The problem isn’t that the Venice Biennale is failing to reflect the true diversity of a vibrant and thriving 21st-century art scene, says Blake Gopnik. The problem is that there is no vibrant and thriving scene to reflect. “The show’s so huge, you’ve got to figure that it has its finger on the art world’s pulse. Or that it would, if only there were any pulse to find.” The art world is in a decided lull, and while such cycles of greatness and mediocrity are nothing to worry about in the long term, it seems a bit silly to blame Venice for the lack of good contemporary art. Still, it’s awfully depressing to wander through “room after room, building after building, neighborhood after neighborhood filled with dull retreads of art that’s come before.”