“Untitled” (Placebo)

E488200

“Untitled” (Placebo) is a seminal 1991 installation by Felix Gonzalez-Torres consisting of a shimmering pile of silver-wrapped candies that viewers are invited to take, symbolizing themes of loss, illness, and the gradual disappearance of the body.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
“Untitled” (Placebo) canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf contemporary art work
installation artwork
artForm installation art
artisticConcept candies taken by viewers represent gradual loss
tension between permanence and ephemerality
work’s ideal weight can be replenished by the institution
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
creator Felix Gonzalez-Torres NERFINISHED
depicts metaphorical human body
describedAs seminal installation by Felix Gonzalez-Torres
displayStrategy pile is allowed to diminish over time
visitors are invited to take a candy
exhibitedAt Museum of Modern Art, New York NERFINISHED
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum NERFINISHED
various international museums and galleries
genre conceptual art
hasColor silver
hasPart candies arranged in a rectangular form
pile of candies on the gallery floor
hasTitle "Untitled" (Placebo) NERFINISHED
inception 1991
influencedBy HIV/AIDS crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s
languageOfTitle English
mainSubject AIDS epidemic
disappearance of the body
grief
illness
loss
memory NERFINISHED
mortality
materialUsed individually wrapped candies
silver-wrapped candies
movement contemporary art
notableFor changing, depleting form
engagement with AIDS crisis
metaphor for the wasting body
use of everyday materials
viewer participation
partOfSeries Felix Gonzalez-Torres candy works NERFINISHED
significantEvent frequently cited as a key work of 1990s conceptual art
theme absence and presence
institutional care and replenishment
intimacy and public space
participation

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres notableWork “Untitled” (Placebo)