Electric Fan: Only unclaimed item from the Stephen Earabino estate., 1997

Medium: Electric fan encased in plexiglas with vinyl faux etching, plexiglas base with casters
Dimensions: 56 7/8 x 22 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (144.5 x 57.8 x 31.8 cm) Other (Top Vitrine w/holes): 24 x 22 3/4 x 12 1/2 in. (60.96 x 57.79 x 31.75 cm) Other (Fan): 24 1/2 x 19 7/8 x 4 1/2 in. (62.23 x 50.48 x 11.43 cm) Other (Base w/castors): 33 1/8 x 22 7/8 x 12 1/2
Accession Number: 2000.12
Credit: The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Gift of the artist in memory of Stephan Earabino

Soon after the death of his lover Stephen Earabino from AIDS, LA conceptual artist Boskovich discovered that Earabino’s family had completely cleared out his apartment, including the artist’s possessions, save for the electric box fan in this work.

An entire person, existence, and relationship had been erased, like so many were during the AIDS crisis. Boskovich encased the fan in Plexiglas as a kind of evidence and added cutouts to allow its circulated air to escape and be felt by the viewer, almost like an exhalation. In a sense restoring Earabino’s breath, at least as a facsimile in memoriam, Boskovich makes a tender and brokenhearted gesture toward some form of eternal life.

Collection