Whitney Museum of American Art

7/27/2012

It's always a pleasure to come relax and spend the day looking at  the cutting edge art here.  Its so avant-garde and hip. I just love the neighborhood also. Shopping in this district of manhattan can leave your head spinning!
   If i was a more creative person I think i would be an artist. I like abstracted art a lot.
It's a very deep way of expressing emotions.

3/3/2013

According to Yelp three stars is "A-OK" so this isn't a *bad* review. In fact I will start out by saying something positive: I am so happy that the Whitney's management has decided to move! They are opening a new location near the High Line in 2015, and that will be great for them. Maybe by now you can already guess what I don't like about the Whitney... it's that the building sucks. Every time I go there I feel depressed. It's a dark, heavy place, with the vibe (and smell) of a mid-century institutional building. When I'm on the stairwell between floors I have flashbacks to junior high and it's generally unpleasant.

But despite that I can't give the Whitney a bad review because they have (and especially lately they have had) so many great exhibitions! I'm always impressed when the artists manage to take the gross building they've been given a space in and turn it to their advantage. Last summer when Sharon Hayes was there the oppressive & somber atmosphere of the third floor--with its low brutalist ceiling--was actually a good accompaniment to her documentations of protests and interviews with ordinary people. The raised platforms that brought viewers even closer to the ceiling really emphasized that. Wade Guyton, who had a show on the same floor, made a series of mirrored U's in various sizes, and the cement squares that tile the ceiling turned into viscuously moving holes in the reflections. Plus the gallery was reorganized with temporary walls in a visually dynamic layout that made me forget about my surroundings. Also the recent Richard Artschwager exhibition was one of the best retrospectives I have ever seen, and his work is all about the psychology of interior spaces. It led me to think about how the Whitney's building has a bad effect on my psychology, which was better than just feeling it.

In short, there's almost always a couple of must-see shows at the Whitney and I hope that in 2015 when it moves seeing them won't be such a downer. I also hope they install working water fountains there. The water fountains here never eject more than a weak trickle and it's impossible to drink from them.

9/3/2012

I'm a big fan of contemporary art and was pretty disappointed with the Whitney. I got there on a Sunday morning a half hour before it opened (10:30). One hour later I managed to get in and snag a ticket to Yayoi Kusama's "Fireflies" piece at 3:20. Is this REALLY the best way to show the pieces to the public? As I waited in line for the Kusama piece it was terrible to watch at least 10 people being turned away when they made polite inquiries as to whether they could come in and see the 'Fireflies" exhibit. Ridiculous.

The elevator was an engineer's nightmare--way too big and slow. The stairs were endless, dark and dreary. I was pretty unimpressed with the exhibits, didn't seem to take advantage of the space too well, you felt like you could run through the space pretty quickly in under an hour and there were WAY too many people crowding the Kusama exhibit.

Terrible planning, uninspiring layout, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

7/24/2011

The Whitney houses a vast collection of American art in a beautiful building in Upper East Side.  The space is quite adequate in displaying the many pieces that the Whitney owns, in addition to the exhibitions that come through.  The building is not overwhelming, and you can definitely go through the entire museum in 1 to 2 hours.  Surprisingly, it wasn't crowded at all, even though I went on a Saturday afternoon on a 100+ degree day!

Although I appreciate the Whitney's mission statement, I wasn't really interested in the current exhibitions this time around.  The Founding Collection (permanent collection) was okay, couple of nice pieces but I wish they incorporated more Edward Hoppers (apparently his estate bequeathed 2500 works to the museum.)  Cory Arcangel's exhibit was funny, had witty titles to each piece, and although I understood his message the delivery/actual pieces were unimpressive to me.  Singular Visions made good use of each of the rooms on the top floor, but again, none of the pieces really intrigued or inspired me.

I guess I just had an off day at the Whitney this time around.  Hopefully their future exhibits will pique my interest next time.

2/13/2011

Whitney, Whitney!

No, not that Whitney but The Whitney Museum of American Art houses five floors of art depicted in paintings and hand produced sculptures. Currently Edward Hopper and His Time is the main exhibit attraction which displays eighty pieces of art along with artists as Guy Pene du Bois, Charles Sheeler, et al. Free audio guide walking tour is available in the museum's lobby for in depth information on select pieces.

N.B. Museum patrons take note: NO photography (flash or non-flash) are permitted as security is Big Brother is watching you! No cell phone usage for phone conversations nor video recordings in the museum galleries. Security is the typical museum of the high unfathomably nasty attitude index for acrimonious brush and snub. There are benches in the stairwell and some areas of the museum for resting.  Admission ticket, a small square yellow sticker, is to be worn for display at all times on premises which now becomes my souvenir. Elevators and stairs are both available for access to museum's galleries.  The Whitney has a gallery vibe than a museum approach.  My Meetup Group's organizer lead us to start our tour visit from the very top at the fifth floor working our way downwards for a complete coverage, thus utilizing the stairs for ascension towards the end of the visit--smart structured plan!

Though the Whitney, not one of my favorite museum, it is worth a visit to intake American art as part of its importance in American history.

• 

  Edward Hopper exhibit

  Edward Hopper exhibit

10/8/2012

Maybe the special exhibits are different, but the main stuff is well.....  "strange."

First, I enjoy the old masters type of paintings.  Like when you can look at a painting and say "oh, that's a person in a boat" or something like that.  Pretty much nothing on the walls here is identifiable

The funniest was on the 3rd floor by Wade Guyton.  99% of it were "X"'s printed with an Epson printer.  I know that because they explained that many many times.  Maybe he's the heir to the Epson fortune?  

And I mean BIG "X"'s.    Over 6 feet high.  One complete 6 by 10 foot painting was black.  Guess no one else could have ever imagined printing cloth all black.  WOW... what an amazing painting!    The one next to it..... wait for it....... ALL White!  Again.... WOW

In the center were glass covered display cases.  In them were ads from magazines that were run thru the Epson printer and had black streaks on them.
Except one case.  That had all the ads tossed into one corner.  (I know it meant something... just no clue what it was.)

But here was my fav.  The museum is under construction with two floors closed.  Even the outside has scaffolding around.    Against one wall in this exhibit area were plywood sheets.  Maybe a dozen.  Thought it was due to left-over materiel.  But no....  This was "art" from My Guyton.  And according to the little explanation on the wall, he found the plywood laying in a heap, but with his brilliant mind, decided to turn it all over so what was on the bottom became the top.  And the top became the bottom  (Could I make this up?)

There were tons of security guards there.  Did they honestly think someone would steal this stuff?

So looks around your basement or garage boys and girls.  If you have some old scrap wood laying around, you too can have an exhibit in the Whitney!

2/4/2011

This is a pretty nice museum.  I came here with my boo on a snowy day with about 15 minutes to closing so the guards were cool and just let us in without paying.

Normally we get bored of museums just because they're nothing but a bunch of boring paintings and old statues.  This museum was different.  They had a bunch of different exhibits that surprised us.  My boo especially loved the floor where they had everything in miniature form.  We just like random sculptures that don't look like the old uptight stuff you would see at the Met.

We ran out of time and weren't able to see the whole museum, but I would come back here again when they switch exhibits.

8/21/2012

One more gem amongst New York's finest museums. As if Marcel Breuer's building wasn't enough of an experience in and of itself, the contemporary art exhibits on display are simply superb.

I saw Oskar Fischinger: Space Light Art, Sharon Hayes: "There's so much I want to say to you" (loved it) and the Signs & Symbols exhibit of post-war abstract American art (feel free to use the audio guide).

Can't believe I had not been here before, I will be going more regularly from now on.

11/9/2013

Small museum featuring modern and contemporary art. Nice museum staff. Im not a big fan of modern art which is why I give this 3 stars. But if modern art is your thing then definitely visit the Whitney.

6/5/2012

A great, accessible, fun museum. Bring your student ID for a discount! Highly recommend this place.

6/5/2010

I went with a few friends on a pay-what-you-can Friday for the Whitney Biennial, which I was all excited about. I heard lots of good things and was ready to see Greatness.

I really do love art. I swear. But in my very (very) humble opinion, the majority of the things on display were not my version of art. I mean, a framed piece of wood that looks like my bathroom door????? REALLY?!?!? Some pieces were (trying to be) outrageous, and some were just entirely too obtuse for my small and obviously un-artistic brain.

In no particular order, I was confused by: the 3 blocks of wood nailed together and displayed on a pillar, a couch covered in newspaper decorated with clay pots, a random re-creation of a diner booth, a blow-up toilet (hasn't the toilet thing already been done?), and an ambulance parked in the middle of a room. There was a sense of gratuitousness, work that was perplexing just for the sake of being avant garde, and it annoyed me.

That said, there were definitely some really interesting paintings, creative installations, and shocking photographs that were nothing if not attention-grabbing. The museum itself is a bastion of creativity, and it is definitely nice to go to something "cultured" for a change. But I think the next time I have a night off, I'm going to hit up the Met.

3/4/2012

Saw the SARAH MICHELSON performance at the converted fourth floor performance venue.  The piece highlighted repetition through looped sounds, content, ad continuously circular dance choreography that eventually builds to seven syncronized  performers.  Initially I found myself looking for exits to escape what seemed to be an exercise in patience, but eventually I found myself fall into a meditative trance as the performance stretched on to is final 10 minutes (of 90).  The performers had phenomenal endurance and were completely drenched in their own sweat midway through.  The rest of the biennial (only 2 floors) was interesting but was easy to view in less than half an hour.

• 

  Biennial performance art

  Biennial performance art

5/26/2012

The Whitney might be my favorite NYC museum, which I realize is sort of a weird choice, but stay with me.

1. It's small. You can do the whole thing in one afternoon, easily.
2. The exhibits change frequently.
3. Free coat check
4. Modern art. Yes.
5. Great free guided tours!

I'm into the Whitney. It's not overwhelming, it's small, and often not very crowded. They have a gorgeous collection they they're really going through and showing right now since their move to their new space is on the horizon.

The only negative? It's pretty expensive. They do have a discounted admission for "young adults" though, which works for me.

5/30/2012

My friend and I saw the Whitney Biennial, and my question is: Are submissions now being taken by undergrad art students? Because that's what most of it looked like.

Visual Conceptual art is great--and kind of my thing, but when it does nothing to to grab you visually, and you have to go read the statement to "get" it, then to me, it's just lacking.

My friend and I were trying to recall what we saw there and the only things we could remember as slightly interesting were the baseballs in the room with music--which was beautiful, and the video installation of the Latin American Transgender scene in LA. The pages torn from a book, and the room with white lattice and old photos just made me angry--Where is the craft? Where is the work? Where is the expression of the properties of the materials?

Save your money and precious NYC time and go see the Museum of Art and Design instead. That museum is showing work of the quality that *should* be in the Whitney Biennial.

4/3/2013

Came here for Corporate Night out at the Museum and couldn't believe we ad to wait on a crazy long line outside for like 30 minutes. Normally I wouldn't mind the wait but we were having a serious winter in NYC. Needless to say it was packed in there once we got in and I was glad that they still had some white wine left. I'm glad they didn't have us carrying our coats around all night through the tours, so the coat check clutch.

7/15/2012

I just recently "discovered" this museum although I live not very far.

It's really a very nice museum. As some reviewers mentioned you can do the whole place in 2 hours (yeah, that's a bit quick but sometimes museum can be really overwhelming). It's all about modern art and all artists are from the US - or have lived/worked here - showcasing the breadth and talent of US artists.

They currently have an exhibit on Yayoi Kusama coming from the Tate Modern. She's one of the top Japanese artists still alive and they have a whole floor showcasing the richness of her talent.

Another great thing about the place is that it's not overcrowded. Especially with hords of tourists who can be pretty challenging when you go to Moma or the Met.

I saw from other reviewers that they change frequently so will most definitely go back to check out future exhibits. Will certainly also check the cafe space which looks like a decent option for brunch/lunch or early diner.

11/20/2011

Generally, you would go here when/if there is a specific exhibit you want to see. I went for the Feininger exhibit and really enjoyed it. They dont have much in the way of permanent displays, so definitely read the website before you go

4/23/2010 Updated review

So, now the entire museum is open.  There were a bunch of films and videos throughout the museum that were very strange.  I find the art in the Whitney kind of odd and it's not really my thing.  I more or less just breeze through.  Glad I had the hook up to get in on my sister's membership because I'd feel like I got ripped off paying for this.

8/5/2012

The museum is ok.  I do love art but after going through that place, I guess I am not as open as I thought.  I get that art is about being expressive but one of the items that I recall was sign that you place in the ground reminding you to vote.

This was one of the quickest museums that I have ever walked through, I was done in less than an hour (and I am being generous with that time).

The reason why I gave the Whitney 3 stars is that I found a free admission coupon.  I am hoping that the exhibits that sell out after the place opens is the reason why patrons really visit the museum.

5/7/2012

The Whitney is hands down my favorite museum in NYC. Everytime I visit the Whitney I find myself asking "what is art" and "what defines beauty". This museum is not for those who are not open to new possiblities and do not have the mental capacity to redefine their definitions of art and beauty.

Compared to MOMA I find the Whitney more inviting, less filled with tourists, and easier to navigate in a few hours. Compared to the Guggenheim, I find the Whitney to have a better permanent collection and more youthful curations of exhibits.

The Whitney Biennel is a must see! I really enjoyed this year's biennal, while I was not in love with every work (some did seem pretentious!), several of the pieces really have stuck with me, like them or not...the reaction is the point of the work (whether it is a pleasant reaction or an unpleasant reaction).

4/3/2013

Have been a few times since moving back to the city. Great circulation of exibits, good flow while walking through the museum. Plus the giant elevator that was better then some of the exhibits when I was growing up .

7/11/2012

I knew what this museum was about going into it (lots of crazy contemporary art that I might not like), and I was still disappointed.  It's a small museum for the admission price; there are basically five galleries, one on each floor, plus a smaller mezzanine level.  

An exhibit was being installed on one floor, and another exhibit was timed.  When I walked in, I asked how long the wait for the timed exhibit was and was told two hours!  While the exhibit looked really cool online, it only took me an hour to get through the rest of the museum and I didn't want to hang out for an extra hour just for that.  So in the end, I only got to see about 70% of an already small museum.  

That would have been okay had there been copious amounts of great art, but that wasn't the case.  One entire floor was consumed by an installation of plywood daises, tv monitors, sound, and protest signs, the kind of over-the-top, politiicized contemporary art that makes me roll my eyes.  That said, there was interesting art there, just less than I thought there would be even with my low expectations.

3/7/2011

The Summer of Love exhibit they had here in 2007 was phenomenal. It was everything I hoped it would be: bright colors everywhere, different kinds of media, trippyness and STROBE LIGHTS. Although my visit to the exhibit was 4 years ago, I vividly remember the trippy room, which was circular in shape with psychedelic flooring and mirrors as walls...with the strobe lights flashing rapidly.

I remember being incredibly high when I walked into this room. A little girl was jumping around with her balloon, which made me feel way more high than I actually was. I just kept staring at her, she was pure entertainment. Thank you little girl for tripping me out !

12/28/2012

The Whitney continues to be one of the best contemporary American art museums.  The shows are almost always intriguing such as Sinister Pop, a great exhibition with a new twist on familiar masters.  The top fifth floor is usually reserved for Modern or Twentieth Century works.  The Biennial is something that people usually rail about and the last two have been problematic for me but there are always a few interesting pieces.  The move downtown should lead to a major expansion of showing many work currently held in storage.  If you are in New York visiting and interested in contemporary work, head to the Whitney; if you are a New Yorker, visit a few times a year.

11/26/2009

I positively love Georgia O'Keeffe.  I have been to the museum in her honor out in Santa Fe, New Mexico on more than one occasion.  So imagine my delight when I learned that the Whitney is running an exhibition dedicated to her abstract paintings!  Finally, this past Sunday I was able to pay a visit.  

The exhibition is quite extensive and worth a trip in to see.  It was great seeing some of her early charcoal work where she was trying to develop her technique.  Yes, erotic floral paintings did abound, and they were conceptually interesting.  This was all contrasted and contextualized nicely with her abstractions of flowers and a series of nude photos of her shot by Stieglitz.  I loved the Jack-in-the-Pulpit series in particular and the very different perspectives she took with regard to said flower.  Also, there were some great examples of her later work that was perhaps not so abstract like, "Sky Above Clouds III" and "Black Door with Red".  The exhibition was greatly enhanced by the use of the freely available audio guides (be sure to do this if you decide to go).  

Beyond the O'Keeffe exhibition, there were no less than two floors dedicated to Roni Horn aka Roni Horn.  Wow!  I didn't think it was possible to encounter a new artist, experience new work, and grow to hate said artist in such a short period of time.  What a terrible waste of space!  If any bold statements were being made my random rods with even more random words emblazoned on them, or hundreds of photos of a random, unattractive girl all juxtaposed on a grand wall, it was lost on me.  Dreadful.

But not all is lost, because even in the permanent collection, there are some wonderful finds.  For example, it was so exhilarating to look at George Bellows' "Dempsey and Firpo".  Also, any New Yorker should pay homage to Joseph Stella's "The Brooklyn Bridge:  Variation on an Old Theme" -- a painting we have all seen in print, but can be readily seen in its original form here.  I also loved the silent films being shown in the theater.  Really, there is so much here to while away an afternoon in the city.  Come and enjoy it.  Just avoid that Roni junk.

1/13/2012

Okay I went to this museum as it was free for Delta Airline elite members.
Best thing it was free and it was a cold day outside so me and my guest was reviewing the art.
We both came away with the same impression.
What did we just see.
Ok I know art is open to ones own interpetation. I could not understand this.
It was American Art but whos America as I saw no ethnic art.
Some folks may like this musuem but me I cannot as I think of America as being diverse and in the musuem I saw no diversity.
My rating is not based on the artist work but the lack of diversity in the collection I say
I tried to but could not even relate to this art.

9/26/2009

"The  Whitney" is an art museum which focuses on 20th century American Art.   If you like American Art..., this is your museum.  There is Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, Willem de Konig, Jaspher Jones and my favorite Georgia O'keeffe.  The museum displays paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, photography... . from many renowned American Artists... I spent my "me, myself, day " friday yesterday devouring the latest exhibitions the museum has to offer...featuring one of my favorites....Georgia O'keeffe.

First a brief history behind the museum....It was founded by Gertrude Vanderbilt  Whitney, an avid art collector and sculptor .  She created a space in 1918 called "The Whitney Studio" to showcase the works of the lesser known american artist.  She had collected 700 works of American Art and offered to donate it to the MET in 1929, only to be declined...that led her to open her own museum exclusively  for American Art in 1931.  Now the museum has a collection of 18,000 works of art from many American Artists..

Georgia O'keeffe.... mainly known for her paintings of flowers, rocks, shells, landscapes...have made her one of the most celebrated figures of twentieth-century art...., one of the few women who have gained entrance to her level of professional influence...the radical abstractions she created throughout her career are less well known.  She transforms her subject into abstract images and found artistic inspiration and captures it in a riveting work of art that sometimes brings me to a stupor...a journey in a place in New Mexico where she settled late in life and captured her subjects and found artistic inspiration of the beauty and serenity of the place in her eyes.  It brought a certain degree of calmness to me staring at her paintings and was fascinated to see some of her paintings and the pieces are really just stunning...the colors..her expert use of light is just amazing!!!

The museum provided an audio tour headsets free of charge and gaved an insight into her artwork and sentiments and  to hear her voice with her past recorded  interviews about the subject was truly an experience.

I find her abstract rendition of grief explode in her art....of  a brother Alexius...5 years her junior who served  in France, during World War 1. where he was gassed and has permanently weakened his  heart and died at the age of 37.

There were a few beautiful nude photograph paintings of her taken by her husband Alfred Stieglist when she was in her 30's....it was quite a revelation... She died at the age of 98 and according to her wishes her ashes was scattered at the top of the Pedernal Mountains in New Mexico.

9/29/2009

This museum's focus is American artists.  Currently there is a substantial Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit.  The majority is her abstract oil, and watercolor paintings, with some close up florals.  It's difficult to know what the permanent art displays are like here, as traveling exhibits occupied much of the space.  There is also a Dan Graham, the artist's first U.S. retrospective. It has some bizarre psycho babble video installations.  For example 2 men in black and white footage, one talking about the past, and the other one talking about what the other one just talked about.  Or something like that. The exhibit is free with admission, and includes footage of New York's art-rock scenes from the 80's.

The building is five stories high, and the 2nd floor is presently under renovation.  Not a big museum, possible to see all of it in under two hours.  Free audio tour and headsets included with admission. General Admission is $14 per person.  Rather high, considering the museums around Washington DC are free, and the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit is traveling there next. Bank of America customers free admission was just missed since it is restricted to particular days.  Too bad we missed free Friday nights here.

11/4/2011

Bring a bodyguard and call your Bobby Brown because the Whitney is groundbreaking. Literally. For one moment in time, head to Madison & 75th Street and see Whitney before she moves downtown. Earlier this year, the Museum and architect Renzo Piano broke ground on a new building at the Museum's future site between the High Line and Hudson River Park. You'll feel so emotional viewing twentieth century American art on display over five floors. Welcome to the world below 14th Street, Whitney. We are happy to have you - because art is the greatest love of all.

• 

  Art is omnipresent at The Whitney. View of the first floor ceiling.

  Art is omnipresent at The Whitney. View of the first floor ceiling.

8/24/2009

First off, there were no Kiki Smith's up, which was THE reason I was so excited to go. That was karma coming back and being a bitch because I have a habit of making fun of pretentious museum goers. Damnit!

However, the fact that they let both my girlfriend and I in for free off of my work ID was pretty much awesome. I'd been getting email after email at work about how the Whitney would let employees in for free, so Margot G. and I had made the plan to just split her admission and enjoy the museum at a discount. But, they let both of us in on my work ID (even though Margot G. had her old student ID out). Bonus!

I really enjoyed the Photoconceptualism exhibit even though I have no idea what that means. I also made a lot of fun of the Oldenburg "sculptures" but felt a kinship with the artist over the BLT sandwich piece that was set up right in the middle of the room. After all, if anyone understands the importance of sandwiches to the soul, it would be me. The 5 floor system seems to work pretty well, and I enjoyed how spacious the museum was and the way they set everything up.

All in all, enjoyable. But Kiki Smith had better be back the next time I go otherwise some unsuspecting pretentious artsy hipsters will be on the other end of my wrath!

12/31/2011

What is  modern art? Is it something everyone's will understand? Is it something to brag to your date to show that you are artistic enough? Hell no, even the museum guard cannot understand why a so simple artwork that anyone could make it themselves such as Three flag paintings by Jasper Johns reportedly cost 5 millions while he only got paid $8/hour?

The museum is like a smaller version of MoMA, we like it here better because it's not that crowded on Friday pay-as-your-wish night so we could try to understand each display in our timely manner...

We like it here because this museum show us that every struggling artist out there have a chance that someday their art will be shown..

There are some art that we do enjoy, like the Newborn sculpture by Sherrie Levine, but we have to say some art exhibit on here are so simple that we can't understand why the museum bother to display it, oh hmm maybe we'll stick to the free exhibition tours that help our little mind comprehend what is art...

2/20/2011

Being a fan of modern art, I can easily say that I am a fan of this museum.

Things you should know before going:

- The $18 general admission charge is not suggested, it is required. If you are choosing between the Met and the Whitney as far as value -- the Met wins.
- The museum itself is rather small. Exhibits aren't large in and of themselves and seeing the whole thing won't take even the most studious of walkers more than 90 minutes.
- Walk the stairs. The elevators take a while and they're creepily vast in size.
- The art is modern. You should probably already know this if you're researching the Whitney but for the sake of being thorough I'll include a point on this. The collections and exhibits are 20th C. If you don't enjoy a room full of hanging string or the associative power of Baldessari's text prints then consider that before taking the trip.
- There is no café here and the store is miniature, though they do have a lot of good art books on sale so I'd encourage a browse.

I really enjoyed the Hopper exhibit here, though I do feel like I saw everything on one trip. Another few exhibits to change out and I'll return again.

8/14/2011

I visited when they were doing the 'single vision' exhibition (or something like that) where they were showing stand alone pieces per one room. This is a great idea but aside from a couple of pieces, I found the selection lackluster.

Oh and there was a CRAZY performance-type 'art' where a guy was walking around a room pretending to be lost and screaming for no reason. I'm sorry, but that's not art.

12/24/2012

One of the best art museums in the world.  Top-rate curation.  The best collection of American modern and contemporary art that exists.  The feature shows are always amazing.  If you don't like this art museum, you should probably just give up going to them.  The crowd can be a little overwhelming as with anything in Manhattan, esp. for tourists.  I believe they still have free days....but call for when they are.  The staff is a bit cold, but just ignore that as you will truly love the collection of American art if that's your thing. I don't think I ever didn't enjoy this museum and whenever I am in this neighborhood, I try to make it through even if I have limited time.  The satellite venues are also quite extraordinary if you want to get to know up and coming younger artists.  Don't miss it!!!

3/21/2010

The 2010 Biennial is up and FYI from 5/26-5/28 will be open for 24 hours. Some of the works are pretty wacky but I liked a few of them. I attended during a 2 hour morning preview for members. They had bagels! The Whitney has always been kind of hit or miss (for me)  but I purchased a membership recently because I am trying to get out and about more. Yelper WeeGee makes a good point about admission and memberships-they go to paying people paying for exhibits and the arts have been hurting in this economy.

I am definitely going to make it here during the 24 hour thing in may I think that could be wacky and fun.

7/9/2012

Nothing really impressive there. Hate the Biennial this year. Permenant Collection is mediocre. Admission is expensive.

2/26/2011

In my undergrad-hormoned-driven fantasies, I'd meet the man of my dreams at the Whitney Museum. We'd peer into the abstract works of Georgia O'Keeffe and pontificate over the vagicentric (what's the feminine counterpart to 'phallocentric'?) signifiers, talk about the performativity of gender. Or we'd get a rise from Jenny Holzer's PROTECT PROTECT installation and argue about the body politic.

But then I'd get sick of him because I'd rather poke fun at the piece of art constructed from bathroom pipes and mannequin feet than to entertain pedantic intellectual masturbation.

I've been coming here once in a blue moon since high school. Only on Friday's because of the pay-as-you wish period, which makes the Whitney incredibly worth it in terms of value.

11/3/2012

2 of the 4 floors are closed for construction (10/15/12), but even at the reduced admission of $12 it was not worth it. No permanent collection at all. The special exhib tickets are sold out early. So double check the website before you make the trek.

11/12/2010

Like the Guggenheim, the Whitney is set apart by its unique
architecture.The Whitney has more of  a gallery feel and it isn't as
crowded as other more famous museums in the city. It specializes in
living American artists.
Right now there is just a sandwich stand. Danny Meyer's restaurant at
the Whitney closed. But the Whitney will have a permanent restaurant
at the Whitney which is said to open this winter.
In 1968, Ron Clark, at the age of 25, established in conjunction with
the Whitney Museum of American Art an independent study program(known as the ISP or sometimes the Whitney ISP), which helped start the careers of artists including Julian Schnabel, Rirkrit Tiravanija, as
well as many other well-known, influential artists. LIke most museums
in NYC the Whitney has classes and work shops for children.
mommypoppins.com/newyork…
momtrendsnyc.com/2010/11…

10/10/2009

For review #100 I wanted to focus on one of my favorite places in New York.  Rather than give a historical overview of the museum, I will actually review the museum as a whole.  The best thing about The Whitney is its layout.  While museums are often too big and overwhelming, leaving you lost and confused as to how to find what you really want to see, The Whitney is the complete opposite.  Vast and compact at the same time, you can not miss something here.  The reason for this is that the exhibitions are laid out floor by floor.  So if you want to see the Kiki Smith exhibition or Buckminster Fuller show (two of the best exhibitions I have seen here in the last three years) you just go to the floor and enjoy it in its entirety.

The entry brings you right into the book store which has a small, but phenomenal collection of art books.  You will also find the coat check, which is so necessary in the winter, in the corner area of the book store.  Downstairs you can eat a decent meal at Sarabeth's at the Whitney which is sometimes a nice break in between levels.  The first floor also houses a small gallery where there have been some nice installations, as well as small shows of paintings and drawings.

There are five other floors to choose from, each one holding at least one exhibition and some holding parts of the permanent collection.  My recommendations for viewing at the Whitney is to go for a reason, an exhibition you want to see, and see that first with the audio tour.  For years, I neglected the audio tour but tried it for the Kara Walker show a couple years ago and I was blown away.  The detail is great and it is a great and easy way to help you through the exhibition.  Once you have seen your goal then explore with your time left some of the other exhibitions or the permanent collection.  Even a museum as compact as this may be too much to try to go top to bottom and see everything.

In terms of curation and programming, The Whitney is unmatched.  Progressive and interesting, the shows here are always phenomenal.  A membership is a great idea if you are going to go more than twice a year, it is well worth it.