I thoroughly enjoyed the class trip to the Whitney a few weeks ago.  However, I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t experience the virtual reality piece, “Real Violence” by Jordan Wolfson.  I heard rather frightening reviews of what it was like and it scared me away from experiencing it.  A friend of mine wanted to see the Biennial so I decided to go back with her and this time watch the virtual reality piece.  Before I put the headset on I mentally prepared myself for what I thought would be a horrifying experience.  At first it seemed like a pleasant view of the sky.  If I didn’t know what was coming I think I would have been thoroughly relaxed and enjoying the view.  Once the intense violence began I only made it a few seconds after I decided to take the headset off.  It was an unpleasant experience but more than anything it left me wondering what the point was.  I think virtual reality can be an extremely powerful tool to use in artwork.  However, this seems like an artist who is using it just for shock value.  This piece has created a lot of buzz, which works in the artist’s favor, but I have never heard anyone discussing anything other than its violence.  This piece doesn’t make me think deeper about the world or social issues.  Instead, I was left thinking “What the hell was that?”

The class trip to The Whitney Museum was the first time I had ever been. I was excited to go because it is one of my friend’s favorite museums. He had already gone to see the biennial and told me many great things. As I explored the museum I saw several pieces that I thought were amazing. My favorite works were from the artist, Tala Madani. The piece I found to be extremely interesting was “Sex Ed by God.” The animated video featured floating lips narrating sex while two other characters watched. At the end of the video, a girl takes everything and puts it into her vagina. I enjoyed this piece because it forced you to use multiple senses to figure out what was happening. You’re required to wear headphones to listen to the piece, which I think results in more concentration from the person watching the piece. I definitely watched the piece more than once in order to make sure I wasn’t missing anything crucial from one of the characters. The other pieces I enjoyed by Madani featured babies. One piece was a painting of a baby reaching for floating breasts. The piece made me think about the way a baby see’s their mother’s breasts as separate from her. They are food not an extension of someone they adore. The other piece featured four babies crawling away with light shining from their butts. In the corner there is a man offering something to the babies as they walk away. I have no idea what this piece means but I thought it was very amusing. I would be interested in finding out Madani’s inspiration for the baby pieces. Another piece that struck me was by the artist Puppies Puppies. I almost walked passed it without realizing it was one of the art works. The piece was called Trigger and consisted of three gun triggers mounted on the wall. It was very minimal but conveyed the message that these small triggers are what is the cause of the damage a gun can do. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to the Whitney and will definitely be back.

I attended the screening presented by Flaherty NYC titled Tightly Bound Consciousness.  The screening was a combination of nine short films by several different filmmakers.  All the films deal with the physical and psychological mind.  However, I found each film dealt with the topic quite differently.  I realized after the first two films that I wouldn’t be able to have any expectations of what the upcoming films would be like because of the drastic difference between them.  The first film was called Outer Space by Peter Tscherkassky.  It used footage from a horror film but edited it so violently that by the end the footage had turned into blinding, flashing lights.  You lose all sense of what is happening and it even becomes quite uncomfortable.  The second film was called SHLOMO by Ruth Patir.  This film was shot like a documentary but the topic was demons that were inside people’s bodies.  My favorite film, however, was the last one shown.  It was called When You Awake by Jay Rosenblatt.  The film features black and white footage of a couple being hypnotized.  We are then taken into their unconscious mind where we see a variation of random and crazy things.  I enjoyed that this screening featured several short films instead of one long one.  Each film made me think of the human mind and our place in the world differently.  I couldn’t help but leave the theater asking questions like, what does it mean to exist?  What is real and what is happening only in our minds?  Is our own reality different from someone else’s?  Of course I have not answered these questions but I appreciate that these short films forced me to think of them.