PC vs AI

Are the curators of the Whitneys' 2024 Biennial, "Even Better than the Real Thing," alluding to Coca Cola, which has been branded "the real thing" for almost as long as I've been alive? The 1982 Tom Stoppard play that explores reality vs. appearance? The track from U2's Achtung Baby, released in 1991?  If I'd enjoyed the art more, I might quibble less with the title.  Prior marginalization of the painters, sculptors and videographers included seems to have been given greater weight than the quality of the work being exhibited, although I did enjoy some of it.

"Ruins of Empire I or The Earth Swallows the Master's House" by Kiyan Williams (2024)

And the museum's setting is always worth the trip.

Trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, whose visage also graces the only water fountain in the Pines,  is having a well-deserved moment.  She's represented in an outdoor sculpture and discussed in a video.

"Statue of Freedom (Marsha P. Johnson)" by Kiyan Williams (close-up, 2024)

More than half the artists included use "she/her" pronouns.  You go gurrls!  If you guess the gender of the artists who chose not to list their pronouns, female dominance is even more striking.  This photo reminds me of a favorite joke:  What does a 500 pound parrot say? "Polly wants a cracker.  NOW!"

"xhairymutantx Embedding Study 1" by Holly Herndon & Mat Dryhurst (2024)

Much of the work explicitly relates to gender roles.

"Nourisher" by Julia Phillips (2022)

Carmen Winant collected 2,700 images in the south and midwest that exhaustively documents the ordinary activities of abortion health care.  Unchallenged by state ballot initiatives, the Dobbs decision likely would wipe the wall as clean as any hurricane or tornado. 

 

"Women's blueprint for survival I" by Carmen Winant (partial, 2022)

There's little doubt that the art world's gatekeepers overlooked women's artistic talent for centuries which is why I found the resurrection of Mavis Pusey exciting and relevant even though I'm not a big fan of abstract expressionism.

"Dejygea" by Mavis Pusey (1970)

To their credit, the curators searched for artists outside New York, Los Angeles and Miami. No canvas was stretched for this unusual work. Suzanne Jackson created it from an accumulation of acrylic paint drips and seeds from her garden in Savannah.

"the 'white eyes' shift" by Suzanne Jackson (2022)

"Monkey" & "Human Figure" (2019) by Clarissa Tossin

"Deep Calls to Deep" by Maja Ruznic (2023)

Rose B. Simpson explores her Native American identity in various media.  I've been a big fan since the Whitney introduced me to her occasionally monumental work on its roof last year.

"Daughters:  Reverence" by Rose B. Simpson (partial, 2024)

Torkwase Dyson, the latest artist to occupy that space, nods to Richard Serra in "Liquid Shadows, Solid Dreams (A Monastic Playground)."

I love the way her work frames the view.

This Biennial includes a lot of video and while I didn't have the patience to watch much of it, Isaac Julien blew me away with "Once Again . . . (Statues Never Die)."  Using small statues, five video screens and an actor André Holland playing Alain Locke (a scholar and philosopher also known as the "dean" of the Harlem Renaissance), he immerses visitors in Locke's idea that black Americans can reclaim their cultural heritage by embracing African art.

Few other pieces showed me much.  These happened to be by men (I think). 

"cuprum" by ektor garcia (2024)

"Talking Shit with Viracocha's Rainbow (Iteration l)" by Eamon Ore-Giron (2023)

But my visit didn't get truly interesting until I visited the top floor for a separate exhibition of works generated by artificial intelligence.  Decades ago!  

"Stephanie & Friend" by AARON (Harold Cohen's AI art generator, 1991)

Back in the 1960s, established painter Harold Cohen forsook his easel to create a computer-based art making program he called AARON.  Judge for yourself the results in the context of knowing that it was developed by an artist who became a coder, not a coder creating algorithms that respond to word prompts.  In other words, in my view, a serious, if clunky, labor-intensive collab not an instant gratification toy.   Are some of these figurative works--mostly created in the 1990s--even better than the real thing downstairs?

But perhaps not as good as these, also biennial bystanders from the Whitney's permanent collection.  American artist Wanda Gág is best remembered for Millions of Cats, a children's picture book in print since 1929. 

"Stone Crusher" by Wanda Gág (1929)

Rosalyn Drexler often used tabloid photos as the basis for her paintings.  In this case, Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe were captured fleeing paparazzi, one of whom was killed in a car crash during the chase.

"Marilyn Pursued by Death" by Rosalyn Drexler (1963)

I've been a Rockwell Kent fan since working at the New York Public Library. 

"The Trapper" by Rockwell Kent (1921)

Using a poster to publicize an exhibit of a rare edition of Moby Dick from the 1930s,  I framed his illustration of the whale surfacing and spouting.  It graces the Folly's bathroom.