This post is almost cruel to write.
I just barely made it the the New Museum’s amazing “The Generational: Younger than Jesus” show on its very last day, but it was just too good to keep to myself.
The theme was simple: artists from around the world aged 33 and younger. Unlike the Whitney Biennial, which concentrates on America’s new art talent, this inaugural triennial is a worldwide view of the next generation of artists. And in my opinion, every three years will not be enough.
The exhibit was a fascinating indication of our times. A cacophony of themes: war, violence, government corruption, materialism and social media. I missed Ryan Gander’s white track suits embroidered with blood stains worn by the attendants, but I definitely didn’t miss the installation of a woman asleep on a bed in the middle of the gallery. She didn’t move an inch. It was fun to stand nearby and see the looks on people’s faces as they circled the bed not noticing the sleeper until … surprise! a person’s in there. I later learned that Chu Yun’s piece is made up of the materials: “female participant, sleeping pill and bed.” No wonder she didn’t move.
