From Publishers Weekly
This two-part catalogue accompanying the Whitney Museum of American Art's showcase of new American art exudes energy. The first of these two volumes consists of an 11¾"×11¾" book that includes essays by two of the biennial's three curators (and an introduction by all three), as well as terrific commissioned essays on recent aesthetics by the likes of Wayne Koestenbaum ("Fag Limbo") and Artforum International's Tim Griffin, juxtaposed with previously published works by writers and artists, illuminating the biennial's emergent themes of nostalgia, the American Gothic, pop sensory overload, gender identities and politics in (and as) art. The 108 artists get short bios with one illustration each; it's disappointing to be confronted with small reproductions and with artworks that are not necessarily included in the show. The second volume, however, consists of a box filled with limited-edition commissioned works (some credited, most uncredited) by each artist, who were asked to work in one of several formats: the bumper stickers, postcards, filmstrips or mini-magazines are flip yet irresistible, giving the sense that the '60s and '70s' legacy—questions of how to diversify who is making art and what art is made of—are yielding new and lasting results.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description
Featuring the latest work by emerging and established American artists, the 2004 Biennial Exhibition accompanies the Whitney Museum of American Art's signature survey of contemporary American art. This biennial is organized by a team of three Whitney curators: Chrissie Iles, Shamim M. Momin, and Debra Singer. More than 100 artists and collaborative teams are included in the exhibition, which explores the idea of an intergenerational conversation reflecting a number of overlapping trends: an engagement with the art, popular culture, and politics of the late 1960s and early 1970s; the construction of fantastic worlds, uncanny spaces, and new narrative forms; and paintings, drawings, and handmade films that show an obsessive working of line, surface, and image. The Biennial is consistently one of the most exciting exhibitions of contemporary art in the United States; as always, it will garner attention around the world.

About the Author
Chrissie Iles is curator of film and video at the Whitney; Shamim M. Momin is branch director and curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria; and Debra Singer is associate curator of contemporary art at the Whitney.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Featuring the latest work by emerging and established American artists, the 2004 Biennial Exhibition accompanies the Whitney Museum of American Art's signature survey of contemporary American art. This biennial is organized by a team of three Whitney curators: Chrissie Iles, Shamim M. Momin, and Debra Singer.More than 100 artists and collaborative teams are included in the exhibition, which explores the idea of an intergenerational conversation reflecting a number of overlapping trends: an engagement with the art, popular culture, and politics of the late 1960s and early 1970s; the construction of fantastic worlds, uncanny spaces, and new narrative forms; and paintings, drawings, and handmade films that show an obsessive working of line, surface, and image. The Biennial is consistently one of the most exciting exhibitions of contemporary art in the United States; as always, it will garner attention around the world. Author Bio: Chrissie Iles is curator of film and video at the Whitney; Shamim M. Momin is branch director and curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria; and Debra Singer is associate curator of contemporary art at the Whitney.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly