The main priority of the Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation is fostering and facilitating individuals’ direct experiences with the work, in keeping with Gonzalez-Torres’s primary intention. The Foundation also provides language around the structure and nature of the works, following the type and forms of language developed by Gonzalez-Torres that has been provided to owners and exhibitors on an ongoing basis. One of the ways the Foundation provides access to such language is through a format referred to as the 'Core Tenets,' which describe works/bodies of works that have specific, yet sometimes open-ended parameters
While each body of work follows its own set of rules, Gonzalez-Torres’s practice includes purposeful variations, within a body of work and between bodies of work, in order to foster engagement and questioning. It may be compelling to compare how the Core Tenets for different works/bodies of work differ and align with one another.
The Core Tenets hosted on the Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation website are inherently documents that may shift over time; currently each Core Tenets document is in-process. They are shared here to prioritize accessibility and reflect the Foundation’s ongoing research activities. The Core Tenets will continue to be updated as research progresses and language develops, and the links to the in-process documents will be updated accordingly.
*If the Core Tenets are cited, the Foundation requests that the citation describe the language as part of an in-process/ongoing/developing language project. As in: “An in-process document shared on the Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation’s website describes the core tenets of the work as…”
Bodies of Works for which there are Core Tenets:
Core Tenets for Billboards (In-process)
Core Tenets for Candy Works (In-process)
Core Tenets for Curtains (In-process)
Core Tenets for Light Strings (In-process)
Core Tenets for Paper Stacks (In-process)
Core Tenets for Portraits (In-process)
Individual Works for which there are Core Tenets:
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Loverboy), 1989 (In-process - forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers), 1991 and "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers), 1987-1990 (Forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Welcome), 1991 (Forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (March 5th) #1, 1991 (In-process - forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (March 5th) #2, 1991 (In-process - forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Go-Go Dancing Platform), 1991 (In-process)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (A Portrait), 1991/1995 (Forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Orpheus, Twice), 1991 (In-process - forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Fear), 1991 (Forthcoming)
Core Tenets for "Untitled", 1994-1995 (In-process)
Core Tenets for "Untitled" (Sagitario), 1994-1995 (In-process)