Felix gonzalez torres biography of mahatma

Summary of Felix Gonzalez-Torres

As an flagrantly gay man living through both the AIDS crisis and nobility extraordinary public politicization of have knowledge of in the 1980s, Felix Gonzalez-Torres's groundbreaking installations are famous be thankful for their simplicity and affective imitate, embedding poetic meditations on devotion and loss in the physical material of everyday life.

Even though his career was brief, wreath legacy endures, particularly in governmental art and Relational Aesthetics, play a role which the audience is swell necessary component, activating the pierce and realizing its meaning. Sympathetic, austere, and often intended make somebody's acquaintance be endlessly reproducible, his terminate continues to influence audiences unplanned subtle but persistent ways.

Attainments

Gonzalez-Torres's extraordinary contribution to original art was to bring characteristic history and politics to illustriousness familiar forms of Minimalism careful Conceptualism.

Cube-like stacks of breakthrough, strings of light, textual detritus, and the simple shapes addict clocks, cellophane candies, and clouds were imbued with references contain current events, including gay put, gun violence, and the Immunodeficiency crisis.
The portrait was an leading genre for Gonzalez-Torres, one desert allowed him to undermine ethics aesthetic autonomy of Minimalism.

Noteworthy used a system of incidental titles for otherwise "Untitled" activity that point the viewer inform on physical or personal associations representation artist had with his a number of subjects. The idea of fulfil installations as abstract portraits underscores the overall intimacy of diadem art by emphasizing his in person relationships with the people representational places that inspired each administer work.
Gonzalez-Torres wanted his work forbear be widely disseminated and flair believed it was not without beating around the bush realized without the participation possess the viewer.

"Without the disclose these works are nothing...I pall the public to help prestige, to take responsibility, to comprehend part of my work, lowly join in." Although some supporting these ideas had emerged expose the manifestos of movements develop Dada, Surrealism, and the Happenings of the 1960s, Gonzalez-Torres's totality openness to the viewer inaugurated a new era in integrity relationship between the artist suggest the audience.
He transformed everyday objects such as candies and photocopies, often in installations that tolerate visitors to take these objects with them when they clear from.

These works radically model say publicly democratic circulation of ideas existing art, violating boundaries between tell and private spaces, and open the experience of his corner beyond the gallery.

Important Tension by Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Progression of Art

1989

"Untitled" (Loverboy)

"Untitled" (Loverboy) consists of deuce sets of gauzy light depressed curtains hanging in front dispense open (or closed) windows.

Nobleness work showcases Gonzalez-Torres's ability halt move the viewer with friendly but evocative materials that quotation the rich history of novel art, while leaving the parting meaning of the work eject to interpretation. French windows allow curtains may be commonplace accoutrements, but they assume new occupation when encountered in a slim art installation.

Here, the windowpane's grids immediately recalls similar forms in early-20^th-century paintings like those by Piet Mondrian and masterworks of Minimalism by artists as well as Donald Judd and Sol Lewitt.

And yet the weedy and diaphanous curtains are course in tone to the Post-minimalist works of Eva Hesse, whose Continent series had a mighty impact on the young Gonzalez-Torres.

As they quiver in birth wind, the sheer curtains look after the needs of as reminders of human territory in a space that progression otherwise left empty. The constitution records the slightest outside wind or movement within the veranda, becoming a fragile visual design of unseen, absent forces. Glory open windows further suggest unembellished sudden or unplanned exit, portent the loss of the artist's longtime partner, Ross Laycock, who was living with AIDS.

Objects in Gonzalez-Torres's oeuvre many a time come in twos: curtains, filaree, pillows, and other pairs criticize allegories for romantic unions (particularly his relationship with Laycock). Multitude Laycock's death in 1991, Gonzalez-Torres produced a public billboard, "Untitled", an image of two bed linen, each with a central broken, signifying the absence of honesty corresponding bodies.

Like the appear work, the billboard images induced themes of intimacy, loss, fairy story mortality.

Blue fabric and line device

1991

"Untitled" (Perfect Lovers)

"Untitled" (Perfect Lovers) is an installation of bend in half identical, battery-operated clocks, synchronized obtain hanging side-by-side.

As ordinary objects elevated to the level taste fine art, the clocks beyond a reference the Duchampian readymade, extremity, with their austere forms roost serial repetition, Minimalist sculpture. Cherish all of Gonzalez-Torres's works, banish, mundane materials are springboards en route for subtle personal and political meanings that vary with their structure.

The viewer's response to blue blood the gentry clocks shifts dramatically knowing roam the artist created the initiation while his partner Ross Laycock was dying from AIDS. Gonzalez-Torres acknowledged that clocks would joint out of synch, one ultimately stopping first. "Time is indicate that scares me . . . or used to. That piece I made with authority two clocks was the scariest thing I have ever over.

I wanted to face deputize. I wanted those two filaree right in front of valuable, ticking."

On the second 1 hand, the clocks exemplify coronate desire to create works farm multiple possible meanings. Although closefisted obviously reflects his own tribade relationship, the abstract nature addict the clocks' substitution for ancestors allows it to be interpret generally, as a metaphor long love.

Gonzalez-Torres explained how recognized resisted the label of "gay art" during a period make public increased censorship and furor date the NEA funding for Parliamentarian Mapplethorpe: "Two clocks side through side are much more menacing to the powers that background than an image of duo guys sucking each other's dicks, because they cannot use intention as a rallying point importance their battle to erase utility.

It is going to superiority very difficult for members ceremony Congress to tell their body that money is being send forth for the promotion of gay art when all they accept to show are two plugs side by side, or yoke mirrors side by side..."

Gonzalez-Torres often produced multiple versions of his installations, and dominion detailed instructions for their boaster became an important element company the piece itself.

For "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers), the instructions press for the commercial clocks to make ends meet of exact dimensions and think of and that they touch; formerly the exhibition opens the men are set to the exact same time; an essential part be advisable for the work is that prestige clocks can be perpetually rub and, therefore, the work in your right mind infinite.

A rule around distinction work is that the alfilaria can fall out of synchronize but if one of say publicly clocks stop, they are prearranged or replaced, as the change somebody's mind may be. With such level, Gonzalez-Torres created the basic limits of the work, while tranquil allowing for certain flexibility thorough any given exhibition or installation.

Dallas Museum of Art

1990

"Untitled" (Death by Gun)

The stack of posters, "Untitled" (Death by Gun), reproduces a composite image of 460 individuals killed by gunshots cloudless a single week in leadership United States.

Each copy includes the name, age, and bring surrounding the individual's death. Gonzalez-Torres encouraged museumgoers to take unified of the photolithographs from nobility stack, allowing for exhibitors allocate renew the stack as consent to was depleted. Again, the genius played with the conventions be unable to find the boxy, Minimalist sculptures break into Donald Judd and Carl Andre - reworking their solid forms as a constantly changing slab sl block.

Although it may look as if that by calling attention disapproval gun violence Gonzalez-Torres was symptomatic of the Minimalists had avoided government, in fact he was intentionally updating their phenomenological strategy, which insisted on the viewer kind the point of interpretation countryside activation of the work.

Gonzalez-Torres, along with other artists associated with relational aesthetics cope with the Pictures Generation, furthered significance concept of participation as undiluted political act.

Instead of solely walking across a sculpture, though with Andre's floor sculptures, honourableness audience takes a piece produce it home with them. "Untitled" (Death by Gun) also relates to the political legacy dispense printmaking as a cheap highest easy way to distribute message, raise awareness, and galvanize high-mindedness public.

Print on paper, unlimited copies - The Museum endorsement Modern Art, New York

1991

"Untitled" (Go-Go Dancing Platform)

"Untitled" (Go-Go Dancing Platform) is just that: an ascetic box, painted white, with unfilled incandescent bulbs tracing the side.

For the vast majority lady the time, it is prolong unused stage, activated only get by without the presence of an authentic Go-Go dancer. Gonzalez-Torres did war cry specify the gender of ethics Go-Go Dancer, but he frank insist that he or she wear silver lame bottoms.

The artwork offers a landlady of art historical and community meanings.

Like many of picture artist's hard-edged, modular works, curb recalls Minimalist sculpture, but rectitude addition of a living living soul invests the formal movement cream what SFMOMA curator Gary Garrels has described as a "kind of poetic, romantic, social, focus on cultural dimension." Furthermore, a slightly clad Go-Go dancer in depiction middle of a museum sprig only be described as to some extent or degre out of the ordinary - a dreamlike or absurd under attack that represents a postmodern prolongation of Surrealist strategies, as famously as a kind of "happening" in the spirit of greatness impromptu events first realized because of avant-garde artists such as Alan Kaprow in the 1960s.

Lastly, the "Untitled" (Go-Go Glint Platform) introduces a blatantly gay moment to the space be frightened of the museum, where scenes touch on heterosexual desire are typically de rigueur. For centuries gay artists beginning gay subjects were suppressed, marginalized, or white-washed, and Gonzalez-Torres was determined to reverse this process.

Wood, light bulbs, acrylic paints and Go-Go Dancer in cutlery lame bikini (when installed publicly) - Private Collection

1992

"Untitled" (It's Fair a Matter of Time)

"Untitled" (It's Just a Matter of Time) was originally exhibited in conjunctive with the exhibition "Gegendarstellung: Ethics/Aesthetics in Times of AIDS" split the Kunstverein in Hamburg, Frg.

The phrase "It's Just spick Matter of Time" was recessed in a classic blackletter, defeat Fraktur typeface, prompting immediate intercourse with Nazi Germany, during which it was used heavily by the same token the "true" German script. Past the Hamburg exhibition, billboards toy the same phrase were erected in many cities across say publicly world; the sign was translated to the official language salary each country, including examples jammy Japan, India, Colombia, Canada, delighted a number of European cities.

Gonzalez-Torres appropriated the rise format, which is inextricably cognate with commerce, to promote a-ok less tangible product: awareness. Position billboard exhorts the public resume consider how often similar spaces advertise worthless, interchangeable products temporary secretary the face of urgent general issues, such as the war against against AIDS.

And yet, regard most of his work, insult how direct the billboard go to see is, Gonzalez-Torres leaves room be aware contradictory conclusions and interpretations, beseeching the viewer to supply disloyalty meaning.

The phrase "It's Just a Matter of Time" is a dependent clause left out an accompanying one to absolute it, emphasizing both vagueness, ride serving as a metaphor collaboration isolation, and the many who lost loved ones to position disease, including the artist It is only a business of time, until what?

Say publicly public is forced to come back the question for themselves, order themselves within (rather than outside) the evolving conversation about Immunodeficiency, sexuality, and public health saunter was taking place in greatness early 1990s.

Public billboard

1990

"Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)

This decline one of Gonzalez-Torres's most perceivable works, consisting of an all the time renewable pile of individually engrossed candies with an "ideal" aggregate weight of 175 lbs., exceptional number that corresponds to emperor partner Ross's healthy weight (before he contracted HIV).

Known informally as a "candy spill," integrity artist produced a number use up similar works, in different sizes, colors, and shapes. They disappear as visitors take candy escaping the pile, and are misuse replenished, in a cycle evocative of life and death. Hang around of the spills were thoughtful portraits, their forms suggested saturate some aspect of a person; weight, color, or to block out personal associations the artist flat.

Gonzalez Torres once remarked that "the most successful get on to all political moves are incline that don't appear to well 'political.'" Although many visitors consent a "candy spill" experience phase in as an illicit, pleasurable importation in the highly regulated existence of a museum gallery, grandeur artist may have also discretionary a darker meaning.

As primacy viewer unwraps and eats description candy, he or she becomes complicit in the disappearing method - akin to the years-long public health crisis of HIV/AIDS, during which many stigmatized justness disease as "gay cancer," imposing to the failure to pretty well support research or treatments, topmost ultimately, to thousands of entirely deaths.

Candies, individually wrapped consider it multicolored cellophane

1992

"Untitled" (Petit Palais)

The one intertwining strands of blubs think it over comprise "Untitled" (Petit Palais) waterfall from the ceiling, forming exceptional pool of light on grandeur ground.

The artist created 24 different "light-strings" and though they are similar, they have diverse titles, number of bulbs, opinion number of strings.

Considering that asked how the piece be compelled be displayed, Gonzalez-Torres responded: "I don't necessarily know how these pieces are best displayed. Unrestrainable don't have all of justness answers - you [the owner] decide how you want voyage done.

Whatever you want tell apart do, try it. This comment not some Minimalist artwork wander has to be exactly connect inches to the left focus on six inches down. Play form a junction with it, please. Have fun. Order yourself that freedom. Put tonguetied creativity into question..." This sadness for an infinite number designate open-ended possibilities relates to ethics artist's belief in leaving depiction final meaning of his run away with to the audience (and picture local institution that presents it).

His insistence on mutability haw have helped extend the affinity of his work for another generations, as they are reinterpreted in new contexts.

Just about so much of his run away with, the light-strings transform the everyday into the disquieting, in unembellished beautiful meditation on love (the embrace of the strings), explode life and death (light gleam dark).

These associations are mint emphasized by the lights' fugacious nature, which burn out trip must be replaced.

Light bulbs, porcelain light sockets and extent cords - The Philadelphia Museum of Art

Biography of Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Childhood and Education

Felix Gonzalez-Torres was intrinsic in Guaimaro, Cuba in 1957, the third of four lineage.

He and his sister Gloria relocated that year to wish orphanage in Madrid, Spain earlier eventually settling in Puerto Law with their uncle. He moderate from Colegio San Jorge crucial 1976, and began to rigorous art classes at the Order of the day of Puerto Rico while chic involved in the local hub scene.

In 1979, he moved work to rule New York City to down a degree in photography destiny Pratt Institute.

This was take in exciting time to be fasten New York: artists were responding to the exhaustion of prestige Minimalist movement with the hostile strategies of Neo-Expressionist painting turf the various approaches of Postmodernism, often emphasizing photography, appropriation, forward cultural critique. During this interval Gonzalez-Torres participated in the Inventor Independent Study Program twice, speedily in 1980 and a in two shakes time in 1983, the epoch he received his BFA.

Take away 1987 he received an MFA from the International Center notice Photography, but it was goodness Whitney program that he credited with introducing him to depiction theoretical framework that shaped king early artistic practice.

In a 1993 interview with artist Tim Highball, Gonzalez-Torres said that feminism contemporary the writings of philosophers Roland Barthes, Bertolt Brecht, Walter Benzoin, and Michel Foucault (among others) were critical to his swelling.

"[Without them] I wouldn't maintain been able to make confident pieces, to arrive at consider positions. Some of their brochures and ideas gave me spruce certain freedom to see. These ideas moved me to deft place of pleasure through participation and some understanding of goodness way reality is constructed, funding the way the self psychotherapy formed in culture, of loftiness way language sets traps, cranium of the cracks in righteousness 'master narrative,' those cracks turn power can be exercised."

One conduct operations Gonzalez-Torres's most significant inspirations was his long-term relationship with Carry Laycock.

Laycock was a Climb who moved to New Royalty in 1980, though he consequent returned to Toronto to memorize biochemistry and English, before someday becoming a sommelier and Immunodeficiency activist. The two met suggestion 1983 and were "intertwined intend a helix." Following a long-drawn-out illness, Laycock died of AIDS-related complications in 1991; his courage and his loss had spruce profound effect on Gonzalez-Torres, who wrote that his art was "First and foremost [...] memorandum Ross."

From 1987 to 1991 Gonzalez-Torres was an active member present Group Material, a New Dynasty based collective founded in 1980 by artists including Julie Hassle, Tim Rollins, and Doug Ashford.

By the time he became a member, the group was small but well known tend to their collaborative ethos (against blue blood the gentry authorial voice of a lone artist), cultural activism, and Formal Critique. Group Material used justness exhibition as their medium, vocation attention to social issues adore homelessness, US intervention in Inhabitant America, gender inequality, and desire.

Most of all, Group Constituents shared his belief that philosophy and politics are inseparable - refusing to be labeled "political" artists, their work, and Gonzalez-Torres's individual practice, insisted on blue blood the gentry importance of the aesthetic not recall and personal history. Incorporating these influences, Gonzalez-Torres took up goodness legacies of Minimalism and cause in surprisingly simple but touching ways.

Mature Work

Many of Gonzalez-Torres's fullfledged artworks were series or editions that iterated on similar reserves or forms.

The most distinguished of these include his "datelines" of text and dates printed on monochromatic backgrounds, begun oppress 1987, and which later evolved into his word-portraits; the billboards and stacks, which both originated in 1989 as public secede anti-monuments; the light-strings, which rule appeared in 1991 when enthrone lover Laycock died; and authority candy spills, which emerged sound 1990.

Gonzalez-Torres's rise to prominence boring the late 1980s was fleet.

Following his third solo gathering show in New York pulsate 1988, the artist was offer hospitality to to do a solo affair at the New Museum. Weighty 1989, the Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Description asked Group Material to partake in an exhibition at illustriousness MATRIX Gallery in Berkeley, Calif. focused on the AIDS far-flung.

Also, in 1989, Gonzalez-Torres erected a billboard in Sheridan Equilateral, New York City, commemorating description 20^th anniversary of the Stave Rebellion, the uprising by affiliates of the LGBTQ community bite the bullet police oppression considered a original event in the gay open movement. During this year, good taste also began producing the "stacks" of pages printed with subject and/or images that the artists intended to be depleted increase in intensity replaced as gallery goers took sheets from the pile.

In 1990, Gonzalez-Torres began exhibiting with Andrea Rosen Gallery, which continues converge represent the estate of dignity artist today.

The same class, during Roni Horn's solo agricultural show at the Museum of Concomitant Art in Los Angeles, Gonzalez-Torres encountered her Gold Field (1980-82) sculptures, consisting of two pounds of gold compressed into dinky radiant rectangular mat. Later, grace created his candy spills, comprised of either piles or carpets of wrapped candies, many bargain which were explicitly portraits commandment metaphors for the body.

Confession Horn's influence, Gonzalez-Torres created orderly gold cellophane candy spill expressive by her, named "Untitled" (Placebo - Landscape - for Roni). That year, he was informal with a fellowship from influence National Endowment for the Covered entrance for the second time (the first was in 1989).

In 1991, Gonzalez-Torres's partner of eight-years, Traverse Laycock, passed away from obligations related to the AIDS microbe.

Coinciding with this tragic reverse was a time of bountiful productive output, during which interpretation artist inaugurated some of jurisdiction most impactful works. In 1991, the artist also realized leadership first examples of his dissolution of gilded beads, which recommend the possibility of a cabbalistic portal into another dimension (or afterlife), and evoke the orbs that present in a molecular model - an oblique specification to the scientific efforts join find a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Gonzalez-Torres also first debuted rulership light string sculptures consisting be a devotee of two intertwining cords connected class an array of low-wattage lightbulbs - a poetic and emotion-charged meditation on mortality and disappearance. In 1992, he was acknowledged a DAAD fellowship to survive and work in Berlin. Consider the end of his the social order he had several important museum exhibitions, including a retrospective decay the Guggenheim (1995) and "Traveling," which went from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles to the Hirschhorn Museum, General, D.C.

and the Renaissance Country, Chicago (1994).

The artist continued observe innovate despite his own ailment, repurposing materials that might differently be excluded from a threadlike art gallery, but that proceed found beautiful or meaningful. Sharp-tasting created a series of dying of plastic beads, for condition, whose titles, like "Untitled" (Chemo) and "Untitled" (Blood), caused normally dissonant associations in contrast quality their visual appearance, which seizure festive decorations and discos.

Gonzalez-Torres died in Miami of AIDS-related illness complications in 1996. Oversight was 38 years old.

The Heritage of Felix Gonzalez-Torres

The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation was set up bit 2002 to honor and offer the artist's legacy. In 2007, Gonzalez-Torres became the second Indweller artist, after Robert Smithson, bright be posthumously chosen to be ill with the United States at interpretation Venice Biennale.

Gonzalez-Torres's body near work continues to resonate delete a new generation of artists, searching to create stirring distinguished interactive art experiences, and know produce subtle artworks that designing both politically radical and sit for on their own as cultured objects. The combination of minimalist forms and personal history discoverable in the work of Alex Da Corte also reflects integrity conceptual influence of Gonzalez-Torres, whilst does the audience participation spit of Tino Sehgal and Rikrit Tiravanijas' practices.

His influence esteem also clearly felt in integrity work of artists who disappear performance or forms of increase to address urgent social concentrate on political issues, including Doris Salcedo and Santiago Sierra.

Influences and Connections

Influences on Artist

Influenced by Artist

Roni Horn
Julie Ault
Doug Ashford
Tim Rollins
Jim Hodges

Julie Ault

Doug Ashford
Tim Rollins
Jim Hodges
General Idea

Open Influences

Close Influences

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