Whitney Museum
September 17, 2009
Liz Marchuk
In Dan Graham’s ‘Triangular Solid with Circular Inserts v.e. 1989-2007’ we watched with amazement as we walked around the structure, our viewpoint changed. The glass felt as though it was moving in each panel. At one moment you were outside then you were looking in. The sculptor was beautiful in shape to look at yet felt eerie to interact with.

In one of the many Abstract paintings painted by Georga O’Keeffe, I was drawn to one which she used a wide range of blue. In the paintings upper 3rd was a series of arks that curved towards the top of the canvas. The uses of many shades of blue, blue-green, and white were blended. There was a feeling of movement almost like the sun rising. In the middle 3rd section of the painting it changed to a color pallet of deep purple-red- pink. There is a cloud like shape. In the lower 3rd the color pallet has changed back to blue. There is a large blob form that takes on a skin or flesh like fell. Now that being said, was it a life form or might it just be a landscape instead.

In Sadie Benning instillation ‘Play Pause’ she uses video projected on two simultaneous running screens. The information on the screens is wealth of years of fragmented figures and abstraction. The two screens appear to be unrelated to each other. One could be color dotes and the other childlike drawings. The experience reminds me of watching old film projected on a wall. The room is very dark and has just one bench forcing you to stand or sit on the floor making you feel as though you do not belong.

In Lucinda Childs’ instillation playing on the white museum wall, is a beautiful film of a small dancer. You are invited to watch a choreographed slice of her day. She floats across the stage with ease. The stark contrast between the large white wall and the black projected film with the little dancer is magic.

In Photo Conceptualism, I was interested in the study Adrian Piper did in a series of gelatin silver prints. ‘Food for the Spirit’ a series of self-portraits, she has photographed herself in different stages of undressing. The photos are mysterious with shades of gray, almost foggy in nature.