The Three Most Memorable Works from The 2014 Whitney Biennial

Zackary Drucker (b. 1983) and Rhys Ernst (b. 1982), Relationship (Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst, 2011), from the Relationship series, 2008–13.

While Peter Schjeldahl called this year’s Whitney Biennial a “frazzled, peculiarly melancholy Zeitgeist,” I think that label seems a bit too harsh. When assembling a comprehensive body of work that large how can one really avoid frazzledness? I think that it accomplished its aims–typifying contemporaneity and providing a semblance of “the art world today,” which is not an easy feat. The Biennial was curated according to floor, each one with a different curator and mission statement. I don’t think it was a coincident that all of my tops picks were from the same floor–the third floor curated by Stuart Comer whose attempt was to “provide a kaleidoscopic glimpse of this historic moment.” Comer utilized a variety of different mediums, styles, identities and tastes.

Pick #1: Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst, Relationship Series, 2008-2013. [Pictured above] This beautiful series documents two transgendered individuals in a relationship while transitioning (in opposite directions) from one sex to another. The salon-hung pictures are visually captivating and offer an alluringly intimate portrayal into the lives of these lovers.

Film Still from Leviathan

Pick #2: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel, Leviathan, 2012 This very visceral work documents the North American fishing industry in 87-minutes of mesmerizing footage. I found myself sitting on the floor of this mini-theater for a good 20 minutes before I could pull myself away from the screen. I would love to watch the film in its entirety in another setting.

Bjarne Melgaard, Think I’m Gonna Have A Baby, 2014

Pick #3: Bjarne Melgaard, Think I’m Gonna Have A Baby, 2014
It’s a room-sized installation complete with Skrillex pillows, half-naked mannequins, and an over-stimulating series of video and sound projections. I think that this room perfectly exemplifies what our lives have become as we become increasingly reliant on technology and the distractions that we coexist with as a product of our artificially created symbiotic relationship with inanimate objects.