Almost Free Art

I literally cannot remove myself from the shopbop.com email list. After multiple futile  and failed attempts to unsubscribe, I’ve accepted that uncaptivating titles such as “New Zac Posen!” and “.05% OFF Spring Must-Have Maxi Dress” are out-of-reach temptations I must learn to live with. Repeat: I will learn to live with daily announcements of all I cannot afford. Gone are American Airlines Faresaver alerts and Hotwire Deal Trips; these emails, have either been retired or made their way to the newsletter email alert deathwatch. Save Vogue City, obviously. Because, um hallo! We are in a recession and require information as to how we can save a pretty penny while retaining our self-declared fabulousness.
So why on earth, you ask, would I sign up for any other Inbox crowding newsletter? Why free art, of course! Until March 8th, the Whitney Museum of American Art is offering $5 admission to subscribers of its “weekly” newsletter. I say “weekly” because my participation has found it to actually be biweekly. But these are hard times, and a lady (or man) must remain culturally enriched and more importantly, supportive of recession affected American artists and artistas!

What you’ll see: If you were alive in the 70’s you may remember a popular show called The Patchwork Family. Yeah, I don’t remember it either but it’s the inspiration for Alex Bag’s untitled video installation now on display at the Whitney. Other special exhibitions you can check out for a mere five bones include installation Synthetic, which salutes how the use of synthetic products changed postwar American art. Pretty cool. And my personal favorite, three artsy fartsy films by Elad Lassry. Plus the ever-popular permanent collection which includes work from Edward Hopper and Robert Indiana across mediums such as aesthetics of industry, the abstraction of early modernism, and people and community-centered realism.

The Whitney Museum of American Art   945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street; 212-570-3600; closed Monday and Tuesday – click here for hours