Whitney Biennial

The Biennial was very disappointing for a number of reasons. I found there was a lack of content and emotion that was put into the work. A lot of the work seemed to just have been placed there as if it was a in-progress viewing of the work. Although I can't say for sure, I felt a very white male presence in the selection of the artists, and the female artists seemed to have only done feminist works. Some of the work patronized other cultures, such as the video of the performer acting out a traditional African dance(Kelly Nipper, Weather Center). Not only is that not original, but it objectifies an entire population and culture. A disappointing representation of modern American art, this exhibition also features non-Americans! (whose work was the only I could appreciate).

The one work I managed to enjoy was from the Bruce High Quality Foundation, We Like America, America Likes Us
. The work was interesting in that the video projected from the front window of the ambulance, which ironically was also used as a hearse. The video displays various facets of American culture and images. I understood the work to be alarming, almost like a warning of what is to come. The hearse/ambulance, both the death and miracle of resuscitation carries American culture with it.

Even still, I didn't find anything in the Biennial that was witty, clever, or thought provoking. It was mostly straightforward, unoriginal ideas. Seeing American popular cultural images in a sequence is a cliche.