Published: March 14, 2012
THERE have been many strange sightings outside the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Marcel Breuer building over the years: a giant bird’s nest precariously perched on the cantilevered entrance; a neon sign that spelled out “Negro Sunshine”; and a giant replica of a toy fire truck parked at the curb for nearly three months, to name a few. So it is hardly surprising that recent passers-by don’t seem at all curious at the sight of tall black shipping containers rising from the sculpture court.
Six black-painted shipping containers will house the Whitney's education center, a 600-square-foot space with a band of glass on two sides and the roof, allowing visitors to watch what's going on inside.
It is not, as most people assume, some wacky installation for the 2012 Biennial, which opened on March 1. It is perhaps the first-ever pop-up education center at a New York museum.
“We really do put education front and center,” said Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s director.