Happy Friday! Here are some candies: š¬š¬š¬
Oh never mind. I canāt give you as much sugar as this work contains. Its label says āideal weight: 175 pounds.ā
What does it mean by āidealā? It is
⦠likely the average body weight of an adult male, or perhaps the ideal weight of the subject referred to in the title, Ross Laycock, the artistās partner who died of complications from AIDS in 1991.
And the large elephant in the room would be whether you can take the candy or not. The wording of āidealā and the missing signs of āDo Not Touchā seems to indicate that it is fine. As a museum regular I tend to be more conservative, but the security guard nearby keeps telling everyone to feel free to take one (candy). Very rare.
Itās sort of inviting the loss. Or in another perspective, inviting the sharing act. There is the law of conservation of mass; someone else might gain something while itās a loss in another aspect. This is definitely the best philosophy to turn things around.
I donāt know why but I still feel a little sad.
āUntitledā (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.