TOUCHINGUNTOUCHABLES
Félix González-Torres: TOUCHINGUNTOUCHABLES Curated by Katie Lacroix
Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago November 26, 2018 — March 5, 2019
Con ten ts
Copyright © 2018 Katie Lacroix All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. Félix González-Torres: TOUCHINGUNTOUCHABLES 46p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. Art and other key words: Félix González-Torres: TOUCHINGUNTOUCHABLES Printed in the United States of America Design: Katie Lacroix Editor: Katie Lacroix Photography credits: Félix González-Torres and Félix González-Torres Foundation. The Foundation is the sole licensee of copyright in the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Printed and bound by Katie Lacroix Typefaces: Crimson Text and Montserrat Paper: Epson Ultra Premium Presentation Paper (13x 19, white matte)
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Acknowledgments
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Curator’s Statement
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Gonzalez-Torres: Life in the Midst of Crisis
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Installations: Curtains, Candies, Etc.
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Installations: The Stacks
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Installations: Lights
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Catalog and Resources
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Ackn owl ed gm e n t s a n d Cu ra tor ’s St a tem en t
Thanks to Felix Gonzalez-Torres and his life’s works, the Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, Professor Franc NunooQuarcoo, and to Andrea Cardinal for my introduction to typography and layout design. Many hands made this project possible. It involved extensive research with librarians, collectors and scholars spanning many disciplines. To those both acknowledged and anonymous—my humble thanks and deepest gratitude. Katie Lacroix
The works featured in the catalogue of this exhibition are but a small portion of the works in the show and of the extensive works Felix Gonzalez-Torres made over his life. My work on this project is intended to be a positive dedication to his memory and message. I chose to showcase work of his that I found particularly memorable and thought-provoking, and I hope GonzalezTorres would appreciate my choices. Thank you for your interest in Felix GonzalezTorres and the story he aimed to tell.
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G on zal ez-To rre s : Life i n th e M i d s t o f C ri s i s
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“The visitor is something I love, something I need for my own work to exist, manifest itself, for its final meaning.�
Félix González-Torres (1957-1996)
Cuban born, queer, feminist, and HIV positive artist of color, Felix GonzalezTorres spent his career creating a new image of AIDS and those affected by the disease. Motivated by “social and political activism [...] on behalf of AIDS awareness” (Morgan), Gonzalez-Torres created interactive works to break the barrier between the art and the user with “conceptually oriented work, such as piles of wrapped hard candy or stacks of printed paper, which viewers were encouraged to take, thereby participating in a process of slow disintegration. He also became known for provocative billboards” (Morgan) which interrupt life outside of museum galleries and give an eerie reminder of loss to unsuspecting people on the street going about their life. This collection of work shows a broad interest in different medium and mode of message, which make him visible to a wide audience long after his death. Felix González-Torres sought to create work about love and loss in an era that “commonly defined the minority subject as a threatening agent of contagion and contamination” (Chambers-Letson, 2010) where those affected by the AIDS crisis were not allowed to voice their thoughts and grieve over it. He juxtaposed the death associated with AIDS with the idea of perpetualness and everlasting by creating works that are continuously refilled and can be recreated anywhere. This everlasting quality is created through the multiplicity and continuous replication of his work around the world in multiple galleries at any moment. This qualityis extended by the takeaway that viewers are physically emboldened to pass though, bring home with them,
hang on to, or even consume, all of which makes the lives of those touched by AIDS never truly over or forgotten. The AIDS crisis became not only a huge health epidemic in the late 1970’s–early 80’s, it became a source of ammunition against the gay community. When the illness began to spread in the United States, it was concentrated among gay men and thought to be only transmittable through gay sex. It was even originally dubbed GRID, or Gay-related Immune Deficiency. This connotation marked gay men as dirty and diseased, and even thought to come as punishment for their sin of homesexual relations. Doctors had no sure way of knowing what it was, where it came from, or how it spread, so this stigmatized the gay community and made anyone that had AIDS or was HIV positive as someone that you shouldn’t interact with for fear of contracting it as well. Gonzalez-Torres’ work looks at this stigma and uses his ability as an artist to create something beautiful in the conversation
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Ins tal l ati on s : Cur tai ns , Ca n d i e s , Etc .
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Félix González-Torres created numerous pieces that famously incorporated interaction with the artwork, using materials such as candy, strings of beads, and paper. When a viewer interacts with a piece where the viewer is encouraged to take something away or to interact in some way, the viewer of the artwork now becomes a user. The user can now interact with art in a space that is typically off limits for touching. While his pieces touch a broad range of social topics such as political activism, gun violence, and American culture, many pieces focus on the loss associated with the AIDS crisis. With these works about AIDS, the user is also interacting with objects that represent an “untouchable” disease and the people made “untouchable” through the disease. These interactions challenge the status quo of what is expected by society; in a museum, we are typically meant to only observe and contemplate art, putting a barrier between us as viewers and the meaning of the piece. By taking away this barrier, the rules of the museum are broken and the user has to reevaluate their position in the art world. This interaction starts to break down the stigmatization that followed AIDS and the LGBT community around and labeled them as dirty, untouchable people. Users are forced to interact with the artwork in order to fully understand the work and contemplate this complex vision of Felix González-Torres.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Golden), 1995 United States Strands of beads and plastic track Dimensions vary with installation;
Probably one of his most famous pieces, “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) is a an installation piece, created in 1991. The installation starts off as 175 pounds of little wrapped candies tucked into a corner. The viewer of the piece
is supposed to take a candy off and eat 15 it, so the weight decreases as the piece is on display. The candies come in a range of bright colors, each with a shiny cellophane wrapper and are sweet, tart, and fruit flavored. The pile of candy represents Gonzalez-Torres’s partner, Ross Laycock, before he died of AIDS in 1991. The brightness and sweetness of the candies themselves represents the love Felix and Ross shared; the 175 pound weight corresponds to Ross’s weight before he got sick, so when a participant removes a candy, over time it correlates to his body diminishing and suffering as he got more ill (Frei, 676). The requirement of the piece, however, is for the candy to be “continuously replenished, thus metaphorically granting perpetual life” (Art Institute of Chicago). This piece suggests what the loss of someone dying from AIDS looks like and the emotional and physical toll it leaves on both parties. The user in this interaction not only physically consumes a representation of an “untouchable” man, but also directly inserts themself into the the love and loss of the two men. The viewer, after consuming the candy and reading the description of the piece, now has stuck in their mind ideas about the struggle of AIDS, losing a loved one, and the process of death; the interaction stays with the viewer long after they have left the museum. Gozalex-Torres hoped that leaving this impression will give more people a deeper understanding of AIDS and hopefully help end the stigma against the disease. They will be able to spread awareness after remembering the piece again or be able to process their own feelings of loss.
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Public Opinion), 1991 United States Black rod licorice candies individually wrapped in cellophane, endless supply, ideal weight: 700 lbs Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), 1991 United States Candies individually wrapped in multicolor cellophane, endless supply Dimensions vary with installation; ideal weight 175 lbs.
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Loverboy), 1989 United States Blue fabric and hanging device Dimensions vary with installation Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Water), 1995 United States strands of blue beads and hanging device Dimensions vary with installation
“Do not be afraid of watches, they are our time, time has been generous with us. We have marked the time with the sweet taste of victory. We have dominated destiny by meeting in a certain time and in a certain space. We are a product of time, so we give credit to those who are due: at the same time. We are synchronized, now and forever. I love you.”
Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Perfect Lovers), 1991 United States Clocks, paint on wall. 14” x 28” x 2.75”
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled”, 1989 United States Paint on wall Dimensions vary with installation Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled (31 Days of Bloodworks),” 1990 and “Untitled (Blood),” 1992 United States Acrylic, gesso, graphite, photographs, and paper on canvas. Thirty-one parts: 20” x 16” each and plastic beads and metal rod, Dimensions vary with installation
I ns tal l ati on s : Th e S ta cks
Felix Gonzalez-Torres created a large collection of works that are stacks of paper that sit on the floor of the gallery in which they are on exhibit. With most of these installations, which many have come to refer to as the Stacks, ”viewers can take away one of the printed broadsheets that bear photographic images or oblique texts. Though reminiscent of minimal forms, these works initiate a dynamic interaction with the public” (Hinkson). The papers are designed to be continuously refilled as the stack is diminished. This mimics the sense of fragile and eternal life that his candy collection emulated. Notably, one stack, “Untitled”, 1991, (shown on pg. 28) is not meant to be touched. This piece is the paper Stack version of a 1989 billboard which commemoratd the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, which were demonstrations by the LGBTQ community after a discriminatory police raid of the Stonewall Inn. The fact that this Stack is only meant to be remembered and not touch breaks away from what GonzalezTorres usually asks of the user, making it all the more memorable. Gonzalez-Torres’ stacks let the users continuously animate the works as the size and weight of the stacks are constantly fluctuating, much like the bodies of those diagnosed with AIDS. He has created a wide variety of images to be printed on the different stacks, creating a collection of work that holds a multitude of meaning but still come back to the idea of loss. Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Memorial Day Weekend), 1989 United States Offset lithograph on paper, endless supply Stack of 23”x29” paper
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled”, (NRA- National Rifle Association), 1990 United States Offset print on paper, endless copies 20” (at ideal height) x 33.25” x 26.25” Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled”, 1990 United States Screenprint on paper, 161 stacked sheets 4” x 21.75” x 16.5”
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Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Death by Gun), 1990 United States Print on paper, endless copies Stack: 9” at ideal height x 45” x 33”
“Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy. I was sad. I was in love. I was afraid. I was hopeful. I had an idea and I had a good purpose and that’s why I made works of art. ”
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Double Portrait), 1991 United States Stack of printed paper 10” x 39” x 27.5” Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Silver Beach), 1990 United States Offset print on paper, endless copies 20” x 26” x 23”
Ins tal l ati on s : Lig h ts
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Felix Gonzalez-Torres has the ability to transform a cold museum gallery into a place of curiosity and moving emotion, and can even use light to extend his mournful message. He created a series of works using strings of lights of different sizes and lengths which transfigure from “humble, everyday things” (UMMA) into warm installations “imbued with an unexpected emotional charge” (UMMA). Similar to his other pieces that rely on deterioration, like the candy piles or the clocks that slowly fall out of sync (“Untitled” (Perfect Lovers)), his light pieces rely on the fact that the lights will eventually start to burn out, ultimately leaving the piece in darkness. These pieces follow his theme of exploring love and loss, as the lights can seem to represent souls entangled together.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Toronto), 1992 United States Light bulbs, extension cord, and porcelain light sockets Dimensions vary with installation 42’ long, with 20’ extra cord
One piece, “Untitled” (March 5th) #2, (page 38), is specifically about his relationship with his partner, Ross Laycock, the same subject of the candy piece featured on page 16. Laycock was diagnosed with AIDS on the date referenced in the title, and this piece was made shortly thereafter. As described by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, “hanging against the wall, [...] the implicit romanticism of the work’s metaphor of two luminous, connected bodies— evoking those of Gonzalez-Torres and Laycock—is tempered by the knowledge that at any second one of the bulbs could burn out, with the other left to shine on alone.” Here and in his other light pieces, Gonzalez-Torres is creating a reflection on his own feeling about the fleetingness of relationships in life, and the viewer can sense this sorrow while being enveloped in a warm glow that they know will end.
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“When people ask me, “Who is your public?” I say honestly, without skipping a beat, “Ross.” The public was Ross.”
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Go-Go Dancing Platform), 1991 United States wood, light bulbs, acrylic paint, and Go-Go dancer in silver lamé bikini, sneakers, and personal listening device Overall dimensions vary with installation platform: 21.5” x 72“x 72” Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (March 5th) #2, 1991 United States Two light bulbs, porcelain light sockets, and extension cords Dimensions vary with installation
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Right Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Lovers – Paris), 1993 United States Light bulbs, porcelain light sockets and extension cords Two parts: Overall dimensions vary with installation Left Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (Last Light), 1993 United States Twenty four light bulbs, extension cord, plastic light sockets, and dimmer switch; Dimensions vary with installation
Ca tal o g an d R e s o u rce s
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Section break images: p. 2-3, 8-9, 24-25, 42-43 Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled”, 1991 United States Billboard. Installation view of Felix Gonzalez-Torres Billboard Project. Various locations. p. 12-13 Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled” (For Jeff), 1992 United States Billboard. Installation view of Felix Gonzalez-Torres Billboard Project. Various locations. p. 34-35 Felix Gonzalez-Torres “Untitled”, 1995 United States Billboard. Installation view of Felix Gonzalez-Torres Billboard Project. Various locations.
Resources and References: Art Institute of Chicago Chambers-Letson, J. (2009). “CONTRACTING JUSTICE: THE VIRAL STRATEGY OF FELIX GONZALEZTORRES.” Criticism, 51(4), 559-587. Retrieved from http://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=http://search. proquest.com/docview/763194375?accountid=14667 Choi, S. (2013). “Relational aesthetics in art museum education: Engendering visitors’ narratives through participatory acts for interpretive experience.” Studies in Art Education, 55(1), 51-63. Retrieved from http://proxy. lib.umich.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/ docview/1546490582?accountid=14667 Félix González-Torres Foundation Frei, Judith,M.S.N., R.N., Alvarez, S. E., M.A., & Alexander, Michelle B, DNP,A.P.N., A.C.N.S.-B.C. (2010). “Ways of seeing: Using the visual arts in nursing education.” Journal of Nursing Education, 49(12), 672-6. doi:http:// dx.doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20100831-04 Morgan, Ann Lee. “Latino American art.” The Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists. : Oxford University Press, January 01, 2018. Oxford Reference. Date Accessed 17 Sep. 2018 Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation UMMA Label Copy for Untitled (March 5th) #2
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Designed by Katie Lacroix