magicbeans. nothing if not awkward.

So I figured that I should go and see the Whitney Biennial before it ended. Even though I've heard nothing but negative reviews, it is, in theory, the preeminent overview of what's what in contemporary American art. Yes I know, saying that anything is the preeminent example of anything else already imbues it with more than it can ever live up to. But where would we be without overreaching concepts?

And, post viewing, I'll have to throw my voice behind the swell saying that this particular exhibition is about as overreaching as they come. Two years ago, while largely underwhelmed by the last Biennial, there were five or six pieces that I really liked. This time around, there were two: Tony Conrad's Pickled Film, and the photos from Angela Strassheim's series Left Behind. And there were maybe two or three other pieces that I liked the idea behind, but not the execution, or that almost sparked my interest.

For example, the kiosk with a stripped-down version of The Center for Land Use Interpretation's website, spoke to an interesting premise, but it wasn't the type of thing that you really wanted to spend a lot of time with in a museum, and it was a little hard to tell whether the organization actually existed or if it was just a conceptual art project. (It seems as if they are a real organization.)

It's possible that had I spent more time I might have found a few other items of interest. On my first pass last time that I didn't really pay any attention to Tom Burr's Blackout Bar, it just seemed like another haphazardly installed room installation of marginally related items. (There were a number of those this and last time.) But, a second pass through revealed it to be an actually very well thought out piece, and in the long-run is probably one of very few artworks that has left a real impression on my memory. But, the fact is that after one pass through, top to bottom, I didn't stick around. I had seen enough.

Still, I think that it was worth going. Even if the generalized response is to say 'even I could be making better art than this.' The logical response is, 'Just do it, then.' And therein does lie a useful distinction, at least these people are out there making art, while I'm still relatively lazily unmotivated. Every time I see art, even if I don't like it, it does push me a little bit in the direction of getting off my ass and making some of my own. So who knows, maybe in two, or four, or six years someone will be slagging my work on the internet.