Whitney Museum of American Art (8.5/10)

Last week, I went to the Whitney Museum of American Art which is on Madison Avenue at 75 Street. The Whitney museum is not exclusively for photography-related exhibitions. It was founded to support living artists by presenting their special exhibitions and installations. So, it is not a photo gallery. But I wanted to blog about the museum for those who live in New York (especially if you don't know about the museum), because this museum is worth visiting. And there are some interesting photos you can check out too!

Whitney Museum of American Art

I went to the museum to see Yayoi Kusama's exhibition. She was at the epicenter of the New York avant-garde. And now she is one of Japan's most prominent contemporary artists. I heard that her exhibition is one of the must-see exhibitions I should check out in NYC, especially her "Fireflies on the Water" installation, which I couldn't see because the tickets sold out immediately. As expected, there was an endless line in front of the museum, when I got there. Countless number of people were in line for the museum, and I had to wait for an hour to get in. When I finally got inside the museum, what caught my eyes first was a bunch of red polka dot balloons installed in the museum. When you blink, it seems like the spots flash. I also really liked the lighting of the museum.

Polka dot balloons

Yayoi Kusama's works were in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance..etc. It was also interesting to see the pictures of her (or self-portraits) taken in early years of her career. Among all her works that were on display, I liked her paintings that featured 'eyes' the most. I liked the distinct and vivid colors she used for the paintings. And her imagination expressed on the  media she chose to use (e.g., the textures, materials..etc) was admirable. There were about 6 other exhibitions on display at the museum besides Yayoi Kusama's, so it was fun to check out other interesting exhibitions while I was there. If you are planning to visit the museum, make sure u get there early enough to get the ticket for the "Fireflies on the Water" installation. I heard that she uses real fireflies for the installation and that the show is amazing. It's such a shame that I couldn't see it. Kusama's exhibition runs through September 30, so don't miss out on it. If you see the fireflies show, please let me know how it was. :)

Reflection on the window of the gallery

Whitney Museum of American Art