Whitney Review

The Whitney Biennial 2010 curated by Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari took up the torch of mediocrity and carried it proudly through the sparsely adorned halls of the Whitney. If one was looking for a theme they looked in vain for there was none as proclaimed by the chief curator. The only residue of cohesion could be the stench of apathy. The galleries were ripe with it. The displays of carelessly crafted objects were terribly disappointing. It felt as if the artists represented had given up all hope of accomplishing anything and in one last ditch attempt to get noticed decided that work without the evidence of work was their savior. If carelessness and apathy were the themes of the day how could one expect the viewer to spend any time with this work.
Of course if one is not as apathetic as the majority of the artists exhibiting and bravely waded through the labyrinth of shit on display one may find a gem or two hiding in a smaller gallery on the upper floors. There were two such gems Nina Berman's series “Marine Wedding” 2006 capture the realities of loss in a format which is both shocking and sullen. Ty Ziegel, a twenty four year old marine at the time fell victim to a road side bomb leaving him terribly disfigured.
One of the most carefully observed pieces was Kelly Tribe's “H.M.” . Viewers sat and watched the eighteen plus minute dual analog projection in its entirety a phenomenon at a time when most work is viewed for less than thirty seconds. The subject of this documentary styled film is H.M. A victim of an bicycle accident resulting in severe head trauma and epilepsy. The narrator follows H.M.'s life as his seizures get progressively worse leading to experimental brain surgery. The outcome of the procedure is mixed the seizures are under control but H.M. Is left with the inability to remember anything after the surgery for more than twenty to thirty seconds. This is the amount of time that spaces the two identical loops of film apart when they are projected side by side. This gap is challenging us to remember the events displayed on screen. Asking us if our empathy for the H.M. is temporary or genuine.
It is amazing to me that a survey of the best and brightest american artists didn't include anyone working with robotics, interactivity or kinetics. Shouldn't the Whitney be displaying the work of contemporary artists experimenting with new technologies and forms of visual communication as it once did?