Artists Among Us

In this episode, Frank Benson describes his hyperrealistic sculpture titled Castaway currently on view on the Floor 8 terrace. Benson, who mostly works in sculpture and photography, delves into exactly what a castaway is, and what "detritus" is used for the sculpture to come to life. 

In celebration of the exhibition Edges of Ailey, Matthew Rushing, the interim Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, takes us back to his first time seeing the company perform at the Wiltern Theater at twelve-years-old. Matthew discusses the memories of his mother taking him to see the performance, the experience of sitting in the front row, and the profound impact this moment had on the course of his life.

In celebration of the exhibition Edges of Ailey, artist Mickalene Thomas recalls her first encounter with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the influence it has had on her life and work. Thomas created the work Revelation, a portrait of Katherine Dunham, specifically for the exhibition. In this minisode, Thomas shares an experience of seeing Revelations performed by the AILEY company for the first time in New York in 1995. Thomas also describes moments of overlap between the language of dance and her art practice, and what any artist can take away from Alvin Ailey’s work.

In this episode, photographer Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe talks about documenting the Gullah Geechee people of Daufuskie Island. Over a five-year period, the photographs reveal a change over Daufuskie as developers and Hurricane David make their way to these last Gullah Islands.

More about the exhibition: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/jeanne-moutoussamy-ashe-last-gullah-islands

In this minisode, exhibition curator Adrienne Edwards describes the new Edges of Ailey “extravaganza” dedicated to the life, dances, and enduring legacy of the legendary artist and choreographer, Alvin Ailey.

Through an immersive eighteen-screen video installation, illuminating archival materials, an ambitious performance program, and wide-ranging artworks by eighty-two visual artists, Edges of Ailey explores a titan of modern dance whose impact reverberates across media and time, and whose beloved company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, remains a global cultural force to this day. Edwards takes us through her impetus and vision for the show and some of the discoveries she made along the way.

More about the exhibition: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/edges-of-ailey

The Ailey Performances: https://whitney.org/AileyPerformances

Associate Curator Jennie Goldstein discusses how Day Clean, a painting by Eldzier Cortor (1916–2015), recently found its way into the Whitney's collection. She describes Cortor's interest in depicting Black American life in the South and how he drew influences from his travels to the Caribbean, African Art, European Surrealism, and American Realism.

More about the exhibition: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/collection-1900-to-1965 

See the art described in this minisode: https://whitney.org/collection/works/67747

In this minisode, teens from the Whitney's Youth Insights Leaders program interview 2024 Biennial artist Holly Herndon. The conversation explores how the artist's identity and creative process are influenced by artificial intelligence (AI). They talk about the ethical use of AI, if AI can elicit an emotional response to art, and the evolution of the art world to include machine learning models as an art form. Visit the Whitney's portal to Internet and new media art, artport, to enter Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst: xhairymutantx, a project that focuses on training data behind AI models, opening new possibilities for its use.

Explore xhairymutantx: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/xhairymutantx

More about the Biennial: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial

Know a teen who might be interested in the Whitney’s programs? Learn more and apply now: https://whitney.org/education/teens/youth-insights

In this minisode, teens from the Whitney's Youth Insights Leaders program interview 2024 Biennial artist Kiyan Williams. Williams has two artworks in the 2024 Whitney Biennial: a large sculpture of a neoclassical building made of brown soil that appears to be sinking into the ground, and a shiny chrome sculpture depicting the gay rights activist Marsha P. Johnson. The teens talk to Williams about what the sculptures mean especially when seen together and at this particular moment in time. 

More about the exhibition: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial

Know a teen who might be interested in the Whitney’s programs? Learn more and apply now: https://whitney.org/education/teens/youth-insights

See the art described in this minisode: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial?section=66

Today we hear from five artists who together form the collective People Who Stutter Create. For their contribution to the 2024 Biennial, the group mobilized the Whitney’s exhibition billboard at 95 Horatio Street, across the street from the Museum and the south end of the High Line. The artists, all of whom stutter, created a public artwork that celebrates the transformational space of dysfluency, a term that can encompass stuttering and other communication differences. In this minisode, we hear from all five artists about their artwork titled Stuttering Can Create Time.

More about the exhibition: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial

See the art described in this minisode: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/people-who-stutter-create

Today we hear from Maja Ruznic about one of her two paintings in the Biennial. She talks about finding beauty in sadness, her path to becoming the artist she is today, and the restorative power of awe.
 
More about the exhibition: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial
See the art described in this minisode: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/2024-biennial?section=53#exhibition-feature