The Whitney Biennial examines trends—like the use of humble materials and a focus on local subjects—to outline the state of contemporary American art.

Shamim Momin and Henriette Huldisch, the curators of the 2008 Whitney Biennial, are convinced more people are paying attention to contemporary art today than at any time in history. This makes their job—creating a single exhibition that embodies everything that’s currently happening in American art—all the more compelling.

The two women scour the country, attempting to capture the essence of a community that is scattered among art schools, gallery spaces, museums and artists’ studios. Acting in part as art world detectives, Momin and Huldisch follow lead after lead and move from connection to connection, working to create a show that will be both engaging and intelligible to the diverse audiences of the Whitney Museum in New York City.

Watch a video interview with the Biennial’s curators, Shamim Momin and Henriette Huldisch, to get their insights into American contemporary art.This year’s Biennial is the latest installation in a series of exhibitions that began in 1932 with the goal of highlighting the major themes and trends in American art. Momin and Huldisch selected 81 artists whose works range from the traditional (painting, sculpture, performance, video and online art) to productions so ephemeral they sometimes don’t even exist in the conventional sense.

The curators argue that the strengths of contemporary art are found in this diversity and in the many different media and techniques today’s artists employ. In this exhibition, for instance, Oakland, Calif.-based Neighborhood Public Radio will broadcast a guerilla radio show from a location a few blocks from the museum.

Meanwhile, performance artist Matt Mullican’s work will involve hypnotizing members of the audience. The variety of the installations in this year’s Biennial only reinforces Momin and Huldisch’s contention that any attempt to categorize modern American art is an exercise in oversimplification—not to mention futility.

However, underlying patterns have emerged. One of them, according to the curators, involves a focus on work that changes over time—in essence, art with a life span. Another is work that is locally focused and concentrated on small geographic areas: the art world’s equivalent of the environmentalist mantra about “buying locally.” Many artists also are working with more modest and humble materials, such as plywood, cement and found objects, as a reaction to the lofty attitudes often associated with gallery art.

One artist that investigates this phenomenon of “precious” art—the kind that exists in expensive galleries and doesn’t seem to have any relation to the real world—is Ellen Harvey. Her work, which she describes as “expanded painting,” sometimes encompasses entire rooms, with various part existing independently while still contributing to the whole.

The 2008 Whitney Biennial will run until June 1 in New York City. A catalog is available from the museum, and more information on this year’s exhibit can be found on the Whitney’s Web site.
FLYP visits the studio of Biennial artist Ellen Harvey, to speak to her about her “expanded painting.” Watch the documentary.