Whitney: New to Artport — American Artist’s Looted / ‘Boarding Up The Whitney’s Website’ …

BOARDING UP THE WHITNEY’S WEBSITE

The white background on tens of thousands of web pages changes to black. Images of works representing nearly a century of artistic achievement in America are seemingly hidden behind plywood barriers. Texts denoting the key signifiers of each artwork’s identity—title and medium, artist name, year of creation—fade into nothingness.

This is not the work of a masterful hacker, but that of American Artist. In the latest project in the Whitney’s Sunrise/Sunset series on artport, American Artist’s Looted transforms whitney.org every evening at sunset in New York City in an act of both redaction and refusal. For the artist, whose work considers Black labor and visibility, and anti-blackness within networked life and digital systems, Looted extends the physicality of the tension between protest and looting—especially in the context of the recent protests denouncing racial injustice and police brutality—to the online space, the primary site for viewing art during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a time when many storefronts and museums in New York City and around the U.S.—including the Whitney Museum—have (or had) been temporarily boarded, Looted underscores that no space can remain unaffected by the examination of and demands for racial justice, and questions the power structures of providing access to art.

EXPLORE LOOTED

UPCOMING ONLINE EVENTS

REMEMBERING REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LEWIS

The Whitney community mourns the loss of Representative John Lewis, who passed away on July 17 at the age of 80.

To honor Rep. Lewis’s life and legacy, we’re revisiting a conversation the Whitney hosted in 2016 between Rep. Lewis and artist Danny Lyon, a close friend of the civil rights leader. Together they speak about Rep. Lewis’s lifelong advocacy of civil liberties, his leadership on contemporary political issues, and the ways photography played a critical role in the civil rights movement.

WATCH THE CONVERSATION

THE WHITNEY ON INSTAGRAM

On David Hammons’s birthday today, we’re excited to be looking ahead to the unveiling this fall of the artist’s latest public art project, Day’s End—a work that was conceived with this modest pencil drawing.

In 2015, when the Whitney was last closed to prepare for the grand opening of our building on Gansevoort Street, Hammons toured the new space with our director, Adam D. Weinberg, who pointed out a famous site in New York City art history directly across from the Museum—the location of the now-demolished Pier 52 where Gordon Matta-Clark staged his iconic 1975 art intervention, Day’s End. Just a few days later, Weinberg received Hammons’s drawing, which the artist simply called a “monument to Gordon Matta-Clark.”

Now, more than five years later, Hammons’s Day’s End is about to become a reality. An open structure that precisely follows the outlines, dimensions, and location of the original pier shed, Hammons’s work will offer New Yorkers and visitors alike an extraordinary place to experience the waterfront while also paying tribute to Matta-Clark and the area’s rich history, from the heyday of its shipping industry to the reclaimed piers that became a gathering place for the LGBTQ community.

Tap the link in our profile to read more about the project and check out renderings of Hammons’s ethereal sculpture at its future home across from the Whitney at Hudson River Park. #HammonsDaysEnd ⁣

FOLLOW ALONG

SUPPORT THE WHITNEY

Now more than ever, we are relying on the generosity of our supporters to help champion American art and artists. Please consider making a donation or becoming a member today.

—–
whitney.org

—–