Gilbert and George

Gilbert and George

            Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore work collaboratively on their artworks.  They are famous for their photography that is presented in a bright, colorful, graphic arts style.  One of their early works was The Singing Sculpture, which was a performance piece in which the two covered their hands and heads in colorful powder, and then sang along with a recording of “Underneath the Arches”.  This was done publicly at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery.  Gilbert and George wore suits during this performance, and now they wear the same suits during every public appearance.  The reasoning behind this is that they see themselves as living sculptures, and art is in everything that they do.  A series of theirs known as The Pictures are large-scale photographs containing bold colors and black grids over the image, giving each picture a distinct graphic-arts style.  Often Gilbert and George appear in these artworks.

            I became interested in Gilbert and George’s The Pictures series.  I like the appearance of graphic arts on the photographs, and I also like how the black grids they use break up the photos and make them seem to have almost a comic book quality.  Their collaborative pieces are so strong because Gilbert and George understand each other so well, and are constantly around each other.  Some of their photos in The Pictures series have been controversial and have attracted a lot of media attention for the imagery, but Gilbert and George state that art cannot be conservative.