When walking through the historic Meatpacking District, there is one building that stands out among the rest. This building, designed by architects Marcel Breuer, Michael Irving, Richard Gluckman, and Hamilton P. Smith, is contemporary and bold, futuristic among the rustic cobblestone streets. The building itself is a piece of art, so it made me really curious to see what was inside. I was definitely not disappointed. The Whitney is a great museum for modern art lovers who want to challenge their thinking.

The first thing I noticed almost immediately after walking through the pristine glass doors was that everything seemed to be very well thought out, including the elevators. They were designed by Richard Artschwager and they added a sense of whimsy with their cartoon-like designs of baskets.

Whitney Museum elevator

The exhibition that we saw was called America is Hard to See. I liked how the tour guide, Billy, asked us what we thought the name meant because it challenged us to think about what we were about to see. The tour was incredible because Billy made everything extremely interactive. One example of this is when we looked at a sculpture that was made up of old car pieces. The sculpture was called Velvet White by John Chamberlain. The piece resembled a face on one side. Just as the artist repurposed his materials, we were asked to create something out of a paper plate and paper cup. After the tour we had time to explore the museum on our own. There were colorful pieces composed of many mediums. Some of the mediums included paint, wire, photography, and animation.

John Chamberlain “White Velvet”, 1962

One piece I was drawn to was Before and After by Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol used acrylic and graphite pencil on linen to create a very pronounced and striking drawing. The large piece consists of two drawings of the same woman. On the left side, the woman’s profile is shown before she gets a nose job, and on the right side she appears after the nose job. Nothing about the two profiles differs except for the noses. Warhol uses black and white to emphasize how appearances can be very, well, black and white. You can either be perceived as very ugly or attractive depending on if you go under the knife and alter your appearance or not.

It is also notable that the woman is white, not black. During the 1960s segregation still existed in certain states so it makes a statement that only white girls could fix themselves to be attractive. Another thing to point out is how the piece is called Before and After. There is definitely a change resulting from the left portion of the piece and the artist makes us question if it is a good change or a bad change. Even though the nose is the only thing that is altered “after,” the face looks entirely different. The woman looks younger on the right side. This suggests that celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, who was relevant during the early 60s, did not want to get older, so they relied on cosmetic procedures. Cosmetic procedures are still popular today and are often publicized (“Did she or didn’t Kylie Jenner get lip implants?”) and inspire others to consider similar procedures in order to live up to someone else’s ideal of what is beautiful.

Andy Warhol, “Before and After”, 1962

I love this piece because it manages to be incredibly powerful even though it is simple. Andy Warhol was known for taking existing images and reinterpreting them as he did with his well-known Campbell’s Soup can print. The image in Before and After was originally from an advertisement for cosmetic surgery. Andy Warhol delivers a strong messages about how the media influences beauty. This piece consists simply of two faces but makes complete sense and is cohesive. The more I look the piece, the more I appreciate it. It is a piece that is as relevant today as it was when he created it. Today we see advertisements for weight-loss pills that feature before and after photos of a person who lost weight. The person usually looks a lot better in the “after,” but you question if the way that person went about losing weight is safe or not, or if the “after” photo has been manipulated to make the person look better than they actually do. With Before and After; Warhol was attempting to make us think, “Is it right or wrong to change your looks, and even if it makes you look the way that others might perceive as beautiful, will superficial alterations really change who you are?”

The Whitney Museum of American Art is a remarkable museum that connects the challenges of our past with the challenges that America still has to face. I believe that there is really nothing else like this museum in New York. Teens will like this museum because there is a very inviting feel, over 8 floors to explore, and even if you don’t like contemporary art, there are beautiful balconies that provide breathtaking views of the city and the Hudson River. The neighborhood where it is located is one of my favorites. The Meatpacking District feels like the perfect place for a modern art museum since it’s filled with cool hotels, restaurants, and gourmet food markets.