The title of the 52nd Venice Biennale, "Think with the senses, feel with the mind," has an almost paradoxical twist. But in the context of the international art scene it is a strong statement — some would even call it controversial.
Robert Storr, director of the biennale and, since last year, dean of the prestigious Yale School of Art in the United States, addresses a key issue with his slogan: the relation between form and content. Through visual art it is possible to express an enormously varied range of feelings, experiences, thoughts and ideas that cannot be translated into any other language or medium. However, Storr stresses that it is crucial to take the individual manifestation and presence of the art work into account.
The title makes us reflect on the specifics of art, and guides us as beholders. But it is also a critical response to the anti-aesthetic attitude that has been present in the last decade, and the exhibition clearly demonstrates that an interest in the formal aspects of art — how things are made — does not exclude critical agendas and theoretical reflection.