The 2012 Whitney Biennial has the usual professional polish (see our review here), but behind the immaculately arranged galleries lurks a messier, more human reality. What really makes this year’s exhibition is not the curatorial concept, but the excitement of the artists themselves. In a series of original AI Interview videos, ARTINFO spoke to a few of the emerging artists who make the biennial what it is, asking them to explain their contributions to the exhibition.
Wu Tsang, a transgender performance, installation, and video artist, has been highlighted by numerous critics and curators for his pieces exploring the boundaries of personal identity. Michael Robinson repurposes found video clips from the annals of pop culture into new hybrids that lend an element of surreal strangeness and humor to the familiar. LaToya Ruby Frazier casts a critical eye on Levi’s use of her hard-pressed Pennsylvania hometown in its recent ad campaign. Finally, in her performance on the fifth floor, Greek performance artist Georgia Sagri offers a Situationist-inspired reflection on what constitutes labor in the Internet age.
Meet them all, and see their work in the museum, below.
1. Wu Tsang
2. Michael Robinson
3. LaToya Ruby Frazier
4. Georgia Sagri
For a wider look at the 2012 Whitney Biennial, see our photo tour and highlight picks