The Whitney Has Landed

by Drew Martin
When I went to the opening of the new Whitney Museum of American Art last Friday with a couple friends/art lovers, it felt as if an advanced alien culture had landed and invited us aboard its spaceship. Although we could not see or touch them, they communicated with us through art.

I returned to the Whitney today to become a member and spent some time walking the gallery floors by myself, taking in the things I missed during the euphoric hubbub of day one. I like to take pictures of details of artwork, and today I understood a bit more why. We view paintings and sculptures as a whole object, and even though we understand the components of a work, we seldom isolate a particular section to comprehend how that makes us feel and what we get out of it. So here are some snapshots of works and a lot of closeups without any need to identify the artist or title of the piece.