Whitney Museum - Amy Lu

What is the fascination with seeing oneself more than once in a limited area or in another space that is not the one that we know we occupy? Is it really the concept of uncanny that Freud would agree in or are human beings just that narcissistic? I tend to side with the latter but I do agree that the uncanniness introduces a split second of uncertainty. For me, what was more important was the relationship of being the viewer/audience and part of the art piece was an experience in and of itself. In some of my own pieces, I like there to be some sort of emotional response (sometimes not at all pleasant) from the audience to engage and enhance their senses. Upon reading his handout, I was excited that here was an artist that also “emphasizes the role of the viewer in art,” and how “ultimately, subjectivity defines perspective.” Dan Graham’s pieces really had an illusionistic and mind bending quality to his work, especially Opposing Mirrors & Video Monitors on Time Delay and Triangular Solids with Circular Inserts. The life size reflective and glass, as well as the creative usage of video made the gallery seem more like a subdued playground than inside a museum. The intentions or at least, viewer interpretations were easier to grasp yet interesting enough to want to experience another time and were more successful than his other works.
Sadie Benning’s works were also enjoyable, but on a deeper level to begin with. From reading the description that the video was going to be about the heightening of perception that accompanies periods of loss, I never would have expected the style of video that I actually saw. This two- channel video projection was not necessarily inviting, but the content made me want to understand what it was about. What I noticed was that the sounds eventually quieted down towards the end and that despite the seemingly random pictures and visualizations, I understood that there was some story with tension and sometimes, a numbness because the video did not highlight particular objects, stay in one place for a long time and there was no sort of climax or surprising noises. In fact, I barely remember the sounds at all which might have been the intention of the artist. Overall the trip to the Whitney on September 17th was educational and I would want to go back again sometime soon.