This latter consideration is particularly important, because I went to the Whitney's existing space on the Upper East Side yesterday and almost had a meltdown. Granted I had done zero research beforehand, and subsequently showed up on Family Day but even still, I couldn't believe the number of adults and children swarming all over the gallery - talking loudly and, in some cases, running between the artwork. At one point I was literally elbowed out of the way as I paused to review some of the pieces. Still, it took everything I had to remember that this is what art galleries and museums are supposed to be about - opening up the world of art for the people who produce it, and the people who want to appreciate it.
In 1931, sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (great aunt of Anderson Cooper) recognised the obstacles that young American artists faced when trying to exhibit or sell their works. She began buying their pieces and showing their work publicly, giving them entree into the very exclusive art world in the US. As Whitney's collection grew, corporate sponsorship came with it, and as a result The Whitney museum is arguably the definitive collection of 20th Century and contemporary American art in the country.Now I can appreciate the proud history of The Whitney and the generosity of spirt that established its collection. But my visit yesterday confirmed for me that I just don't like contemporary art. I don't understand it, and I don't know why some of it gets praised as highly as it does. I know that my lack of art appreciation is entirely my problem though, and jostling with feral adults and their children hardly helped my state of mind yesterday. But having said all that, I did find some pieces at The Whitney that I really liked.
There is a Jeff Koons exhibition on display at the moment (until 19 October) and I remember seeing his works at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago a few years back. Some of his pieces don't make sense to me, but there are others I really appreciated for their sheer scale, the bright colours, and whimsy (the fitting way to describe an inflatable Incredible Hulk pipe organ). The stainless steel statuaries are great, and of course the enormous balloon animals made me very happy.
Nearly two-thirds of the artwork at The Whitney were received as gifts, and the gallery is currently honoring these benefactors with an exhibition on the top floors of the building. I toured these spaces with great interest and loved the Andy Warhol Brillo pad boxes, the Coca Cola print, and his sketch of Ginger Rogers. But why did I love them so much? Is it because they are so iconic? If they had been produced by anyone else, would I still love them? Who knows.
And as you can see earlier in this post, the Jasper Johns American flag artwork was a particular favourite, almost jumping off the canvas in 3D form. And the colour freak in me loved Basquiat's "Hollywood Americans" and its unmissable pop of bright yellow - so of course I had to paste it here for you to see.
