"It's important to make lots of mistakes," he affirms: "If I knew ahead of time where I was going it would be a big bore. It's like a conversation: you pick a starting point and then see where it takes you." Indeed close inspection of the artist's work reveals evidence of several different conversations and false starts. Masullo notes that he is very influenced by the visionary, intimate and semi-abstract canvases of Forrest Bess, whom he discovered while working at the Whitney in the 1980s. He is not alone; one floor down artist Robert Gober has devoted an entire room to Bess, displaying the artist's paintings alongside his very personal scientific experiments and theses on hermaphrodism. In so doing, he has fulfilled a lifelong dream of the now deceased artist (1911-1977) and treated the viewer to one of the most haunting, riveting and touching experiences of the exhibition.
![Top: Jerome Hiler (b. 1943). Still from <em>Words of Mercury</em>, 2011. 16mm film, color, silent; 25 min. © Jerome Hiler; courtesy the artist. Above: Mike Kelley (1954-2012). <em>The Mobile Homestead</em> in front of the abandoned Detroit Central Train Station, 2010. © Mike Kelley. Photograph by Corine Vermuelen Top: Jerome Hiler (b. 1943). Still from <em>Words of Mercury</em>, 2011. 16mm film, color, silent; 25 min. © Jerome Hiler; courtesy the artist. Above: Mike Kelley (1954-2012). <em>The Mobile Homestead</em> in front of the abandoned Detroit Central Train Station, 2010. © Mike Kelley. Photograph by Corine Vermuelen](/content/dam/domusweb/en/art/2012/03/08/flashlights-in-our-hands-the-whitney-2012-biennial/big_376336_2808_web_Kelley-low-res2.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![LaToya Ruby Frazier, <em>Corporate Exploitation and Economic Inequality!</em>, 2011. Digital photograph, dimensions variable. © LaToya Ruby Frazier; courtesy the artist. Photo Abigail DeVille LaToya Ruby Frazier, <em>Corporate Exploitation and Economic Inequality!</em>, 2011. Digital photograph, dimensions variable. © LaToya Ruby Frazier; courtesy the artist. Photo Abigail DeVille](/content/dam/domusweb/en/art/2012/03/08/flashlights-in-our-hands-the-whitney-2012-biennial/big_376336_1222_web_2012Biennial211.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
It is precisely this collective spirit that renders the Biennial so compelling. Artists engage in the creation and curation of both their own work — as Masullo revealed — and the work of others
![Laida Lertxundi (b. 1981). Still from <em>Cry When It Happens</em>, 2010. 16mm film, color, sound; 14 min. © Laida Lertxundi; courtesy the artist Laida Lertxundi (b. 1981). Still from <em>Cry When It Happens</em>, 2010. 16mm film, color, sound; 14 min. © Laida Lertxundi; courtesy the artist](/content/dam/domusweb/en/art/2012/03/08/flashlights-in-our-hands-the-whitney-2012-biennial/big_376336_8411_web_Whitney--Lertxundi1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Andrew Masullo (b. 1957). 5030, 2008–10. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. (61 x 76.2 cm). Collection of the artist. © Andrew Masullo; courtesy Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles Andrew Masullo (b. 1957). 5030, 2008–10. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30 in. (61 x 76.2 cm). Collection of the artist. © Andrew Masullo; courtesy Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles](/content/dam/domusweb/en/art/2012/03/08/flashlights-in-our-hands-the-whitney-2012-biennial/big_376336_1511_web_Whitney--Masullo1.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Kate Levant, <em>hive.tangle.jpg</em>, 2011. © Kate Levant; courtesy the artist and Zach Feuer Gallery Kate Levant, <em>hive.tangle.jpg</em>, 2011. © Kate Levant; courtesy the artist and Zach Feuer Gallery](/content/dam/domusweb/en/art/2012/03/08/flashlights-in-our-hands-the-whitney-2012-biennial/big_376336_3273_web_2012Biennial091.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Frederick Wiseman, Still from <em>Boxing Gym</em>, 2010. film 16 mm, color, sound; 91 min. © 2010 KO Films, Inc.; courtesy Zipporah Films Frederick Wiseman, Still from <em>Boxing Gym</em>, 2010. film 16 mm, color, sound; 91 min. © 2010 KO Films, Inc.; courtesy Zipporah Films](/content/dam/domusweb/en/art/2012/03/08/flashlights-in-our-hands-the-whitney-2012-biennial/big_376336_2561_web_2012Biennial181.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)