Whitney Biennial

I am a big fan of the Whitney.  Small, intimate, great collection and most of their shows are well curated.  The biennials are always hit or miss.  The biennial that was done the time before last was really fantastic.  This year was a bomb.

Not sure what the theme was.  I found the art uninspiring.  I felt like I was at a show for the freshman class at an art school.  Lots of video and installations.  There was only a few pieces of work from an artist that I really enjoyed which was a take on Richard Prince with clever sayings around the images.  Otherwise, a huge thumbs down. 

We walked past someone giving a tour of three statues made of dripping newspaper ( think paper mache ).  He was describing the thoughts behind it.  I believe it had to do with Los Angeles and the breakdown of certain areas and how the city was changing.  It was a stretch, at least for me.  Perhaps the curators should think about ways to stimulate the visitors and open their minds instead of creating a show that is so out there that it is almost pretentious. 

I am just too pedestrian.  I didn’t get 90% of the show or enjoy it.