Whitney Biennial Snap Judgments

As an art grad student, I was totally into the Whitney Biennial. Am I still? Once the long line finally conveyed me to the front of the Whitney on a super busy Friday, and after waiting again in an amazingly slow coat check, my first impression upon entering the 4th floor galleries was "CROWDED," and not just with people. I couldn't get the negative space figured out in Seth Price's nice wall piece "Untitled" without backing up into a sculpture. 3-D work left the impression "HOME DEPOT." One piece with the Hardware Store aesthetic, Heather Rowe's "Screen," entranced me with its disjunctive Magritte-y impression while walking past it. 2x4 framing alternated with mirrored and empty sections, creating rows meant to be walked between, and it took full advantage of the crowds, for instance when you glimpsed yourself among all those people over THERE, when you were actually over HERE.
For me, the moving art was the best, and I admit the ample seating was a big draw. I caught part of Michael Smith's Portal Excursion, an endearing tongue-in-cheek effort by a mid-ager to learn everything there is to know via Internet education. Javier Tellez's Letter to the Blind for the Use of those Who See blew me away. OK, I wasn't able to see the entire piece due to claustrophobia, but here's the set-up: 6 blind people, reprising the story of "The Blind Man and the Elephant," are at a zoo getting a unique encounter with a docile elephant named Beulah. One guy, as he searches for her trunk, reminises about how important childhood readings of Babar were. Another greets Beulah like a long lost family member, addressing her directly, saying her name with affection and commenting humorously on her shoe size. Shot in a traditional manner, in 16mm film and converted to HD, the piece sets out to make a point about individual experience vs. assumptions and stereotypes. I can't wait to see the whole piece.
I caught part of Jennifer Montgomery's Notes on the Death of Kodachrome, the part with Todd Haynes in it luckily, but I had trouble imagining watching it for 80 minutes. William E. Jone's Tearoomcaught me off guard and was completely voyeuristic. The footage was found by the artist, who did not manipulate it. Evidently an Ohio police department in the 1960's put a 2-way mirror into a men's room to record evidence so they could get some sodomy charges on the books. An odd piece altogether - unlike today's "unmanned" surveillance cameras, it came as a bit of a shock after trying to figure out why all the tilts, pans and zooms were disturbing me, that this was shot by a real live person. And even though a still photo could just as easily have identify faces, the filming was extensive. The idea of claiming as one's own an "orphaned" film brings up other questions.
A piece I missed that also deals with history was Kevin Jerome Everson's Emergency Needs. After reviewing the website I realized just how much I missed in my 4- hour visit. I guess I do still like the Whitney Biennial , but since curators are fully embracing time-based media, art-viewing time requirements have gone way up.