This dynamic three-part course gives participants an in-depth view of works in the 2024 edition of the Whitney Biennial, interpreting them in the context of our social, political, and cultural landscape. The sessions explore themes in the exhibition, from the fluidity of form, perception, and experience to historical and current land stewardship to concepts of selfhood. Each week offers a different lens through which to consider specific artworks and artists featured in the Biennial, considering them within current conversations in the art world and the history of American art.

Tuesday, April 23 Sensation This session explores how artists use instruments to inform performances or as tools for purposes beyond music-making, including interpersonal communication, scientific and archaeological inquiry, and therapeutic care. Looking closely at works by Nikita Gale, Clarissa Tossin, Constantina Zavitsanos, and Julia Phillips, among others, we consider instruments and objects modified by the artists that blur the line between art and functionality. Through these instruments, artists communicate ideas, systems, stories, and emotions, transforming them from tools for producing sound into dynamic mediums for acquiring, sensing, and generating knowledge about the world around us. This session is led by Fred Cruz Nowell, Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow.

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