Félix González-Torres – Untitled {Perfect Lovers} (1987-1990)
I was completely unfamiliar with González-Torres or his work until earlier this week. I don’t think this piece has ever been far from my mind ever since.
As the story goes, González-Torres‘ partner Ross Laycock learned he had AIDS. In an effort to process the news, González-Torres outlined the following conceptual exercise:
He acquired two identical black rimmed wall clocks and hung them on a wall so they were touching each other. The clocks were synchronized and the set running. Slowly over time they fell out of sync with one another–whether due to one having better batteries or just the reality of entropy.
In an interview with ArtPress a year before he AIDS stole his life also, González-Torres stated:
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.
Acetylene Eyes 