Faculty of Arts & Science

Visual and Critical Studies

Amaaya Dasgupta

Dissensus and Grievability in Felix Gonzales-Torres' Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA), 1991

In this paper, I argue for the importance of what Jacques Rancière terms “dissensus” in queer contemporary art, especially as exemplified in Felix Gonzalez-Torres' Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA.) 1991. Through a critical analysis of the artwork, I will demonstrate how via a redistribution of the sensible, Gonzalez-Torres also redistributes what Judith Butler terms ‘grievability,’ both enactments that are not only inherently political, but sustain each other in this act of queer performance.