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VENICE: Outside the U.S. Pavilion, a runner pounds a treadmill on an overturned 60-ton battle tank. The visually commanding exhibit at the 54th Biennale contemporary art exhibit reverberates - loudly. At the Danish Pavilion nearby, a contemplative exhibition that explores free speech issues is periodically disturbed by the rumbles.
The juxtaposition of the booming Americans and the quiet Danes wasn't meant to make an artistic point - but the frictions caused perfectly capture one of the main themes of this year's Venice Biennale: Artistic freedom and its boundaries.
"It's a matter of negotiation," said artist Kobe Matthys, whose exhibit in the Danish pavilion backs onto the courtyard where the tank rests. "I don't mind the tank, because it's in the background. But it seems that all the videos pump up the volume to compete. The more silent works, they have to also manifest themselves."
Every second year, the contemporary art world converges on Venice to bask in its latest creations, a movable feast that requires patient navigation of the lagoon city's canals to reach the national pavilions, a main exhibit and dozens of side events. The Biennale opens Saturday to the public and runs through Nov. 27.
This year, a record 89 countries have national pavilions including, for the first time, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Malaysia and tiny Andorra. But just as telling is who...