The Curated Object

Venetian Visionary. JoAnn Locktov's Dream of Venice. The Curated Object

 

Are we not all travellers? Navigating our way through life's many channels (hoping not to land up in an oubliette) we find our ports of call in spaces designed by man and nature. Rooms, buildings, roads, and cityscapes and even oceans connect us with those objects, activities and faces that help us re-envision the possibilities of the phenomenon we casually call humanity. 

But while we all find ourselves on a journey there are a few of us who dare to partner with a pen and collaborate on mapping our trajectories. This activity of the heart and mind is fraught with danger, as it is ideally a path for self-reflexivity and a questioning of presuppositions and foundations. But the best writers (such as the lady below) know that this is a necessary component of the pleasure we call writing.

And so without further delay, it is my pleasure to introduce (to the handful of you who do not already know this lovely woman) JoAnn Locktov, a shining example of a writer who crusades for all things noble, beautiful and compelling. Her DREAM OF VENICE has reminded us  that the city is both a vision in motion and an object of desire never fully possessed. 

JoAnn Locktov's essays about Venice offer respite for the reader weary of the typical travel monologue and act as points of departure for understanding the transformative and seductive powers of this city that evokes inquiries of time, place and pleasure. 

 

CLICK BELOW to indulge in her musings and immersion into the details that give Venice its singular beauty 

Felicity in Fortuny @ Modenus

Reflections on the Art and Culture of Tile @ Mosaic Art NOW 

Moments in Modern Venice @ Tilevera

A Saintly Project in San Lorenzo @ A+A

Architectural Acculturation in Venice

Modern in Murano @ The Decorating Diva

 

And to become part of the community of Venice-lovers who are dreaming with JoAnn, please visit:

 

http://www.bellafiguracommunications.com

https://www.facebook.com/BellaFiguraCommunications

https://www.facebook.com/DreamOfVenice

http://twitter.com/jolocktov

http://twitter.com/dreamofvenice

 

My own journey with this beautiful and energetic muse has been a fantastic voyage. Her words, hypnotizing as they were when I first encountered them (when I was managing editor and senior arts + culture editor at Interiors magazine) speak volumes. When I left my position I was saddened that it was only in my last few weeks that I had encountered her captivating prose. How was it that no one had mentioned this remarkable lady to me? Still, I have been honored to have her support and kind ear ever since. And I am grateful beyond words. Like her creative sister, Saxon Henry, she never ceases to amaze me with her charm, sincerity and support. A wonderful rare bird, indeed.

So when this woman who has adorned her world with all things Venetian decided to bring to life her Dream of Venice I was thrilled. Whether it's the fine essays and excepts from her contributors, or her regular posts on Facebook and Twitter, she is the proprietor of Venetian Dreams-- and in and in this sense the heart and soul of all things beautful, mysterious and often misunderstood in their moodiness...

Travel can never be reduced to a commercial. And this is what JoAnn knows and celebrates in her volume and her project. So to my friend, "The Other J"  I say, "Brava!" sister. And write on.

 Again, to Dream of Venice please visit JoAnn at:

http://www.bellafiguracommunications.com
https://www.facebook.com/BellaFiguraCommunications
https://www.facebook.com/DreamOfVenice
http://twitter.com/jolocktov
http://twitter.com/dreamofvenice

 

 

Exhibitions Venice. Stephen Bottomley - TECH TILE. The Palazzo Fortuny. The Curated Object

Hot Pink neckpiece Drape series, 2007
Steel and enamel / acciaio e smalto
330 x 265
Foto Massimiliano Cadamuro


Allestimento della mostra Tech-Tile
Museo Fortuny, primo piano Nobile, Venezia
Foto Massimiliano Cadamuro


Allestimento della mostra Tech-Tile
Museo Fortuny, primo piano Nobile, Venezia
Foto Massimiliano Cadamuro


Allestimento della mostra Tech-Tile
Museo Fortuny, primo piano Nobile, Venezia
Foto Massimiliano Cadamuro

Tech-tile bangle 2
S.Bottomley, S.O’Hara & K.Shoba, 2007
Titanium and acrylic / Titanio e acrilico
Limited edition
150mm

Blue Velvet neckpiece, Drape series, 2007
Steel and enamel
480 x 384mm


Neckpiece, Drape series, 2007
+
Drape Bangle, 2007
Silver and Acrylic
90mm

Stephen Bottomley - TECH TILE
December 14, 2007-March 2, 2008

After Artempo, Palazzo Fortuny re-opens. At the first floor, the collection of paintings, precious fabrics and lamps evoke the work of the artist who lived and worked here. From 14 December to 2 March, the space will also house Tech-Tile, with twenty or so extraordinary works by the English artist Stephen Bottomley, whose creations are an original form of homage to Mariano Fortuny himself.

The exhibition explores the potential generated by combining computer design with craft skills. It is inspired not only by the “imaginative and ornamental language” of Fortuny but also by that artist’s constant delight in experimentation, in bringing together traditional approaches with innovative methods.

The pendants, bracelets and necklaces which Bottomley creates are veritable sculptures that use such diverse materials as silver, acrylic, steel, silver, enamel, cotton and titanium.

Inspired by the designs and visionary imagination of Mariano Fortuny, they are a tribute to his creativity and bear direct witness to his eclectic intellectual legacy.

For more information please visit: The Palazzo Fortuny
-Joanne Molina
 

Exhibitions Venice. SPHERES OF THE HEAVENS SPHERES OF EARTH - Celestial and Terrestrial Globes (16th-20th century). Museo Correr. The Curated Object

Catt 56-57.
Giuseppe de Rossi (flourished c. 1615)
Celestial globe (detail)
Milan 1615
diam. 20.6 cm, h 45.8 cm
Venice, Museo Correr


Catt 134-135.
Vincenzo Coronelli (1650–1718)
Pair of globes
diam. cm 108
h celestial globe 146 cm, terrestrial globe 144 cm; Dutch-style stand on four columns; original horizon, meridian and graduated hour ring, without a hand
Venice, Museo Correr


Cat 55.
Livio Sanudo (1520–1576)
Terrestrial globe
Venice, c. 1574
diam. 68.5 cm, h 120 cm
copperplate engraving by Giulio Sanudo
24 30° half gores, poles-equator
grid of 5° graduated at the equator
Venice, Museum Correr

SPHERES OF THE HEAVENS SPHERES OF EARTH: Celestial and Terrestrial Globes (16th-20th century)
September 28, 2007 – February 29, 2008

The first exhibition in Italy to be dedicated exclusively to the theme, this offers a fascinating insight into both the history of art and the history of science.
Curated by Marica Milanesi and Rudolf Schmidt, the exhibition includes some 142 works from the Museo Correr, the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana and various prestigious private collections; one of these latter is the important collection put together by Rudolf Schmidt himself, a member of the Internationale Coronelli – Gesellschaft fuer Globen- und Instrumentenkunde (International Coronelli Society for the Study of Globes and Scientific Instruments).

One of the high points of the show is the result of an exceptional discovery made within the Correr collection by Marisa Milanesi: the world’s only extant mounted example of a rare and precious sixteenth-century globe by the cartographer Livio Sanudo (1520-1576), which had previously been thought to have been lost. However, the main focus of the event is the Venetian friar Vincezo Coronelli (1650-1718), who was a geographer, cartographer, inventor and publisher, as well as being one of the most famous globemakers of the seventeenth century. Both scientific instruments and wondrously-constructed machines, his globes would adorn the libraries of monasteries, scholars and sovereigns – usually in pairs (one a celestial, one a terrestrial globe).
The exhibition layout includes other extraordinary examples of such globes, together with printed works and various scientific devices. It is further enhanced by the presence of multi-media material produced in collaboration with the CIRCE-IUAV (the software laboratories of Venice’s University Faculty of Architecture).

The show is being held in concomitance with the 11th Symposium of the Internationale Coronelli – Gesellschaft fuer Globen-und Instrumentenkunde (Venice, Ateneo Veneto, 28/29 September 2007).

For more information please visit: The Museo Correr
-Joanne Molina