"Seed Stage" at the Whitney.

This was a pleasant surprise. I was attending for the Calder exhibit, and came upon this installation/ performance piece on the first floor. The stapled brochure has photos of the artist, Corin Hewitt, foraging for squash and building structures, mixed with patterns and prints of various paper widths. Inside I first noticed flies, and a white wall directly in front of me as though I am heading the wrong direction. There are four walls in this lobby gallery containing the work, with gaps at each corner about the width of your eyes. Presented on the outer walls are photographs. I walk all around; at one corner compost collecting (hence the flies) and a shelf displaying canned vegetables. The next corner allows a view into the full space, where the artist can be seen. He briefly makes eye contact, and then continues working. At the third corner, the full front of the room is seen, a true stage. Hewitt has plates of food set up under cameras, with large color printers and a ledge that has other goods on display. Eye contact again, and this time the feel of a caged animal. At the fourth corner, all that can be seen are the technological devices being utilized. I ask the guard how often he is here, and he says only three days a week of the five that the museum is open. "That would be too much otherwise." he says, and we laugh. The show runs from October 3, 2008 through January 4, 2009.