11.27.09 – Is it Art or Just Candy?

Currently I have a lot of leftover candy from my gingerbread project (see my 11.22.09 blog entry to read all about that fun-filled experience), which made think of the artist, Felix Gonzalez-Torres. When I was in graduate school, the curator of contemporary art from the local art museum taught one of my art history courses. She managed to arrange visits to two local collectors’ homes, which allowed us to see some very famous pieces of art in very private domains. One home was filled with contemporary art, which caused a number of the students to raise their eyebrows repeatedly. One such piece was Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ mound of candy. I forget the exact name of the piece, but it was a mound of a specific brand of candy and a specific weight. Most of us, me included, were a bit perplexed at this piece, and bordering on not believing it to be real art. Then an interesting thing happened, the owner asked us to each take a piece of candy (many of Gonzalez-Torres’ pieces offer such tokens to the viewer and are replenished by either the owner or exhibitor). No one moved toward the mound. All the looks of skepticism were gone and a look of shock took its place. Even though many of us didn’t view this artwork as “real art” we couldn’t fathom disrupting or altering the piece. It took the owner and the curator to each take a piece of candy before the rest of us would slowly go over to the mound and delicately take a piece ourselves.