EvolvingAnd
Becoming
TheNew
Whitney Museum
Of
AmericanArt
Previous Page: Whitney Museum of American Art, the view from
Gansevoort Street. ? Karin Jobst photo
By James D. Balest rieri
N
EW YORK CI TY ?
This is going t o
sound like an insult , but it is not . Quit e
t he opposit e, in fact . The new W hit ney M useum
of American Art looks like an enormous ext inct
invert ebrat e, a complex art hropod t hat t ook a
det our down one of evolut ion?s myriad dead- end
roads in order t o fill a gap bet ween disparat e
ecosyst ems. Sit uat ed at t he sout hern foot of t he
The view from the eighth floor terrace is echoed in selections from the
museum?s collection of Modernist paintings, prints and photographs.
Whitney Museum of American Art as viewed from the
Hudson River. ? Karin Jobst photo
High L ine in t he rapidly gent rifying
seeking out and making a space for
M eat packing
t he not - yet - imagined. Could ?
Dist rict
and just
a
or
st one?s t hrow from t he high- end
should ?
t he W hit ney be anyt hing
Chelsea galleries, it aims t o house
else? A building designed ?from t he
classic American works of art while
inside out ,? as it s archit ect Renzo
? ?Chinese Restaurant? by Max Weber
(1881?1961), 1915, oil, charcoal and
collaged paper on linen, 40 by 48 1/8
inches. Whitney Museum of American Art,
New York, purchase. © Estate of Max Weber
?Pittsburgh? by Elsie Driggs (1895?1992), ?
1927, oil on canvas, 34¼ by 40¼ inches.
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York;
gift of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.
Piano says, is, in it s essence,
ant i- skyscraper,
ant i- mammal,
ant i- bird. I t is a t hrowback t o life
at it s earliest and most aquat ic,
and Piano?s creat ion, especially in
t he cut away rendering, resembles
one of t hose old art hropods, a
giant
beached t rilobit e gliding
back t oward t he Hudson, looking
t o be reborn. But t he resemblance
is more t han
physical;
it
is
st ruct ural as well. The eight floors
of t he W hit ney are exoskelet al,
?Running People at 2,616,216? by Jonathan
Borofsky, 1978?1979, latex paint on wall and/or
ceiling. Purchase, with funds from the Painting and
Sculpture Committee.
t hat is, t he weight is borne by t he
ext erior shell and t he large and
beaut iful t erraces t hat cant ilever
magnificent ly from t he upper floors. Piano?s
design makes it possible for t he exhibit ion
spaces inside t o be open, t o be free of pillars,
I - beams and int erior walls. There are no rooms
in t he new W hit ney. There is only room, and
lot s of it . This will allow for an impressive and
radical flexibilit y on each floor, and will
accommodat e all manner of exhibit ions and
works. L arge windows at t he west end of some
Installed in a stairwell, Felix Gonzalez-Torres?s untitled (America),
1994, consists of 12 light strings, each with 42 15-watt light bulbs
and rubber sockets, dimensions variable. Purchase, with funds from
the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee.
?Noise Number 13,? by e.e. cummings, 1925, oil on
canvas, 59 5/8 by 42¾ inches. Purchase, with funds
from the Painting and Sculpture Committee.
of t he floors connect t he museum t o
t he cit y. L arge windows t o t he east
connect t he museum t o t he Hudson
River and, as Piano observed at t he
press preview, ?t o t he world beyond.?
Out door spaces t hat are and will be
filled wit h art and a gallery of works
on t he first floor open t o t he public,
free of
charge,
confirm
Piano?s
int ent ion t hat t here should be ?no barrier bet ween t he
cit y and t he building.? For t he first t ime, t he W hit ney
will have a place for educat ional out reach for all ages,
t he L aurie M . Tisch Educat ion Cent er, as well as a
dedicat ed t heat er for live performances. I nside, t he
space has t he feel of a downt own or out er- borough
indust rial warehouse convert ed t o art ist s? st udios. The
walls are fact ory gray and t he floors, made of wide,
reclaimed pine boards, shush under your feet as if t hey
have been light ly sanded but not varnished. The smell
Fifth floor of the Whitney Museum of American Art. ? Nic Lehoux photo
of freshly sanded wood is all t hat is
frame
for
a
paint ing
lacking. Wit h luck, some sculpt or in
enhancing t he experience wit hout
residence will soon remedy t hat . Best
making it s presence felt .
of all, when you st and in front of one
(Cont inued on page 11C inside t he
of t he works of art , t he building
E- edit ion)
vanishes around it , just as t he right
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