THE WHITNEY BOOK

This 60-page handpainted book was submitted to Klaus Kertess, curator, for the 1995 Whitney Biennial. Each page depicts a photo of a painting, and an idea of how I would do an installation in the museum. I wanted to incorporate some of my early performance videos(1985-95) with walls of televisions on one side and walls of paintings hung salon style on the other. The intention of the book, was to submit to the Bienniale and familiarize the museum with my work. Instead of submitting slides, I chose to submit a one-of-a-kind handpainted catalog. The concept of submitting an original work instead of a traditional set of slides led to what would be the first of seven more books to date, and a new medium to explore. This particular book was sent to the Whitney Museum in a 19×13″ wooden crate, the last pages of the book encased a VHS tape of my new performance videos and the whole piece was wrapped in black velvet and tied in a canvas bow. I wanted it to have a feeling of reverence. In the end, Mr. Kertess, kindly wrote that although the idea and book was wonderful, the submission was a month too late. His letter is now part of the book.