Limited Access Visit #3: the Whitney
On September 6th I took advantage of having come downtown for church and went over to the Whitney afterwards. Seems I have no proper establishing shot for the visit, I just get right into it. The big thing happening at the Whitney right now is they have this triple-A exhibit on the 20th century Mexican muralists and their influence on art throughout the Americas. This show was supposed to be a blockbuster “big deal” show with reserved tickets and giant crowds BUT then the lockdown happened. But now the Whitney is back open and you can just go in (with a reserved ticket, of course) and see this big deal show.
One of the best things about the Whitney: those terrace views!
There was also a very fine “craft in art” show.
There was also a show about this artist Agnes Pelton. A lot of her work seems to be the inspiration for Trapper Keeper art.
Finally, a visit to the permanent collection, where they always keep a great mix of old favorites and pieces you haven’t seen before on display.
Ok so you know what I think? I think the Whitney is my favorite museum in New York. Great building in a great location, perfect size where you can see everything in a 2-ish hour visit, interesting shows plus a great permanent collection, PLUS those terraces? Consider me very Whitney-gang.
Oh, and how’s their Covid situation? Very good. You must have a reservation to get in, they take your temperature as you walk by a sensor, ticket stuff is all contact-less, elevators are available at request but otherwise they ask everyone that can take the stairs. The number of people at the museum seemed to be what you should expect on a lazy Sunday, no bustling, but definitely not as abandoned-feeling as the MoMA.