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20/21 | Collection | Conversation | Process 20/21 Gallery
Conversation: Place, Part II, Kansas
Felix Gonzalez-Torres
Untitled
Untitled
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Click on a thumbnail above to view the entire piece.
“Felix Gonzalez-Torres Interviewd by Tim Rollins,” in Between Artists (ART Press, Los Angeles, 1996), 92.I always tell my students that as cultural producers we should be very aware of what the culture is doing. We must read the newspaper; we should watch the news; we should be finding out what is new, because even if we don’t take them on as issues, that stuff will affect us one way or another. For example, what is happening right now in Yugoslavia with men in uniform killing innocent people, I think that should also be part of the studio. I think that should also be a part of your ‘inspiration’ the way that the horror of being the homeless person down on the street should also be part of your life. Artists should be well informed.” Felix Gonzalez-Torres, 1996
The above quotation by Gonzalez-Torres echoes my own reasons for wanting to create this 20/21 Gallery Conversation about place. Though I listen to the radio, read newspapers, and try in other ways to educate myself about what is going on, both in Lawrence, Kansas and around the world, I am always struggling with the fact that I know so little about what is happening in the lives of people who aren’t part of my daily routine.I love this particular piece by Gonzalez-Torres because of its ambiguity. Does “place” indicate the specific spot on the gallery floor where the stacks sit, the 20/21 Gallery, the Spencer Museum, the University of Kansas, the city of Lawrence, the state of Kansas, the United States . . . ? Or, is place something less specific, such as when someone asks if you’re in a “good place,” meaning that you’re content with your friends, your work, and your life? I love how this piece takes my thoughts in different directions, to different places. I also love the work’s generosity, its invitation to literally take these ideas with you.
Emily Stamey, Co-Curator, 20/21 Gallery
This seems like an incredible waste of paper. What is the outcome of having this piece in the galleries? Anonymous
2008-05-12
I particularly like this piece by Gonzalez-Torres because of how open it is to interpretation and how easily the viewer can make it applicable to their own thoughts and feelings. The piece is extremely insightful in that, whether or not you read this as a physical place or an emotional place, I think everyone feels this kind of ambiguity in their lives, and this work very concisely expresses these thoughts.
The impact of personal interpretation of the piece is amplified by the fact that the visitor can take away part of it. The decision to take one or both, and where you decide to take them make the piece even more personal outside the museum.
Angela Watts Asst Collection Manager Spencer Museum of Art
2008-05-08
I encountered another Gonzalez-Torres installation recently and, even after knowing that Felix Gonzalez-Torres creates works to be taken away by the visitor, I questioned whether I could indeed take a sheet from the pile.
This piece, although engaging in its content, is also a challenge for visitors to disengage from their traditional museum discipline. In doing so, we (the visitors) also expand our perceptions of the museum. What can't happen in a museum is happening in a museum. What else can happen in the museum?Bertram Lyons Director's Intern Spencer Museum of Art
2008-05-07
