I had the great pleasure of visiting New York recently and checking out the 2012 Whitney Biennial. This was only my second time ever visiting the Whitney. The first was for the 2008 Whitney Biennial, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect; contemporary art in its many forms, lots of people visiting with comments like "I'm sorry I just don't get it," "very cool," or "when I was in art school...."
And I have to say that this year was not exceptional in that respect. There was a lot more video and performance scheduled throughout the exhibition which is great but a bit frustrating for a weekend visitor like myself who really wanted to see Mike Kelly's work but picked the wrong weekend. I did happen to catch Dawn Kasper in her relocated studio working with a bunch of youth on a collaborative, temporary, found-object sculpture. It was most amusing watching hipster parents do their best to allow their children to play, stack, grab and gather items from the room with reckless abandon. Dawn Kasper was relaxed and guiding the children with questions and encouragement, mostly blending into the group herself instead of standing on the sidelines with the adults.
My favorite work of the Biennial though was the work of Nicole Eisenman: one painting and several monotypes arranged on two large walls. Contemporary print works rarely get so much attention and I was thrilled to see it. The textures, colors and line work were everything that a good monotype should be; painterly, balanced, and spontaneous. I could have spent the majority of my visit happily looking at each print individually; figuring out the cultural commentary, the ridiculous jokes of our daily habits and relationships. Each print was expertly done with an "outsider art" like quality that fit nicely with the subjects depicted.
Another artist I truly enjoyed was Tom Thayer. Tucked in the back was an installation of paintings, collages, paper puppets, video, sound and projection. All of these works had the residue of labor; folded paper, cut cardboard, sewing, arrangement and play. Even the monitors and record players were older machines, nothing assuming, shiny or new. The work was rich in experience and I longed to see each object put to work, to see it perform in its imperfect, clumsy and magical way.
Nick Mauss caught my eye as well, but not for the large entry way that he created. The entry was great to see, but just to the right was a small reverse projection. When my eye first glanced that way I saw what appeared to be a mirror at eye level. For several seconds I stepped closer while trying to find my reflection and realized there was a light projecting through some frosted acrylic or mylar. I continued to stare into the light and suddenly it changed color. This surprised and delighted me. My enchantment was confirmed when again the light changed, this time to an actual image. I know that my delight in the work was due to an instance when experience and art mix and I am sure that the person who glanced at it next certainly didn't share my delight due to the timing of the slide. Still, the foggy images mixed with colored slides moving along at an unpredictable pace gave the work a mysterious yet discoverable or personal feeling. Intimate video or projection works like this were a nice addition to the exhibition as a whole where large or grandiose video dominated.
Other works I enjoyed included a multiple projector video installation by Werner Herzog, a double sided drawing by Eyre de Lanyx, and photographs by Latoya Ruby Frazier. Again, I am disappointed in the lack of video works available to visitors on any given day. In 2008 there were many more video rooms with looping works and I appreciate that format so much more more. Overall though, I enjoyed my visit very much and look forward to what lies ahead.
