hyperallergic: Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled (Perfect Lovers)” (1991) I find Felix Gonzalez-Torres to be such a wonderfully sad, romantic figure, both in the sweet, lovey-dovey sense of the word “romantic” but also in the over-the-top epic sense of the word. His partner Ross Laycock was both a major source of inspiration and his intended audience (as he said in an interview). This work was created shortly after Ross’s diagnosis of AIDS. The two battery-operated clocks are to be set in unison, but they will eventually, inevitably fall out of sync with one another. The clocks’ continued ticking serves as a metaphor for both the eternalness of love and the impossibility of such a thing. The lovers might measure their lives in the same manner, but the tricks of time will unbalance them. One of my very good friends has re-staged this work in her home, and the clocks are now horribly out of sync. For a period, the hands of one clock stopped rotating but continued to tick, nearly in unison with its lover, and eventually began rotating again. The discordant but steady rhythms added to the complexity of the metaphor, reminding me of the ways one and their love can change, with and without each other.
View Separately

hyperallergic:

Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled (Perfect Lovers)” (1991)

I find Felix Gonzalez-Torres to be such a wonderfully sad, romantic figure, both in the sweet, lovey-dovey sense of the word “romantic” but also in the over-the-top epic sense of the word. His partner Ross Laycock was both a major source of inspiration and his intended audience (as he said in an interview). This work was created shortly after Ross’s diagnosis of AIDS.

The two battery-operated clocks are to be set in unison, but they will eventually, inevitably fall out of sync with one another. The clocks’ continued ticking serves as a metaphor for both the eternalness of love and the impossibility of such a thing. The lovers might measure their lives in the same manner, but the tricks of time will unbalance them.

One of my very good friends has re-staged this work in her home, and the clocks are now horribly out of sync. For a period, the hands of one clock stopped rotating but continued to tick, nearly in unison with its lover, and eventually began rotating again. The discordant but steady rhythms added to the complexity of the metaphor, reminding me of the ways one and their love can change, with and without each other.

Source: moma.org

2287 Notes/ Hide

  1. art-fiend reblogged this from referenceartgallery
  2. boy-ampalaya reblogged this from ihearttchuuu
  3. imbackinthegame reblogged this from alternativen
  4. ihearttchuuu reblogged this from ohwowthatsucks
  5. mightbeapirate reblogged this from ohwowthatsucks
  6. ohwowthatsucks reblogged this from saidthesilentdreamer
  7. saidthesilentdreamer reblogged this from tyleroakley
  8. celebrate-diversity reblogged this from shannananan
  9. neverendingnights reblogged this from lesciseaux and added:
    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled (Perfect Lovers)” (1991) The two battery-operated clocks are to be set in unison, but...
  10. lesciseaux reblogged this from memorygraves
  11. lifeandhappyendings reblogged this from hyperallergic
  12. ihateyoupleasedielol reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  13. pmbaird reblogged this from hyperallergic
  14. morganelizzz reblogged this from tyleroakley and added:
    I am so intrigued by this.
  15. extinction reblogged this from 1000splendidsuns
  16. 1000splendidsuns reblogged this from chandeliers
  17. chandeliers reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  18. no-short-ass-gods reblogged this from hyperallergic
  19. agameinsideyourhead reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  20. dark-coffee reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  21. 99lightbulbs reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  22. classupyourass reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  23. trialsofdating reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  24. toseek reblogged this from mimers
  25. vianho reblogged this from saberrry
  26. weallknowyoudreamofme reblogged this from tyleroakley
  27. classickk reblogged this from offices
  28. emilyraine reblogged this from the-absolute-best-posts
  29. jeffthebruiser reblogged this from offices

Recent comments

Blog comments powered by Disqus