“Untitled” (It’s Just a Matter of Time) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Credit: andrearosengallery.com

Felix Gonzalez-Torres was a Cuban-born artist, educator, and activist most known for his work in the late 1980s until his death in 1996. Gonzalez-Torres often used his art in conjunction with social and political causes of the time, with a goal to transform the spectator from a passive recipient to an active, reflective observer. 

His work, “Untitled (It’s Just a Matter of Time)” is a perfect example of such. The billboard was originally exhibited in 1992 in Hamburg, Germany, in an exhibit titled “Gegendarstellung: Ethics/Aesthetics in Times of AIDS.” During this exhibition, the piece was also installed in cities throughout the world — translated into the official language of the country in which it was displayed. 

The original installation of “Untitled (It’s Just a Matter of Time)” in Germany
Credit: artpace.org

Regardless of the language it was written in, the appearance of the billboard was the same. A plain black background with the phrase, “It’s Just a Matter of Time” set in a classic Fraktur typeface — a distinctly Gothic typeface with an inextricable link to death (as it was used heavily as the “true” German script during Nazi Germany). The color, font, and delivery in a cold, billboard format (usually used for advertising) feel foreboding and direct in their meaning.

Taken in the context of a time when deaths from the AIDS epidemic were reaching an all-time high, one can assume that it was significant for the artist and the countless others who lost loved ones to the disease. “It’s just a matter of time” was a much more present musing. 

Credit: andrearosengallery.com

In presenting the installation across the world, Felix Gonzalez-Torres asked the viewer to consider the statement themselves. And in doing so, the viewer becomes an active part of the conversation that was taking place in the 1990s about AIDs, public health, and sexuality. 

And today, the message remains timeless. Despite how direct the billboard seems, it still leaves room for reflection and personal conclusions and interpretations — it’s just a matter of time … before what?