Whitney Biennial 2000 Opens
by Jennifer Dalton
|
|
Winter Melon
Frank Caracciolo
|
Though the Whitney Biennial, appearing every two years at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art, is considered by most to be the official word on new
American art, it also seems to be the exhibition everyone loves to hate. This year's Biennial officially opened on March 23, 2000, and braced itself for the obligatory bashing from critics and the art-going public.
 |
|
|
|
|
Once again this year, the Biennial attempts the herculean yet thankless task of accurately representing the best contemporary art in America. However, for the 2000 Biennial, the Museum took a bit of a different stance, and the result is an exhibition that takes several brave steps forward into the next century.
|
Horizon
Deck
|
|
|
Schoolchildren, Funchal
Eric Blau
Eventide
David E. Stroup
|
First, the exhibition is co-curated by a team of six curators from all over the country, none of whom are based in New York City. Each curator brings a regional attitude to the exhibition, which consists of 97 artists from all
over the United States. This is in marked contrast to exhibitions of recent years which have been criticized for showcasing primarily New York-based artists. In fact, about a quarter of the artists in this year's Biennial
were born outside this country (though they all currently live and work in the U.S.), reflecting the increasingly international scope of contemporary art.
|
|
|
|
|
In addition, this Biennial is the first to include Internet-based art: nine artists and collaborative artist groups are represented in this year's Internet art component, which consists of an online gallery and two viewing centers in the museum.
|
Simple and Strong
Barbara Coleman
|
|
|
Bent Hauberg's Summer House
Stephen Robert Taylor
|
See the Whitney's site at http://www.whitney.org. Note this link will open a new window.
|
|
|
|
Read our archived Art in the News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
