Sleepless in Manhattan: My Late Night Biennial Tour
Jun 8, 2010
For his 2010 work, artist Michael Asher originally proposed to have the Biennial exhibition open continuously to the public twenty-four hours a day for one week. Due to budgetary and human resources limitations, however, the Museum had to shorten the work from seven days to three days. We asked docent Shari Leviss to describe her experience giving a 12:30 am tour during the first night of Michael Asher’s project.
Michael Asher. Rendering for his proposal for 2010, the Whitney Biennial
After nearly a decade of doing Whitney tours in daylight, I responded to the challenge of giving a middle of the night tour with enthusiasm, but no small amount of skepticism. I loved the idea of actualizing Michael Asher’s project to have the Museum open continuously to the public twenty-four hours a day for three days, but I seriously questioned who would show up? And how would I stay up?
Shari Leviss leading a tour at 12:30 AM, snapped by an iPhone. Photograph by Gretchen Scott
After a couple of cups of coffee, a little past midnight I happily welcomed a small but very responsive audience to the fourth floor of the Museum. Some attendees were predictably young—people for whom midnight is simply a continuation of the “evening”—but a few visitors showed up whose demeanor suggested that a late night tour represented a true departure from routine. One of my most interesting attendees epitomized the kind of museum visitor I think Asher specifically targeted when proposing his project: one for whom regular Whitney hours simply did not work and who embraced the “pay-what-you-will” entrance fee at night. An artist himself, the visitor spoke of having attended lectures with Asher at CalArts and was indeed very well versed on his Biennial work. Aided in part by his enthusiasm and knowledge, my “tour” became more of a dialogue, as visitors jumped in with questions and joined each other in expressing ideas and opinions.
At about 2 am, I left the Museum and walked out into the quiet, warm May night, conscious of the light street traffic and the sounds of my own footsteps on the pavement. Rather than fatigue, I felt a sense of exhilaration—I couldn’t help but wonder what Michael Asher would have thought of the evening!
By Shari Leviss, Whitney Museum Docent
Leviss's tour of Michael Asher's 24-Hour Biennial was also featured in the New York Time's Arts Beat blog.
The Education Department would like to thank all of our off-hours docents during the Michael Asher project!
Shari Leviss, 5/26, 12:30 am
Carol Mitchell, 5/26, 7:30 am
Sue Karp, 5/26, 7:30 pm
Jan Yablow, 5/26, 11:30 pm
Roberta Krakoff, 5/27, 7:30 am
Christine Joosten, 5/27, 7:30 pm
Eugenie Kim, 5/27, 11:30 pm
Gena Whitney, 5/28, 2:30 am
Lou Savrin, 5/28, 10:00 pm
Jan Weiss, 5/28, 11:00 pm