.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Literally remaking the readymade, Robert Gober's objects are made to look like manufactured, quotidian forms; however, their crafted character and the artist's actual labor exposes these objects as authentic creations. Gober's objects become anti-readymades and exist as simultaneously artificial and real: an intrinsic paradox.
The naturalism of the bag of donuts-its visual connection to the "real"-makes categorization difficult. Using real ingredients from the supermarket and a deep-frying donut recipe, the artist cooked the donuts. The same authenticity that makes homemade cookies taste better than store bought versions problematizes Gober's sculptures. Even Gober acknowledges that his sculptures' connection to the real confuses his viewers. Placed on a pedestal, a place of honor, the donuts experience a very Duchampian-moment, which ultimately compromises their identity. Is it a sculpture? Or a free tasting sample? To further compromise the objects identity, the artist went to great conversational lengths to prevent its deterioration. By physically eliminating all of the natural ingredients, that the artist initially bought, measured and used to make the donuts, the donuts literally become inedible. The donuts will last forever as objects that are neither real nor artificial-and the phrase "nothing lasts forever" suddenly takes on a whole new meaning.
The naturalism of the bag of donuts-its visual connection to the "real"-makes categorization difficult. Using real ingredients from the supermarket and a deep-frying donut recipe, the artist cooked the donuts. The same authenticity that makes homemade cookies taste better than store bought versions problematizes Gober's sculptures. Even Gober acknowledges that his sculptures' connection to the real confuses his viewers. Placed on a pedestal, a place of honor, the donuts experience a very Duchampian-moment, which ultimately compromises their identity. Is it a sculpture? Or a free tasting sample? To further compromise the objects identity, the artist went to great conversational lengths to prevent its deterioration. By physically eliminating all of the natural ingredients, that the artist initially bought, measured and used to make the donuts, the donuts literally become inedible. The donuts will last forever as objects that are neither real nor artificial-and the phrase "nothing lasts forever" suddenly takes on a whole new meaning.