I, YOU, WE
Apr 25–Sept 1, 2013
I, you, we: three very commonplace words. These pronouns—with all their implied complexities of meaning—provide an unexpected guide for assessing the works of art from the 1980s and early 1990s in the Museum’s collection. What becomes apparent in this survey of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, and photographs is how the personal, social, and collective issues and concerns of the artists of this time are still relevant several decades later.
I, YOU, WE is organized by David Kiehl, Nancy and Fred Poses Curator.
Ongoing support for the permanent collection and major support for I, YOU, WE is provided by
Bank of America.
I, YOU, WE is the fifth in a two-year series of exhibitions which reassess the Whitney’s collection in anticipation of the Museum’s move downtown. Unfolding chronologically, these exhibitions explore overlooked developments in American art and reconsider iconic figures and works within new contexts.
Artworks

Tina Barney, The Landscape, 1988. Chromogenic print, 45 3/8 × 58 3/8 in. (115.3 × 148.3 cm). Edition no. 1/10. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz 93.11
© Tina Barney


Lorna Simpson, Counting, 1991. Photogravure and screenprint: 73 3/4 × 37 7/8 in. (187.3 × 96.2 cm). Edition no. 60/60. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Print Committee 93.94
© Lorna Simpson


Richard Avedon, Bill Curry, drifter, Interstate 40, Yukon, Oklahoma, 6/16/80, 1980, from In the American West, 1979–84. Gelatin silver print mounted on aluminum, 47 × 37 9/16 in. (119.4 × 95.4 cm). Edition no. 3/5. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Norma and Martin Stevens 98.24
© 2009 The Richard Avedon Foundation


John Currin, Skinny Woman, 1992. Oil on canvas, 50 1/8 × 38 1/16 in. (127.3 × 96.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The List Purchase Fund and the Painting and Sculpture Committee 92.30


Robert Gober, Untitled, 1992–96. Photolithograph, 22 7/16 × 13 9/16 in. (57 × 34.5 cm). Edition no. 4/40. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Print Committee 97.5
© Robert Gober 1992-1996


Nan Goldin, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, 1979–96 (detail). Nine-carousel projection with approximately 700 slides, soundtrack, and titles, dimensions variable. Edition no. 1/10. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The Charles Engelhard Foundation, the Mrs. Percy Uris Bequest, the Painting and Sculpture Committee, and the Photography Committee 92.127
© Nan Goldin


Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled [Billboard Poster], 1989. Photo-screenprint, 16 5/8 × 21 5/8 in. (42.2 × 54.9 cm). Published by the Public Art Fund Inc., New York. Edition no. 28/250. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Thea Westreich and Ethan Wagner 2005.138
© The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation


Glenn Ligon, Untitled (I Do Not Always Feel Colored), 1990. Oil stick and gesso on panel, 80 × 30 1/16 × 1 1/2 in. (203.2 × 76.4 × 3.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The Bohen Foundation in honor of Thomas N. Armstrong <span class="caps">III 2001.275


Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken Moody and Robert Sherman, 1984. Gelatin silver print, 15 1/8 × 15 3/16 in. (38.4 × 38.6 cm). AP 1/2 AP. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Inc. 97.103.3
© The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Inc


Mary Ellen Mark, The Damm Family in Their Car, Los Angeles, California, 1987. Gelatin silver print, 14 9/16 × 14 3/4 in. (37 × 37.5 cm). Edition no. 12/75. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Raymond W. Merritt 2001.162


Shirin Neshat, Unveiling, 1993, from the series Women of Allah. Gelatin silver print and ink, 59 3/4 × 39 3/4 in. (151.8 × 101 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Photography Committee 2000.267
© Shirin Neshat. Courtesy Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels


Catherine Opie, Self-Portrait, 1993. Chromogenic print, 39 5/8 × 29 15/16 in. (100.6 × 76 cm). Edition no. 1/8. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Photography Committee 94.64


Kiki Smith, Untitled, 1986. Twelve clear glass bottles, 20 × 10 1/2 × 10 1/2 in. (50.8 × 26.7 × 26.7 cm) each. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Leonard A. Lauder, President, in honor of David W. Kiehl 2006.78a-l


John Coplans, Self-Portrait (Interlocking Fingers, No. 18), 2000. Gelatin silver print mounted on board, 31 1/8 × 24 in. (79.1 × 61 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Ann and Steven Ames 2000.98

Artists
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Catherine Opie
11 works in the collection -
Ed Paschke
3 works in the collection -
Jack Pierson
20 works in the collection -
Richard Prince
57 works in the collection -
David Salle
23 works in the collection -
Juan Sánchez
6 works in the collection -
Cindy Sherman
25 works in the collection -
Roger Shimomura
13 works in the collection -
Lorna Simpson
24 works in the collection -
Kiki Smith
130 works in the collection -
Nancy Spero
8 works in the collection -
Hugh Steers
2 works in the collection -
Peter Hujar
41 works in the collection -
Anton van Dalen
2 works in the collection -
Carrie Mae Weems
12 works in the collection -
Ruth Ellen Weisberg
4 works in the collection -
David Wojnarowicz
48 works in the collection -
Martin Wong
7 works in the collection -
Francesca Woodman
4 works in the collection -
Shelby Lee Adams
4 works in the collection -
Richard Avedon
9 works in the collection -
Luis Cruz Azaceta
3 works in the collection -
Tina Barney
80 works in the collection -
Jean-Michel Basquiat
6 works in the collection -
Beverly Buchanan
11 works in the collection -
Bullet Space
1 work in the collection -
Nancy Burson
1 work in the collection -
Debbie Fleming Caffery
2 works in the collection -
Sue Coe
25 works in the collection -
John Coplans
30 works in the collection -
John Currin
5 works in the collection -
Jim Dine
93 works in the collection -
Moira Dryer
4 works in the collection -
Eric Fischl
18 works in the collection -
General Idea
2 works in the collection -
Robert Gober
50 works in the collection -
Nan Goldin
24 works in the collection -
Leon Golub
6 works in the collection -
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
14 works in the collection -
Group Material
1 work in the collection -
Jane Hammond
11 works in the collection -
Keith Haring
6 works in the collection -
Anthony Hernandez
28 works in the collection -
Tim Hillis
1 work in the collection -
Jenny Holzer
35 works in the collection -
Jeff
1 work in the collection -
Jasper Johns
212 works in the collection -
Deborah Kass
4 works in the collection -
Karen Kilimnik
2 works in the collection -
Barbara Kruger
6 works in the collection -
Alfred Leslie
8 works in the collection -
Les Levine
1 work in the collection -
Glenn Ligon
40 works in the collection -
Hung Liu
5 works in the collection -
Robert Longo
10 works in the collection -
Sally Mann
12 works in the collection -
Robert Mapplethorpe
19 works in the collection -
Mary Ellen Mark
4 works in the collection -
Alfred Martinez
1 work in the collection -
Donald Moffett
5 works in the collection -
Frank Moore
18 works in the collection -
Mark Morrisroe
22 works in the collection -
Shirin Neshat
6 works in the collection -
Nicholas Nixon
18 works in the collection -
Barbara Norfleet
1 work in the collection -
Lesley Dill
7 works in the collection -
Andrew Castrucci
3 works in the collection -
Miguel Piñero
1 work in the collection -
Nadia Coën
1 work in the collection -
Betzaida Concepcion
1 work in the collection -
John Fekner
1 work in the collection -
Vincent Gagliostro
1 work in the collection -
Avram Finkelstein
1 work in the collection -
Day Gleeson
1 work in the collection -
Dennis Thomas
1 work in the collection -
Lady Pink
1 work in the collection -
Red Rodriguez
1 work in the collection -
Will Sales
1 work in the collection
Videos
Events
View all-
Wed,
Sept 11Curatorial Laboratory: Perspectives on the Whitney’s Collection
6:45–9 pm
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Wed,
Aug 7Artist Talk and Screening: Dear Klaus and Minou
7 pm
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Fri,
July 26Canceled: I, YOU, WE Stroller Tour
12–1 pm
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Thurs,
July 25Rescheduled: Curatorial Laboratory: Perspectives on the Whitney’s Collection
6:45–9 pm
-
Sat,
July 13Member Saturday Night
6:30–8:30 pm
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Sat,
June 1Member Saturday Night
6:30–8:30 pm
Installation Photography
In the News
"This is an exhibition that faces AIDS head-on, as it does identity."
—The New York Times
"The Whitney Finds the Good Thing About the '80s"
—The Village Voice
Video: Curator David Kiehl leads a walk-through of the exhibition.
—Here TV
"An intense and poignant selection of works from the Whitney’s permanent collection that is worth catching"
—ARTnews
"A stunning, stirring exhibit"
—A&U Magazine