This year's WHITNEY BIENNIAL didn't have so much to offer in terms of works to ponder or even remember. Ironically, according to one label description, the work aimed to "serve no purpose, not even aesthetically." It seems that the performance pieces needed to be "caught" at the right time; as well as the artist in residence, for the piece "This Could Be Something If I Let It," in which the viewer witnesses the artist working in her studio space which contains "everything I own." Unfortunately, this piece had nothing to offer at the time i passed by. The artist had stepped out for a lunch break, and what was left was her counterpart checking the texts on his phone. Despite a sparse offering in concept and product where too much is left up to chance and time, there were a select few pieces that were worth the trip. From the ethereal, transcendent "Hearsay of the Soul" to the insanely executed "Component Obejects" made to look like artifacts, carefully displayed for intimate effect. all in all, the line between art and personal artifact is a thin one. when did the art world become less about meaning and aesthetic? The transient nature of the show doesn't work for those of us that are on a schedule. Let's hope this isn't a continuing trend downward, and that the next biennial has more substance. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PIECES I'M GLAD I SAW:

"Hearsay of the Soul" - A digital image installation by Werner Herzog. A review from the NEW YORK TIMES states: Another filmmaker who stands out is Werner Herzog, who contributes “Hearsay of the Soul,” a ravishing five-screen digital projection, to his first-ever art show. An unexpected celebration of the handmade by the technological — and a kind of collage — it combines greatly magnified close-ups of the voluptuous landscape etchings of the Dutch artist Hercules Segers (1589-1638), whom Herzog considers “the father of modernity in art,” with some justification. The shifting scroll-like play of images is set to sonorous music, primarily by the Dutch cellist and composer Ernst Reijseger, who also appears briefly on screen, playing his heart out. I dare you not to cry.

“Component Object” (2010) by Matt Hoyt. One of dozens of objects crafted to look like artifacts. In reality this piece is only an inch or two long. Many pieces resemble stones, shells and could literally fit in your pocket.

LUTHER PRICE creates work by destroying slides in a burial process. The result is quite beautiful. Images range from 60's portrait nostalgia, to religious icons, to the unknown faces of everyday society. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PIECES I'M GLAD I MISSED:

To see other works not displayed above, copy & paste the following link into your web browser:


http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/03/02/arts/design/20120302-BIENNIAL.html
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