Fall fig leaves continues
Even before Venice became known as the pleasure capital of Europe, it had a high number of professional courtesans. This is probably the result of an enforced bachelorhood for many Venetian nobles [60% unmarried in 17th century rising to 66% in the 18th century]; so the family wealth would not be depleted by the creation of too many heirs, many males would remain unwed – and more importantly childless.
Apparently the only feet seen (bare or covered) in Venetian art are those of prostitutes, besides Venus who is usually nude. Venetian chopines are part of the tradition (that still exists today) of differentiating how men and women walk. These high platform shoes worn in Venice by courtesans and patrician women from c. 1400 – 1700 with their restricted gait and sexual connotations appear to have much in common with the high-heeled shoes that developed from the 15th century and footbinding. Like these practices, the more extreme the better. The taller the chopines the higher the status of the wealthy women – and the more restrictive the movement. Probably led to a few spectacular falls too. The word “Fall” can also suggest “fallen woman” or “fall from grace”.
A bit of a twist to the male/female power relationship is that some courtesans reached such standing that men went to them to define their place in society as part of the Renaissance elite. This still doesn’t inject much glamour into a trade that sold sex, at a time of limited treatment for venereal disease, and the “high-class” courtesan was a very small minority. What else is the fig leaf hiding? Abortion, syphilis and the c*nt that Venice represented in the eyes of many.
The artists state the leaves may be “suspended by an elusive natural trap such as a spiders web perhaps?” There is some conflict in the work between natural & manmade. The word “Fall” and the brightly coloured leaves suggest autumn and postcard pictures of New England – nature’s rich colourful display but of course these leaves are “fake” representations. But Fall is also a time of decay and decline – linked to the vanitas tradition in still life. The delicate hanging of the embroidered leaves underlines the precariousness of nature’s dying leaves in autumn.
You can’t really think of Venice without thinking of masks. A city of masquerades, but also a “Las Vegas” gambling city where both sexes flocked to the ridotti, masked and pomaded. A mask doesn’t have to be large and encompassing to disguise our features; just hiding your eyes will start this process of deception. The fig leaves vary in size; what are they hiding?
Fig leaves try to keep us from sin, by shielding us from exposure to what might corrupt us. The purpose of masks in Venice was very different: to conceal one’s identity while engaging in corrupt activity. In this way, fig leaves are a mask against our nakedness; our vulnerability to engage in wrong-doing.
Fall is a small word, but one with lots of meaning. What kind of fall are we talking about? Fall of Man, fallen woman, fall from grace, pride before a fall, Venice falling into the silt, or a political fall like the Fall of Venice in 1797 which saw the end of its proud independence with its destruction by Napoleon.
“Let the world slide,
let the world go;
A fig for care,
and a fig for woe!
If I can’t pay,
why I can owe,
And death makes equal the high and low.”
John Heywood (1497-1580)
(Text selected by artists to accompany Fall. Image: Detail of Fall Fig Leaves)
Are the fig leaves in Fall shielding us from a fall, or
have we already fallen and they are protecting our identity? In the
current climate it’s not hard to make connections to our prevailing
global situation. The Fall is underway and we are paying for our
decadence. The Biennale this year is Fare Mondi, Making Worlds. It
might be comforting to remember that falls have shaped the current
map of Europe: moving borders and creating new states. Falls are
part of our history, and will shape a new history.
END
See more about Tumim & Prendergast and their work at: www.axisweb.org/artist/tumimandprendergast
Art is the means by which life reflects on, transforms and indeed creates its values; human life without it would not properly be human at all.
Antony Gormley