NEW YORK—These are interesting times for the Whitney Museum of American Art. The current Biennial has split opinion among artists, critics and spectators. The museum, in honor of its 75th anniversary, is planning to celebrate with an exhibition of its permanent collection that, in an unprecedented move, will take up its entire building. And the building itself is due to be renovated and expandedwith a design from Renzo Piano.

Adam Weinberg, who has been the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney since 2003, has responsibility for all these issues, and he recently discussed them with ArtInfo.

Adam, I wanted to begin by asking you about the Biennial. Its been open for a few weeks. Has it had the sort of reception that youd anticipated?

The Biennial is doing what I hoped it would do. First of all, its a coherent exhibition, and not just a selection of a 100 great artists. Its an attempt to give a sense of the zeitgeist and a look at what is happening in art in 2006. I think thats a very tough thing to do. Its also a very brave thing to do because, as The New York Times pointed out, this is not exactly a pretty moment either in the way that art looks or in terms of the way the world looks. The curators, Chrissie Iles and Philippe Vergne, have done a splendid job. Its been well regarded within the art world, and Im really delighted with the outcome.

Its had a very mixed response though, hasnt it?

There are things that people like, and there are things that they dont like. People have their questions and their criticisms, as they should. The worst thing for a Biennial is when it does nothing. Nobody talks about it, it doesnt raise any questions, it doesnt get people to think, and theres no argument. The reason why the Biennial is still viable after 75 years is because it causes people to be agitated and excited.

I've heard questions asked about the inclusion of some of the older artists.

There are lots of artists that we didnt know beforehand, and there are artists that we did. There are artists who have been working for a long time who have been rediscovered, like Marilyn Minter and Rudy Stingel, who are both in the prime of their careers. Six months ago, they were two painters people didnt know very well. Now all of a sudden they have come to the foreground. The Biennial isnt simply about young artists, its about looking at artists of all generations, and its done that.

A certain amount of the art in the Biennial isnt of my generation, but it is important that a Biennial speaks to the several generations that are around at the time that the show is going on. I think thats also a measure of its success. Its not just addressing 30-year-olds; and on the other hand, its not just addressing 60-year-olds.

What about the next exhibition that well be seeing in the museum: The whole institution is going to be taken over by the permanent collection, as part of your 75th anniversary celebration. That was quite an unusual decision.

Well, its an interesting counterpoint to the Biennial. Its the flipside of what the Whitney is about. It is called Full House, but is not a comprehensive display of the Whitney collection, nor does it intend or pretend to be a comprehensive display. And it is not just a greatest hits show by any means. In fact there are many greatest hits that are not in the show.

It focuses on certain key moments and certain key ideas as they are reflected in the collection. It is quasi-chronological, but at the same time, it creates juxtapositions between artists and artworks of different periods. I have always felt very strongly that the Whitney permanent collection should be a living collection, a collection that speaks across generations, not an archive of dead works. Its an exciting opportunity for us to test some of our ideas on how we might do a permanent collection display in the new building.

And how you might develop the collection in future?

Thats exactly right. We see it as a good testing ground and a chance to explore some ideas. Its a way of pointing directions.

You mentioned the Renzo Piano-designed expansion. Exactly how long is the building project going to take?