A Final Act of Art: Defying Death with a Middle Finger

Artist Ceal Floyer created one last work as she was dying. Her friend, fellow artist Tacita Dean, witnessed it. Dean says the act was like "giving death the middle finger." Floyer, a British conceptual artist, died last month. Her work was famously delicate. It focused on the precise moment an idea is understood. She stripped away all extra meaning. This made her artistic process risky. Many of her ideas never became finished pieces. Dean believes this showed great courage. Now, Dean wants to share the story of Floyer's final, private artwork. It was a powerful personal act at the very end of her life.