Whitney Ready to Send a Message
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Tonight, the Whitney Museum of American Art will send a loud-and-clear message about its place in the art world, when the words “Now Art Now” are projected on the facade of the museum.
The occasion is the museum’s annual gala, and the cutting-edge theme is expressed inside the galleries, too. For the first time, the museum has commissioned site-specific works exclusively for the event.
“The project links to one of the central missions of the museum: the support of living artists, through exhibitions and dialogue” the curator in charge of the project, Shamim Momin, said.
The idea came from trustee Brooke Neidich and the gala’s chairmen.
“My co-chairs and I thought it would be fun to do something different and make it about the art,” Mrs. Neidich said.
“I wanted to call it ‘Cool Art Now,'” Mrs. Neidich said. “Shamim said no one says ‘Cool’ anymore. Then I suggested ‘Hot Art Now,’ and Shamim said no one uses ‘Hot’ anymore. So we went with ‘Now Art Now.'”
Perhaps the new art will also keep people’s minds off the recent criticism of the museum in the creative community.
The response to “Now Art Now” has been enthusiastic. The event, which will bring in more than $1 million for the museum, is sold out. “We had the strongest support from the trustees ever. I was amazed. Half the money came from the board of trustees, just from their taking the tables,” Mrs. Neidich said. Tickets were $2,500 to $5,000.
As guests doff their coats in the lobby, they will be greeted by a large white limousine filled with 300 balloons. Black Leotard Front’s soft sculpture will be parked on the museum’s “book bar”- a long counter that is part of the museum’s store.
Descending the stairs for cocktails, the crowd will next see E.V. Day’s “Stealth,” a sculpture made of monofilament, which captures the silhouette of a stealth bomber.
Downstairs, waiters will navigate around Cory Arcangel’s “Beige” – five screens projecting the clouds from a Nintendo game – to serve slabs of caramelized bacon by David Ziff Cooking.
Ms. Momin did not give artists a common theme. Rather, she said she chose artists who would make “an immediate visual impact” and could “exist in the space as unique objects.” All have appeared in previous Whitney Biennials. The museum is providing honorariums as well as covering the production costs of the projects.
Perhaps the most visually arresting work is a wallpaper mural by Assume Vivid Astro Focus. Its psychedelic patterns set a festive tone in the fourth floor exhibition space where dinner will be served.
On the opposite side of the room is a video projection by Slater Bradley featuring images of a chess tournament – a nod to the legendary chess match Marcel Duchamp staged at a party using people as chess pieces.
Another work offers a role for the museum’s chairman, Leonard Lauder, its president, Robert Hurst, and two of the gala chairmen, who are also trustees, Henry Cornell and Steven Mnuchin. They will bring Glenn Kaino’s installation of water tanks to life when they pour food dye into the tanks, creating a “painting in water.”
“For a one-night event, I wanted to build something ephemeral,” said Mr. Kaino.
Guests needn’t fear getting wet. If any of the tanks overflow, Mr. Kaino said, the pumps immediately shut down.
Richard Tuttle volunteered to do the centerpieces, which also feature an aquatic component. Inspired by lanterns he’d seen at a mosque, he floats candles resting in glass cylinders filled with water. Ms. Momin’s staff has been running around the city to find just the right glass cylinders and candles.
Several of the participating artists will be present, including Mr. Tuttle, Ms. Day, Mr. Bradley, and Virgil Marti, who created striped candles that will be given to guests sitting at tables purchased for $50,000. Mr. Kaino will be at his great aunt’s 90th birthday.
Others set to attend include Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Alex Katz, Andre Balazs, Peter Som, Larry Gagosian, Lorne Michaels, and museum trustees such as Melva Bucksbaum, Beth Rudin DeWoody, and Susan Hess.
Some of the typical flourishes at a major gala will be missing. “The event design is spare because the focus is on the art,” said designer Gill Hockett.
The gala chairwomen will be wearing silver gowns. “We wanted something neutral that wouldn’t compete with the art,” said Heather Mnuchin.
Food will be served on black plates – first blackened tuna, followed by fillet of beef with potato gratin. The meal ends with maple custard and chocolate covered coffee beans served in silver bowls.
At around 9 p.m., an after-party with dancing starts downstairs. Tickets can still be purchased for the later portion of the evening for $200.