Robert Gober - Untitled

Sometimes, art is just weird. Robert Gober’s untitled work at the Art Institute of Chicago is a prime example. In the contemporary art portion of the museum, viewers will have a chance to walk through a room entirely dedicated to this work of “art.” Upon entering the room, viewers will be surrounded by some of the strangest art that has ever been created by man. A wallpaper featuring two repeated 4”x4” pictures, one of a white woman sleeping, and one of a black man being lynched, covers all four walls from floor to ceiling. At the center of the room there is an empty wedding dress held up by a sculpture of wires, and at the base of the walls the viewer will find several bags of cat litter. Unless you are mentally unstable enough to decode this one on your own, there is also a description on the exit wall written by Gober. According to Gober, the wallpaper represents the “ugly and unforgettable reality of the United States’ history.” Understandable. The wedding dress represents “the supposed white purity that often triggered or justified the violence depicted on the walls.” This is also understandable. The strangeness starts to kick in as Gober describes the bags of cat litter as “sculptures.” Anyone who views a bag of cat litter as a sculpture must have some screws loose somewhere. The rationale behind the litter is that it “absorbs the stench of excrement (the wallpaper) and it allows for domestic intimacy (think diapers).” Some might call this “art,” but a better home for this piece would probably be in a dumpster out back.