VOID


Frequently monochromatic, often verging on abstraction, the works in this group suggest distance, emptiness, and mortality. While much of this work relates to the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic, other pieces, such as Andy Warhol's Jackie or Peter Hujar's Candy Darling in the Hospital, indicate previous or related expressions of mourning, absence, and alienation in order to place artists' response to AIDS in a broader context.

A number of works in this section, such as David Tudor's reconstruction of John Cage's score for 4 Minutes, 33 Seconds, also suggest the emptiness of what might be called a state of "pre- being" that preceeds the birth of a new identity. Seen negatively, such works evoke the repressive alienation of the "closet." Seen in a more positive light, they represent a blank slate of unlimited possibility.


Ree Morton
Fading Flowers, 1974
Celastic, paint on wood, light bulbs
48"x48"x8"
Gift of the estate of Ree Morton

J. John Priola
Hole, 1993
Gelatin Silver Print
20x16"
Courtesy Frankel Gallery

David Tudor, United States, born 1926, Reconstructed score from John Cage's 4 minutes, 33 seconds, 1989, Document, 11 x 18-1/2", Lent by the Getty Center, Resource Collections

Rudy Lemcke, United States, born 1951, Untitled (performance score for percussion), 1977, Graphite, china marker on paper, 22 x 15", Courtesy of the artist

Collier Schorr, United States, born 1963, The Well #1 (White), 1948-1991, Plaster of Paris, cotton, graphite, ink, 12 x 12 x 7", Private collection

Andy Warhol, United States, 1928-1987, Jackie, 1964, Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 32", Lent by Ed Cauduro

Ross Bleckner, United States, born 1949, Untitled, 1989, Oil and watercolor on canvas, 24 x 24", Courtesy of the artist

Michael Jenkins, United States, born 1957, Snowflakes, about 1990, Felt in plexiglass and frames, 3 units: 72 x 24" each, Courtesy Cynthia Plehn Fine Art

Judie Bamber United States, born 1961, The Bad Seed (Canned Raspberry), 1986, Oil on canvas, 18 x 18", Lent by Amy Scholder

Judy Chicago, United States, born 1939, Female Rejection Drawing from the Rejection Quintet, 1974, Prismacolor on rag paper, 30 x 40", Lent by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; gift of Tracy O'Kates

Richard Hell + the Voidoids, Blank Generation, 1971, Album cover, Private collection

Peter Nagy, United States, born 1959, Internal Erotic, 1983, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36", Lent by Anne Livet

David Wojnarowicz, United States, 1954-1992, Fever, 1988-89, Three gelatin silver prints, 31 x 25", Courtesy of the Estate of David Wojnarowicz

Zoe Leonard, United States, born 1961, Washington, D.C., 1989, Gelatin silver print, ed. 3/3, 23 x 33", Courtesy Jack Hanley Gallery

Rex Ray, United States, born Germany, 1956, Untitled, 1993-94, Paper, Approx: 120 x 96", Courtesy of the artist

Scott Burton, United States, 1939-1989, Table, chair, and stool, 1979-80, A-36 structural steel finished with alphacryl, Table: 29-3/8 x 34-1/2 x 33-5/8"; Chair: 31-1/2 x 20-1/2 x 19-1/4", Stool: 18-1/4 x 18-1/2 x 19-5/8", Gift of John L. Bloch, 1984.74a,b,c

Peter Hujar, United States, 1934-1987, Candy Darling, 1974, Gelatin silver print, 14-5/8 x 14-5/8", Courtesy of the James Danziger Gallery

Brett Reichman, United States, born 1959, Blind Spot, 1993, Oil on canvas, 30 x 30", Lent by George Hensler


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