Then and Now: Whitney Biennial 1993

Abstract

It is a reasonable claim to say that the 1993 Whitney Biennial was one of a number of shows that fixed the terms of critical debate in the late 1980s and early 1990s. More than ten years later, what continues to strike me about this particular Biennial is its triumphant introduction of a generation of artists who had never shown together before and collectively demanded attention, as well as a rebalancing of critical discourse. Lorna Simpson, Glenn Ligon, Daniel Martinez, Renée Green, Gary Simmons, Pepón Osorio, Janine Antoni, and many others were given space and resources to do site-specific installations. Boosting the general intensity of the installations to an even higher level were a reading room chock-full of catalogues and texts of significance at the moment, and spaces within the exhibition floors that featured a constantly running video program including, among others, the “amateur” video by George Halliday of the Rodney King beating and Mark Rappaport's Rock Hudson confessional tape.