I think running would get me here.

I arrived on Sunday and look the waterbus to Lido. Lido is kind of like Brooklyn to Manhattan. The biennale is just two waterbus, vaporetti, stops from the apartment. It was cool and rainy so I was not sure if I could run on the tank. Fortunately it cleared up and I did two “performances.” It was really cool. I wanted to start laughing but I had to stay serious and keep my head up looking at the lamppost. Seeing the tank tracks moving under me incited a bit of vertigo.

I watched Sadie and Dave’s performances after mine, they are really cool. The pavilion rooms are small and you are very close up to the performers. There is huge tension in the room. You can hear and see them breathing, feel the pressure when they are balancing on the airline seat sculptures. We each perform for 15 minutes, first me, then Sadie, then Dave, then me again. Clearly I have it easy and don’t need much skill to run. The treadmill is very slow only on 5 mph because the tank shakes. This lets me practice quick turnover to make it look like I am running faster, with 180 steps per minute. Clearly Said and Dave have the real skill.
They have been performing all summer and previous to the exhibition were choreographing.

Got to run, it is time for me to go again. More later

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Venice Biennale Bound

Just a quick post before I go to the airport. My flight to Madrid leaves shortly, then to Venice. I will be there at 11:30 Sunday morning while all of you are getting ready for the marathon. My first run will be at 4:00, I suspect many of you will be between 13 and 18. Good luck NYC Marathoners.

The three athletes for the time I am there, all sharing an apartment in Lido are Dave Durante, Sadie Wilhelmi and me. Here they are preparing for the biennale

Dave at the Olympic trials
Sadie
The Dave and Sadie Blog

And I ran and did squat with rocks you don’t need to see a video of that. You will see one soon of me on “Track and Field”

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