Who is Toni Burlap?

In a recent interview in Artforum Magazine, Whitney Biennial curators Chrissie Iles and Philippe Vergne announced that a third curator had joined their team. This curators name is Toni Burlap. To quote Philippe "When two people curate a show, they give birth to a third person. Her responsibility is to channel our illusion." Is Toni a fictional character? Are these curators serious or is this just a test to see if anyone actually reads articles in Artforum as opposed to just looking at the pictures. While some have described Toni as symptomatic of an art world in retreat– reduced to an infantile world of playacting where characters must be created to say what is REALLY thought in this current conservative cultural climate, others have described Toni as all TOO real.

In the words of Toni herself, "I am a distant cousin of Toni, who you may know from his role as the occupant of Danny's stomach in the movie "The Shining." Fame seems to follow the family as I am the bastard child of two art curatorial super stars. Having lived most of my life in the bellies of my parents, I emerged recently by serving as the curatorial "channeler" for this years Whitney Biennial. However, my channeling abilities are open for all to take advantage of. Visit my blog and I will help you channel your illusion as well."

Truth is stranger than fiction. Finally, Toni speaks up in order to set the record straight at http://www.toniburlap.com/