The art world is debating over a minimalist pile of candy, and for good reason.
One of queer artist Félix González-Torres' most famous works is "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)"Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), a pile of multicolored candy that initially weighs 175 pounds – the ideal weight of González-Torres' lover, Ross Laycock, before he died of AIDS-related illness in 1991. Viewers are invited to take pieces of candy, resulting in the pile shrinking and eventually disappearing, much like the physical decline from AIDS wasting.
However, when the piece was recently displayed in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., there appeared to be no references to González-Torres' queer identity or his HIV-positive status. Now, some in the art world are suggesting that this was a deliberate action taken by the Félix González-Torres Foundation, which is led by the artist's former gallerist, Andrea Rosen.
Some people, including Dr. Jonathan Katz, a leading scholar of queer art, believe that the foundation has spent years deliberately omitting details about the artists life when his art is displayed.
"They refuse to acknowledge that the Ross of Portrait of Ross in L.A. is a real person," he says. "They treat it as a kind of metaphor, not a biography. That is a political act."
In February of this year, the foundation posted on Instagram that González-Torres trusted his viewers and wanted to "avoid direct explanation of his works in exhibition contexts."
While the foundation insists it's only trying to uphold the legacy of the artist, others, including Joey Terrill, a longtime HIV activist and visual artist, say that it's censorship.
"In my opinion, the foundation is concerned with maintaining high value and prestige," Terrill says. "I don’t hear anything from them about empathy or the community. I think they’re motivated purely by money.”
The issue is obviously complex; read our entire story to learn all the details.
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Woman Crush Wednesday
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We already loved Jen Richards for her acting, writing, and all-around awesome trans activism, but now, we have a crush on her for a new reason! Richards was at the current anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles when she was hit by flashbangs and rubber bullets fired upon the crowd by police and the National Guard.
"I'm a rather fragile, sensitive, fight-with-my-words type," Richards said. "But sometimes shit goes too far and you gotta stand up for truth, liberty, and empathy."
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