{"id":56771,"date":"2025-07-09T16:34:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/?p=56771"},"modified":"2025-07-09T16:34:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:34:36","slug":"untitled-america-the-whitney-asks-what-makes-art-american","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/2025\/07\/untitled-america-the-whitney-asks-what-makes-art-american\/","title":{"rendered":"Untitled (America): The Whitney Asks What Makes Art American?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">On Saturday, July 5th, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York unveiled its latest exhibition, <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Untitled (America)<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. The show presents an opportunity for the museum to showcase many of its collection highlights, with a subtle goal of defining American art.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_56772\" style=\"width: 223px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56772\" class=\"wp-image-56772 \" src=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped-177x300.jpg\" alt=\"An abstract painting of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.\" width=\"213\" height=\"361\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped-177x300.jpg 177w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped-605x1024.jpg 605w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped-768x1300.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped-908x1536.jpg 908w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/42_15_cropped.jpg 1210w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-56772\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Brooklyn Bridge<\/em> by Joseph Stella<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Upon exiting the elevator onto the seventh floor, viewers <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">are greeted<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by several iconic museum highlights, including <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/7539\/94_171_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Summer Days<\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by Georgia O\u2019Keeffe and <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/1060\/80_32_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Three Flags<\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by Jasper Johns. They serve as a little appetizer for what\u2019s to come. The Johns, of course, is an iconic rendering of an equally iconic American symbol, standing in for the exhibition&#8217;s subject. The O\u2019Keeffe, however, represents one of the main topics the Whitney curators try to address: America as a physical place. Throughout her work, O\u2019Keeffe made great use of the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the American Southwest. The United States and the continent of North America itself are so diverse in terms of climate and the ways humans choose to live alongside one another. City life formed a key part of the exhibition. Several paintings by Edward Hopper, such as <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/46345\/31_426_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Early Sunday Morning<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">,<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> as well as <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Brooklyn Bridge<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by Joseph Stella and <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/125\/31_177_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Pittsburgh <\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">by Elsie Driggs, offer glimpses into quintessentially American urban life, from the smoke of industry to the bright lights of skyscrapers to dozens of businesses and storefronts lined up one by one down broad avenues. However, it <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is challenging to separate the physicality of<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the American experience from another key theme highlighted by the Whitney, namely Black American experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The culture and identity that developed among Black Americans is unique to this continent, incredibly distinct from the constellation of European national and ethnic traditions transplanted to the United States. Having suffered the loss of the indigenous African cultures of their forebears, Black Americans, both before and after emancipation, sought to create something of their own. They drew from bits and scraps of West African, Indigenous, and white British and Irish cultures and folkways, creating something truly and authentically American. For example, Archibald Motley&#8217;s <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/47460\/2016_15_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Gettin\u2019 Religion<\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> depicts a nighttime street on the South Side of Chicago, where people are dancing and celebrating to the sound of jazz played by a handful of instrumentalists. European instruments interpret echoes of African musical traditions filtered through spirituals and work songs. <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/646\/51_8_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Jacob Lawrence\u2019s <\/span><\/a><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/646\/51_8_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">War <\/span><\/a><\/em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/646\/51_8_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">series<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was also present in the galleries, depicting the experiences of Black veterans during the Second World War in a way that evokes the aesthetics of African folk art. Of course, Jean-Michel Basquiat makes an appearance with his <span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/453\/84_23_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Hollywood Africans<\/em><\/a>, a commentary on the limited and demeaning cultural depictions of<\/span> Black Americans. And Barkley Hendricks\u2019s <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/47328\/2015_101-2023_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">life-size, full-length portrait <\/span><\/a><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/47328\/2015_101-2023_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Steve<\/span><\/a> <\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">not only showcases contemporary Black fashion of the 1970s but also serves as a sort of predecessor to Black American realist painting <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Amy-Sherald.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">now being pioneered by the portraitist Amy Sherald<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_54996\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/buck_z1193_white_fish_2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54996\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-54996\" src=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/buck_z1193_white_fish_2-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"An intricate glass sculpture of a fish with large, magnifying glass eyes and sharp teeth\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/buck_z1193_white_fish_2-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/buck_z1193_white_fish_2-1024x728.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/buck_z1193_white_fish_2-768x546.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/buck_z1193_white_fish_2.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-54996\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>White Crush<\/em> by Buck, exhibited at Rehs Contemporary&#8217;s Art of Subversion<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Of course, it wouldn\u2019t truly be an exhibition on American art without including twentieth-century consumerism and the subsequent genre of pop art. While Andy Warhol\u2019s <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Campbell\u2019s Soup Can<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> series is probably the artist\u2019s most iconic work, his <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Green Coca-Cola Bottles<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> presented in the Whitney galleries is perhaps more representative of the consumer culture the exhibition curators sought to convey. <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/image\/518181\/large_77_64_full.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Still Life with Crystal Bowl<\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by Roy Lichtenstein and <\/span><em><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/unframed.lacma.org\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/rsex9187-52.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Large Trademark with Eight Spotlights<\/span><\/a><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> by Ed Ruscha also serve as stand-ins for twentieth-century American mass culture transformed into an accepted form of high art. The distinction between fine art and decorative art often hinges on function. I mentioned this over a year ago <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/2024\/07\/valenciennes-museum-proposes-name-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">when a museum in France proposed changing its name<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to better reflect that it also showcases decorative art, folk art, and archaeological artifacts. However, an object having a functional purpose does not necessarily deprive it of its aesthetic qualities that would make it the recipient of admiration in a gallery setting. We saw this firsthand during <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/2024\/09\/the-goal-of-subversion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">our own Art of Subversion exhibition<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> last year, part of which included functional glass sculpture. Many of the pieces have a practical use, yet their aesthetic qualities are so evident that the craftsmanship and artistry can often overtake the practicality. That is the essence of pop art, and it has since become a cornerstone of modern American art.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Whitney Museum is dedicated to American art and serves as a platform for contemporary artists. But aside from the nationality of one artist or another, what makes some art distinctly American? <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The title <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">of<\/span> <em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Untitled (America)<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> is borrowed from an installation work by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Many visitors to the Whitney have probably seen and taken little to no notice of it.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> The work consists of twelve strings, each with forty-two lightbulbs. Part of the piece\u2019s uniqueness lies in the fact that the artist left no instructions for curators, allowing it to <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">be displayed<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in any manner that the exhibitors see fit. With even the slightest change, a<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">nyone who handles it creates a new version of the artwork<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> On my previous visits, <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Untitled (America)<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> was <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/whitneymedia.org\/assets\/artwork\/27963\/96_74_1a-d_vw2_cropped.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">hanging in the main museum stairwell<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. But for this exhibition, part of it was displayed by a window facing the Hudson River. A significant portion of the string was coiled up on the floor, light bulbs aglow like a luminescent bird&#8217;s nest. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One of the installation\u2019s meanings, which also lends itself to the entire exhibition<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, is that defining what is and is not American is so nebulous.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> There are as many interpretations of what is American as there are ways to hang a string of lights. Or, as the artist put it, America is \u201can unattainable dream\u201d. And just from the museum highlights alone, the Whitney <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is able to<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> create a cross-section of American art, focusing on a handful of key themes. But of course, the topics covered by Whitney curators barely scratch the surface of what it means to be American, whether it\u2019s a person or a work of art.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Saturday, July 5th, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York unveiled its latest exhibition, Untitled (America). The show presents an opportunity for the museum to showcase many of its collection highlights, with a subtle goal of defining &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/rehs.com\/eng\/2025\/07\/untitled-america-the-whitney-asks-what-makes-art-american\/?contemporary=N\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":56774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[224,561,1210,72,1386,1116,1385,790,1384,849,120,141,1074,750,164,1140,9,1217],"class_list":["post-56771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rehs-galleries","category-rehs-contemporary","tag-20th-century-american-art","tag-african-american","tag-american","tag-american-art","tag-american-realism","tag-andy-warhol","tag-edward-hopper","tag-georgia-okeeffe","tag-hopper","tag-lichtenstein","tag-modern-art","tag-museum","tag-museum-exhibition","tag-okeeffe","tag-pop-art","tag-realism","tag-rehs-galleries-news","tag-whitney-museum"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Untitled (America): The Whitney Asks What Makes Art American? 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