opie's ocean

The 2004 Whitney Biennial was a really formative experience as far as developing my taste and proclivity for contemporary art goes. I was a high school student visiting New York for my sister's college graduation. To this day I remember exactly so many of the pieces and artists I saw there. I felt like I was discovering something, and for me, I was. The artists were already known by many, but I was seeing so many new ideas, mediums, images and scales. I remember being floored, just totally in awe of it all. 

I didn't realize until just now, reflecting on the show and my experience, but in looking at the list of artists again, the artists and pieces I remember as being particularly affecting and inspirational, continue to provide intellectual and aesthetic fodder to me today: Marina Abramovic, Miranda July, Elizabeth Peyton, Maurizio Cattelan, Mel Bochner, Raymond Pettibon, David Altmejd, Ernesto Caivano, Yayoi Kusama, and finally, Catherine Opie, whose photo this is. Her portraits of surfers were the pieces on view at the Biennial eight years ago and to this day, when I think of the ocean and surfing, these come to mind. 

(image via SF Camerawork)