WHICH WHITNEY WAS SHE: A STUDY OF THE 2014 WHITNEY BIENNIAL, WHITNEY HOUSTON BIENNIAL, AND LAST BRUCENNIAL

Abstract

This study examines three related exhibitions from the spring of 2014: the Whitney Biennial, the Whitney Houston Biennial, and the Last Brucennial, assessing the problematics invoked across all three shows, including representation in the art world; the nexus of contemporary feminist art, theory, and its display; and the role of exhibitions and display in creating meaning in the contemporary art world. The analysis begins with reviews, interviews, and other primary-source documentation of the three shows. The second chapter then situates the projects among an art historical continuum. The third and final chapter of the thesis conducts a theoretical analysis, utilizing methodologies from performance studies and visual cultural studies. The three chapters and their attendant methodologies build toward the conclusion, which suggests that the 2014 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Houston Biennial, and Last Brucennial interact with one another and through a rich, complex web of contemporary art practices and conditions to create meaning and perhaps foment change.