Kiara Ventura
18 April 2016
Professor Julia Robinson: Mondays and Thursdays 3:30pm - 4:45pm
Paper 2: Felix Gonzalez-Torres
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp introduced the idea of the readymade by picking the perfect urinal while Andy Warhol followed him by mass producing Brillo boxes in 1964. Both artists turned the path of art world and updated the way people once viewed art. With a heavy influence on the future of art, it is no surprise that artists after them built a foundation off of their ideas. One of these artists include Felix Gonzalez Torres, a Cuban American artist born in 1957 who incorporated readymade mass produced motifs into most of his works while making breakthroughs in the postmodern, minimal and conceptual art world.
Torres`s work …show more content…
He made essential works which required the participation of the public. Unlike a performance act, the participation of the audience is done without the artist being present. In one of his pieces, Haacke's MoMa poll (1970) gave a political question to the public, “Would the fact that Governor Rockefeller has not denounced President Nixon's Indochina policy be a reason for you not to vote for him in November?” The audience would respond by casting a ballot (Fig. 2). This work made an historical impact on conceptual art because “it offered the spectator the most complex form of viewer participation.” Since both artists were in Group Material and Haacke's MoMa Poll (1970) had such a major impact, Torres was most likely influenced by Haacke`s participatory works.
"Without the public these works are nothing. I need the public to complete the work. I ask the public to help me, to take responsibility, to become part of my work, to join in," Torres stated. Resembling some minimalistic works of Donald Judd, the geometrically shaped stacks encourage the audience to take apart of it with them. This destroys the usual dividing line between the public and a work, since visitors are often told to not touch the art. Instead of making the viewer feel separated from the work, Torres makes them feel very much included in the piece, just like a democracy …show more content…
4). This public work is a black-and-white image of slightly messy sheets and pillows of an unmade bed. The bed displays signs of a recent presence since it has a depression on the center on each of its pillows. The image of an unmade bed in the streets of Manhattan, emphasizes the contrast between the two settings and the relationship between public and private settings. The intimacy of the photo sets it out of place, as it displays feelings of emptiness and mourning. Again, Torres is referring his lover and the day Ross died of AIDS in 1991, while invoking the tensions and deep emotions he felt about his death. Billboard of Bed touches not only on Torres`s personal life but on the unfortunate spread of the AIDS virus throughout the gay community during the 1980s. These billboards have become globally popular and have been exhibited throughout many cities for the last 20
18 April 2016
Professor Julia Robinson: Mondays and Thursdays 3:30pm - 4:45pm
Paper 2: Felix Gonzalez-Torres
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp introduced the idea of the readymade by picking the perfect urinal while Andy Warhol followed him by mass producing Brillo boxes in 1964. Both artists turned the path of art world and updated the way people once viewed art. With a heavy influence on the future of art, it is no surprise that artists after them built a foundation off of their ideas. One of these artists include Felix Gonzalez Torres, a Cuban American artist born in 1957 who incorporated readymade mass produced motifs into most of his works while making breakthroughs in the postmodern, minimal and conceptual art world.
Torres`s work …show more content…
He made essential works which required the participation of the public. Unlike a performance act, the participation of the audience is done without the artist being present. In one of his pieces, Haacke's MoMa poll (1970) gave a political question to the public, “Would the fact that Governor Rockefeller has not denounced President Nixon's Indochina policy be a reason for you not to vote for him in November?” The audience would respond by casting a ballot (Fig. 2). This work made an historical impact on conceptual art because “it offered the spectator the most complex form of viewer participation.” Since both artists were in Group Material and Haacke's MoMa Poll (1970) had such a major impact, Torres was most likely influenced by Haacke`s participatory works.
"Without the public these works are nothing. I need the public to complete the work. I ask the public to help me, to take responsibility, to become part of my work, to join in," Torres stated. Resembling some minimalistic works of Donald Judd, the geometrically shaped stacks encourage the audience to take apart of it with them. This destroys the usual dividing line between the public and a work, since visitors are often told to not touch the art. Instead of making the viewer feel separated from the work, Torres makes them feel very much included in the piece, just like a democracy …show more content…
4). This public work is a black-and-white image of slightly messy sheets and pillows of an unmade bed. The bed displays signs of a recent presence since it has a depression on the center on each of its pillows. The image of an unmade bed in the streets of Manhattan, emphasizes the contrast between the two settings and the relationship between public and private settings. The intimacy of the photo sets it out of place, as it displays feelings of emptiness and mourning. Again, Torres is referring his lover and the day Ross died of AIDS in 1991, while invoking the tensions and deep emotions he felt about his death. Billboard of Bed touches not only on Torres`s personal life but on the unfortunate spread of the AIDS virus throughout the gay community during the 1980s. These billboards have become globally popular and have been exhibited throughout many cities for the last 20