| Summer of Love at the Whitney |
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| Written by Mark Rifkin | |
Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic EraThrough September 16, 2007Cost: $15 The Whitney Museum of American Art 945 Madison Avenue at 75th St. Museum Hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 11 am-6 pm 212-570-3633 whitney.org  "Cosmic Orchid," Isaac Abrams, 1967. Oil on canvas.  Still from the 1967 film "Peacemeal."  "Hippies on the Corner of Haight and Ashbury," Gene Anthony, 1967. Inkjet print. While some of the art is politically motivated, much of it is just about free love, cheap drugs, and great music; be sure to pick up the free audio guide, which pairs songs with pieces. (The soundtrack includes music by the Beatles, the Stones, the 13th Floor Elevators, Santana, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, the Fugs, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, and many more.) The parade of album covers, concert posters, black-and-white photos, and mediocre art does get tiresome, but the films and installations do not. Look inside Yayoi Kusama’s "Infinity Mirrored Room Love Forever" to see an unending series of lights and mirrors—and yourself. Stare deep into Peter Sedgley’s spinning Video Disques for a mind-blowing experience (especially if you blink repeatedly). Get dizzy turning around in USCO’s "Strobe Room" (blinking helps here too). Try twisting your body into one of the many funky chairs in Verner Panton’s "Phantasy Landscape Visiona II," but be prepared to take your shoes off first. You’ll also have to remove your shoes for La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela’s "Music and Light Box," in which electronic sounds surround a meditative light box with far-out imagery; we suggest sitting down, then slowly moving your head in all directions to pick up the different soundscapes. Joshua White’s Liquid Loops will make you ooze with delight. Oyvind Fahlstrom unites the corporate and drug cultures with "Esso-LSD," fashioning an LSD sign to match the familiar Esso logo. Peter Saul sums up the Vietnam War in his angry painting "Saigon." And don’t forget to go to the outdoor plaza on the lower level to check out Janis Joplin’s beautifully painted Porsche 356c Cabriolet. There are also surprising works and iconic images by Robert Rauschenberg, Adrian Piper, Lucas Samaras, Richard Avedon, Rick Griffin, Peter Max, Stanley Mouse, Andy Warhol, Cecil Beaton, Paul Sharits, and Elliot Landy. "Summer of Love" is far from comprehensive and debatable in some of its choices, but it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon, especially if psychedelia is your bag. (The show is supplemented with "Resistance Is…," a small collection of photographs and videos in the mezzanine gallery focusing on activism since the 1960s.) For a complete list of participating artists and film screenings go to whitney.org. |
