If You Go To The Whitney Biennial...

whitney biennial: Matthew Brannon, originally uploaded by yuko 'n sherlock.

Be smart and take a tour with a teaching fellow or do the audio tour. Otherwise, you will have no idea what you're looking at.

I took a tour this weekend with the Columbua Alumni Arts League, which highlighted the ten or so Columbia grads who are in the show. (Does that number seem a bit high for one school, even if it is Columbia?) Without it I would have just been looking at paintings of ears or a giant litterbox without any context. Contemporary art needs context and explanation.

Also, best phrase learned from the tour: Word Salad. Look it up.