Untitled (Portrait of Ross) by Félix González-Torres (1991)
When you look at this work, you see a huge pile of colorful candy. This piece is known for its heartbreaking and overwhelming meaning. This pile of candy weighed 79 kilograms (175 pounds). Why precise? Well, the weight of this piece represents the weight of Ross, Félix's lover, when he was healthy but passed in 1991 because of AIDS. The people who visit the museum, Art Institute of Chicago are encouraged to take a piece of candy, and each candy that was taken represented the body of Ross that was slowly dying from his illness. This piece was made to remind the tragedy of the HIV outbreak. Every single time someone takes a piece of candy, you reenact the death of Ross. A lot of people interpret this piece in many ways, for example, the candy is not replaced or no more candy will be added to restore the pile, just like how the US Government ignored the outbreak in 1981, and thousands of lives were lost, and many more, but this piece was mainly known as a memorial of the late lov
