Gonzalez-Torres

Question 1

GT’s birth and death years

Answer 1

Guáimaro, Cuba.

1957-1996

Question 2

GT’s early life

Answer 2

Moved to Puerto Rico at a young age.

Question 3

GT education

Answer 3

Moved to NYC in 1979.
Graduated from Pratt (79-83)
Whitney Museum program (81, 83)
Master’s from International Center for Photography, NYU (87)

Question 4

What did GT study at the Whitney?

Answer 4

Postmodernist art theory

Question 5

GT’s early career

Answer 5

Teacher at NYU and CalArts (1990)

Member of Group Material (87-91)

Question 6

Why did GT become a teacher?

Answer 6

Believed it was important to teach because he didn’t have Latin American mentors himself

Question 7

Key components of GT’s artistic practice

Answer 7

Audience participation is necessary to complete artwork’s meaning

Intersection of public and private spheres (ex. Billboards. How laws affect people privately)

There’s no fixed meaning to his artwork; multiple meanings

Political content hidden by “beautiful veneer”

Question 8

Untitled (For Jeff): who was Jeff?

Answer 8

GT’s partner Ross’ caretaker (Ross has AIDS)

Question 9

Materials GT used

Answer 9

Photography and unusual materials like candy, paper stacks, light bulbs

Question 10

Where has For Jeff been exhibited ?

Answer 10

Stockholm and in working class neighborhood outside Caracas. 
In DC in 2003

Question 11

For Jeff year

Answer 11

1992

Question 12

Why are GT’s works called Untitled and followed by parenthesis?

Answer 12

Parenthesis serve as “hints” to the viewer to construct the meaning