Favorite Artists: Felix Gonzales-Torres

I know everyone in the art world knows and loves and reveres him, but I don’t think there will ever be enough praise for his amazing ideas and heartwrenching artwork. I might be a mean, sarcastic grub most of the time, but there’s no getting around the warmth Felix left behind. Every time I see a piece of his, I want to cry. This is mostly because I’ve never seen of the performances of the go-go dancing boys. I don’t think I’d cry for that. For those that stumble across this blog looking for cats wearing bow ties (next post), Felix’s artwork is mostly about the act of experiencing art. It ranges from a pile of candies (you are welcome to take some) to a string of lights to a pile of posters (you’re welcome to those, too). The thing is, though, the pile of candies start out in the exact weight of his lover, Ross, and as you take the candies for your enjoyment, the pile diminishes, just like Ross did from AIDS. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy your candies. The piece with the two clocks is called “Perfect Lovers,” and when the two inevitably fall out of sync, you get your metaphor. I love the beaded curtains, too, because my local art museum has one, and because I love touching the heavy glass beads as I walk through. Oh, and the lights, which are obviously metaphors for the human spirit, are allowed to be rearranged based on the whims of the curator, and the bulbs are of course expriring, etc. (metaphor = we die) I love him.

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