More responses to Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled (Perfect Lovers)" (1991)

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

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

I originally posted this piece during romance week. It’s been one of my all-time favorite posts, both because of the personal significance it holds for me (as mentioned in the original post) and as it has been hugely popular. Not only was it frequently reblogged and liked, but it also elicited quite a range of responses, some of which we’ve addressed before. Several, however, waxed about the nature of romantic relationships, and whether or not this was an appropriate, depressing, or cliched representation of the subject. Ohnocomics’ response makes me refine my understanding of what the clocks are symbols of. Are they symbols of each lover, or the life of each lover, or each’s love? I don’t think the piece is about similarity as a basis for love, but maybe the way love/love’s idiosyncrasies can hinge (and unhinge) lovers together. Like Fiftysevendegrees, several responses, positive and negative, mentioned the idea of resetting the clocks, that relationships take effort. Jayx35mm hits at part of the crux of the piece to me — it’s not the loss of sync that’s the most important, but the recognition that there once was sync. In fact, I think the beauty of the piece is in considering whether the clocks’ sync is the symbol of perfect love — to me, love is greater than harmony or disharmony. A “perfect” love accepts these imperfections. Nixemus gets this. So does lilium-inter-spinas, who brings up Reich’s phasing pieces, which can be appreciated for their wavering between dissonance and harmony. Greg.org, discussing a piece made in homage to Gonzalez-Torres’, brings some added context to the piece, that may ruin (or heighten) the sweetness of the piece for you:

And at the time of Felix’s death, a 1987 work [officially listed as “additional material,” not work] titled Perfect Lovers, was in the collection of his former partner Jorge Colazzo. It consists of a pair of wall clocks, signed, titled, and numbered, “1/3”.

Knowing that Felix made Perfect Lover clocks for all his boyfriends [sic] throws a layer of complexity onto the typically poignant interpretation of the work: yes, they’re identical and in sync (for now), but they’re also mass produced. And replaceable. You can pick one up at the corner.

One thing I noticed is that very few comments mentioned actually being able to use the clocks to tell the time, which I think is indicative of how the piece works. It favors meaning beyond usefulness; it’s a disavowal of an absolute truth or faith in correctness.

Posted by bespangled