Felix Gonzalez-Torres - Perfect Lovers (1987-91)

This work means a lot to me. Years back when I first read the title of it I wondered how the artist could imagine “perfect lovers” as being two persons perfectly in sync with one another all the time. No lovers are. Then I read more into it and found out the story behind it, and since then Perfect Lovers has been one of my most favorite works of art of all time. 

The artist conceived of Perfect Lovers subsequent to the death of his partner, Ross, who battled AIDS throughout their almost ten-year relationship.

The two identical battery-operated clocks were synchronized and set side by side in the gallery. In the course of the exhibit, the clocks inevitably fell out of sync. The batteries of one of the clocks expired while the other ticked on. The clocks being identical in shape is a subtle allusion to homosexuality.