Robert Gober

Dave Hickey, Las Vegas
Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

This work is in very good condition. There is some very minor discoloration in places to the wrapping. There is a minute tear to the wrap at the left side edge of the butter stick.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Gober appropriates neither norms nor forms from the straight world, but replaces them, literally constructs them all -- the sinks, the plywood sheets, the newspapers, bringing nothing 'readymade' across the abyss of difference.  Reincarnating these artifacts as extensions of his own true nature, he colonizes the straight world with them--so that, finally, if nothing else in the world of false facture confirms Gober's presence in it, these objects do.
Dave Hickey (Exh. Cat., Robert Gober, Los Angeles, The Museum of Contemporary Art, 1997, p. 54) 

Dave Hickey is one of the best known American art and cultural critics practicing today. He has written for many major American publications including Rolling Stone, Art News, Art in America, Artforum, Harper's Magazine, and Vanity Fair. He is currently Professor of English at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Known for his arguments against academicism and in favor of the effects of rough-and-tumble free markets on art, his critical essays have been published in two volumes: The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty and Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy (1997). Through his writing and lecturing, Dave Hickey has gained a substantial international reputation. He has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, U.S. News and World Report, Texas Monthly, and elsewhere. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called "genius grant."