WHAT'S IN A DAME: Is candy sweeter when it's $7.6M?

Untitled (L.A.) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and acquired by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, has Arkansans in sugar and sticker shock.
Untitled (L.A.) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and acquired by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, has Arkansans in sugar and sticker shock.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art just blew a bunch of money on candy.

My bad. It's not candy. It's an "acquisition," as the world-class Bentonville museum founded by Alice Walton calls it.

The modern art installation, Untitled (L.A.) created by Felix Gonzalez-Torres in 1991, features, according to a Nov. 16 news release, "small, green candies wrapped in cellophane ... spread across the gallery floor, so that viewers may touch, take, and consume the work, which can be endlessly replenished."

So what's the difference between that and just regular candy?

About $7.6 million. That's the sum the museum paid for an infinite pile of tooth-decay promoters that will sit on a floor of the museum in the coming months.

When you and I drop candy on the floor, we make a mess. But when the late Gonzalez-Torres performed "candy spills," he made masterpieces.

Gonzalez-Torres created this piece the year his longtime partner, Ross Laycock, died of complications from AIDS -- the same disease that caused his death in 1996. Says the news release: "Gonzalez-Torres's candy spills have often been interpreted as metaphors for the depleted human body ravaged by illness. In that context, by providing for the endless replenishment of the candy, the artist grants the metaphorical body a kind of perpetual life."

I haven't seen this artwork yet. I'm sure the photographs don't do an expanse of green candy on a wood floor -- that has earned comparisons to shag carpet, Chia Pets and a giant green Rice Krispies treat -- justice. Maybe in person it really is, as Christie's International described it in the recent New York auction, a "gleaming tapestry, as layer upon layer of shiny-wrapped cellophane candies sparkle and reflect the surrounding light. The seductive appearance of the shiny candy wrappers appeals to our magpie sensibilities, luring the viewer in with the shimmering promise of its delicious contents. With a childlike sense of wonder, the viewer cannot help but break the taboo of art's 'look-but-don't-touch' decree."

But for now I see a really expensive pile of candy. And with no nougat or caramel.

I'm no artist or expert. So I went to those who are. I asked several Arkansas artists and gallery owners -- who also have not yet seen the piece up close -- for their initial impressions of the Gonzalez-Torres installation.

TOD CRITES, ARTIST

"I think that art is very subjective, thus the expression 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' I personally think that everything has some sort of artistic value, this being one of them. As a whimsical artist I do feel that sometimes art can be too serious and too hands-off. This is defiantly not one of those pieces. I am intrigued by the concept of being able to touch, alter and even consume part of this art. I think this installation will create a dialogue with many different opinions -- isn't that one of the purposes of art? It is great that Crystal Bridges has such a broad scope of art which allows them to attract many different types of art enthusiasts, and I think that this will be a very interesting part of their collection. I say two thumbs up for thinking out of the box."

CINDY SCOTT-HUISMAN, OWNER, CANTRELL GALLERY

"I can accept that this contemporary art installation is thought-provoking, interactive and interesting. It's interesting to see how people react to it, what they make of it, what discussions it might start: Do people actually take a piece of the candy and eat it -- or not -- and why? I understand that a lot of people look at something like this and quickly assess that it is not art. It is out-there! If people take the time to try to understand what the artist was trying to achieve, they might get something out of it. On the other hand, it's hard to understand, even for me, someone who has grown up around art and realizes how odd the art business can be, why a piece such as this sells for the amount of money that it does."

NEAL HARRINGTON, ARTIST

"Is the Felix Gonzalez-Torres work my cup of tea (or taste in candy)? No. But this type of conceptual work is art and makes you think. It opens viewers up to new ways of seeing that my style/type of artwork doesn't, and I feel that this is important in the world. Do I have to like it? Is it art? Is anything art? Is everything art? Yes. As Marcel Duchamp said, 'It is art because I say it is art'... or something like that! Is this work worth so much money? Probably not, but if you have that kind of money to spend, why not?"

V.L. COX, ARTIST

"I still don't know quite what to think about it to be honest. As much as I respect and like modern art, sometimes I don't 'get' some pieces. This is one of them, I'm afraid."

MAC MURPHY, OWNER, M2 GALLERY

"There are really two issues that most people dwell on regarding the recent acquisition: the 'I can do that' philosophy and the amount of money paid for the piece. To me, the price of the piece of art is negligible. ... Crystal Bridges felt the piece was worth that, and when it comes down to it, that is all that matters. Regarding the 'I can do that' philosophy: With Gonzalez-Torres' work and many other artists, casual viewers and sometimes seasoned collectors feel the work lacks merit because 'I could do that.' The importance of the piece acquired relies heavily on Gonzalez-Torres' life and the time in which he lived and created. When a large number of people were struggling (to put it kindly) with understanding AIDS, Gonzalez-Torres created a piece that shows how we are all connected in spite of the differences society focuses on. Then, and still now, sexuality was a major headline. Today, the piece could just as easily speak to other 'differences' people are focusing on. It destroys certain ideas of what is art, and it creates an intentionally interactive work that allows the work to endlessly give to others and spread throughout the world regardless of any differences. The dialogue that has been created by this purchase is great."

WARREN CRISWELL, ARTIST

"Perfect for Wal-Mart. Candy, endlessly replenished, no worries."

Send some email, sugar:

jchristman@arkansasonline.com

What's in a Dame is a weekly report from the woman 'hood. You can hear Jennifer on Little Rock's KURB-FM, B98.5 (B98.com), from 5:30-9 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Style on 11/24/2015

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