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and tigers and chairs! It has to be the infamous Whitney Biennial—the
show that the art world loves to hate. Ever controversial, the Whitney
Museum of American Art in New York City serves up hot contemporary
artists and gets dished even hotter reviews. The 2004 Biennial ran
from March 11 to May 30 and featured over 100 artists. This year,
two UCSD alumni launched themselves into the art spotlight, or more
accurately, Biennial shooting gallery. Olav Westphalen, M.F.A. ’93,
melds modern and folk art in his hand-carved statues of white-collar
criminals in handcuffs and tigers inspired by photographs in The
New York Times. His outdoor piece The Weight of Dead Prey depicts
a ferocious tiger accompanied by the toys of captivity, such as
balls with wood appendages that are meant to approximate “the
weight of dead prey.” Also included in the Biennial was Brody
Condon’s, M.F.A. ’02, computer game “Velvet-Strike,”
which allows players to spray-paint peace and anti-war messages
onto the walls of the popular fighter game “Counter Strike.”
If they survived the art critic firing squad, look for their work
to show up around the world. 
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