i'm
not really clear on where you are going with this. i mean, obviously i don't
think that the artist should have the last word on his or her work, otherwise
art historians would have nothing to do. the question of perception and
production, and the fluid border between the artwork and the art observer is a
fascinating one; particularly in more conceptual work. am i still experiencing
a felix gonzales torres if i am sitting here thinking about it? it speaks to
broader questions about the relationship between object and art idea which have
been under consideration for the better part of the twentieth century, but
never fully resolved.
one of my favorite pieces seen in the last few years was one by karin sander at
a guggenheim minimalism exhibition a few years ago. she works with sandpaper,
polishing things. she took one of the walls of her guggenheim exhibition space
and polished it, using very fine sandpaper, until it was a giant white plane
totally shiny and smooth and perfect. it was miraculous- and not only did it
not exist, in the commodity sense, but it was actually created by *removal
alone*, i.e. getting rid of the paint. it was a total void. and yet beautiful,
and a raw gesture of vision and
technique. and i am thinking about it right now, which means to some extent
that her work can now be found sitting in a cafe in