felix gonzalez torres

the cuban- american artist felix gonzalez torres dealt ideas of impermanence, specifically through audience interaction, in his simple yet romantic work. large stacks of paper squares offered as souvenirs to the viewers gave new meaning to the appropriated earlier minimalist style. Though, like the concepts of minimalism, the work is style about the viewer's experience of the work in its space, the perishable material make each geometric form more ephemeral. Similarly, his enormous piles of candy also slowly transform as one person after another takes away piece by piece, speaking to notions of the ever-evolving state of art, or of an individual work of art. on a more personal note, the candy makes the silent statement; " you are taking a piece of candy from an AIDS infected homosexual."

the idea of the keepsake, which will gradually fade and eventually disappear completely speaks to me in terms of my own work in dealing with the idea of the photograph itself. you can hold a small photograph in your hand. you can take it with you. it is a palpable fragment of someone's life, yet will ultimately cease to exist, unless reproduced. and yet then it becomes something new, altered from its original state.