Correspondence 1

Felix Gonzalez-Torres created Untitled (Billboard of a Bed) in 1991. This image of his empty bed was displayed in 24 different locations throughout New York City. We have stumbled over a milestone in what is often mislabeled 'queer art.' For the first time, a famous institution, in this case the Museum of Modern Art, sponsored a gay artist and facilitated his success in conquering the urban epicenter that is NYC. Private and public spaces are merged as we enter into a setting of intimacy whilst being in the rustling theater of the city. The display is a commemoration, mourning the loss Torres' lover Ross, but it is also mourning the loss of freedom from interference. Many have forgotten the 1986 Supreme Court ruling that made gay men have no rights against police invasion of privacy. In 1996 Felix Gonzalez-Torres died of an AIDS related illness.


In 2006 Axwell (above) used the vocals of M.I.A.'s "Bucky Done Gun" and the instrumental of Digitalism's "Zdarlight" to make the mash-up Bucky Done Zdarlight. Instead of turning to the institution for support like Torres, superproducer Axwell gathered other people's music to create his own. The 'activist' rapper M.I.A. and electronica group Digitalism are fused into a new entity. When Gonzalez-Torres died, Axwell was coming into his own as a performer and composer, playing at gay clubs throughout the world. What if Torres could hear M.I.A.'s voice over the edgy synth and guitar of Digitalism? Gay culture moved from the bedroom to the dance floor in the 10 years proceeding the death of Torres. The intimacy of the scene remained, and both exposure and acceptance have grown. Looking at the concealed layers of song and art has provided us with a narrative. This isn't about 'gay art,' would you have know that was a gay man's bed if you saw it in person, or that Axwell's claim to fame involved playing at gay night clubs?

I didn't.

Sometimes things you love just have more connections then you think. I'm going to discuss with you two things which correspond and why it is they work together. The material being discussed will never be that similar, because there will always be a boundary between visual art and music. I'll never find out what either of these things are, but enjoying the two together makes me happy.