1. About
Black and white photo of Felix Gonzalez-Torres.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres was a Cuban-born American artist whose installation art centers around loss and homoeroticism. His minimalistic art style allows him to elicit participation from his audience, even when they are unaware of what they are participating in. Moreover, we can best analyze his work by understanding his relationship with his partner, Ross Laycock, and their shared experiences with AIDS during the height of the epidemic.
1a. His artistic influences and intent
According to TheArtStory.org, Gonzalez-Torres was influenced by Minimalism and feminism. From 1987 to 1991, he was involved with Group Material, “a New York based collective” that used art exhibitions to call attention to various social issues (“Felix Gonzalez-Torres”). Here, he affirmed his belief in the inseparability of “aesthetics and politics” (“Felix Gonzalez-Torres”). Although his work has been criticized for lacking overtly “political and Latino content” (Rollins), he maintains that his art and existence as a gay man are intrinsically “very political” (Bleckner). In his Robert Storr interview, he states his artistic intent:
“The thing that I want to do sometimes with some of these pieces about homosexual desire is to be more inclusive. Every time they see a clock or a stack of paper or a curtain, I want them to think twice...Everything has a sexual mission, the walls, the pavement, everything” (Storr).
In this quote, Gonzalez-Torres not only refutes his critics’ claims that his art is apolitical, but he also states his artistic intent: to make art that destigmatizes homosexuality and generates inclusivity and empathy. However, in discussing his work, we must also consider the influence of his relationship with Ross and their shared AIDS experiences.
1b. His/his art's relationship to Ross and AIDS
Both Felix and Ross had AIDS, and in 1991, Ross died of AIDS-related complications ("Felix Gonzalez-Torres").
Ross's life and loss deeply affected Gonzalez-Torres and his art ("Felix Gonzalez-Torres"). In his Robert Storr interview, he revealed that he created his art with Ross as his sole intended audience:
"When people ask me, 'Who is your public?' I say honestly, without skipping a beat, 'Ross.' The public was Ross. The rest of the people just come to the work" (Storr).
As we will discover, Ross’s influence is present throughout his works’ titles, as well as in his "guidelines for manifestation" for the reproduction of his art (Gordon 776). For example, in “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), he uses Ross’s ideal weight of 175 lbs. to measure his candy spill (Smith 189).
In 1996, Gonzalez-Torres died of AIDS-related complications at the age of 38 (“Felix Gonzalez-Torres”). Despite this, the reproductive nature of his art has allowed for his presence to remain and has immortalized his relationship with Ross.