When the controversy surrounding the Jeff Koons-curated "Skin Fruit" bubbled to the surface last November, New Museum director Lisa Phillips told The New York Times that the exhibit would provide New Yorkers with a unique opportunity to see a prized art collection from abroad -- the implication being that the show would consist of little-seen artists and/or works. "We think the public will be the beneficiaries of Dakis's very generous agreement to allow works from his foundation to cross the ocean," she said at the time.

Last fall, when the New Museum announced it would show the private collection of its trustee Dakis Joannou -- and that this show would be curated by the collector's friend, artist Jeff Koons -- all manner of debate emerged about the propriety of the exhibit. (It started with a post by blogger James Wagner last September, turned into a full brouhaha with artist William Powhida's "Brooklyn Rail" cover in November, before being picked up by The New York Times ten days later. Since then, it's made for regular, reliable blogger fodder. Full disclosure: I've been critical of the show on my own blog.)

Now that the exhibit is up, the burning question is: Was it worth the controversy? The answer, in my book, would be: No.

In case you missed it yesterday, WNYC and the Whitney Museum — along with nine plugged-in social-media addicts — presented a first-ever live Twitter tour of the Biennial. And as we say on Twitter: #success!