"I am a person who lives in this society and I am a product of this society
and this culture. I am not only a reflection, I am that culture itself "
-Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Felix Gonzalez-Torres was not interested in making art that posed the viewer against the work of art. The works are not the authority and the viewer is not an innocent bystander. Gonzalez-Torres was interested in works that inspire the viewer to realize his or her own sense of authority. His interest was in allowing the audience to feel a sense of its own rights -- the right to an opinion, the right to choose to be a participant, and the right to consider itself an equal center of society and culture. He was also deeply committed to the notion that in acknowledging one¹s rights, one must accept that one is responsible to contribute.

Gonzalez-Torres was always amazed by the overwhelming desire most people have to create separations between themselves and society. Thus, much of his work addresses the constructs of "private" vs. "public". What is public space vs. private space? What is public information vs. private information? Why do we tend to detach ourselves from events that do not happen directly to us? For example, why isn't the inauguration of a new president commonly considered a personal event to a citizen? Felix Gonzalez-Torres' billboard pieces address such issues. The ability to experience an image in an outdoor location, accessible to all, without any explanation, creates a territory rich with possibility.

"Untitled" 1995 is an image that had personal importance to Felix. While the piece is privately owned by an individual, it is placed before the public on twenty-four outdoor billboards. Once placed in the public domain - everyone has equal access to the work, and to their interpretation of it. Is my interpretation of a black and white photograph of a bird flying in the sky -- a fleeting moment stopped in time -- juxtaposed amidst our brightly colored world full of media the same as someone else's? Is it necessary to define whether that experience is private or public?

Felix Gonzalez-Torres wanted us to sense our connection to the rest of the world. By acknowledging the effect that the world has on us, it illuminates the effect we can have on the world and emphasizes the power of our personal experiences.

- Andrea Rosen