Spotlight on Gilbert & George

Sometime last year Sky Arts aired a special on the renowned duo Gilbert Prousch and George Passmore. They've always caught my attention with their large scaled signature images, rich in colour (noticeably red), formed in panels and almost always feature themselves. Viewing some of their pieces reminds me of looking at a large stained glass window in a church, although most of their collaborative works would be deemed inappropriate for a house of God.

These two prolific artists have a distinctive style; they make no bones over the fact that they view themselves as the art. This is evident not only in their appearance in most of their artworks, but in their formal attire, their uniform if you like. Gilbert and George attended Saint Martin's School of Art, later securing tenancy in the East End of London where they have lived and worked since the 1960's.

Their practise runs like a machine, capturing photographic images and meticulously categorising them; recent years have seen the duo abandon contact sheets and darkrooms for digital media stored on exabytes of storage. They are known to build scaled models of any gallery space they are about to occupy; such is the control they demand of their output. Both agree that they are essentially two people, one artist with "a shared sense of purpose and ambition".

Their work reflects their surroundings and the politics of the time, and is thus forever evolving. The photography-based collages are sometimes extremely intricate, some with limited colour palettes, but always impactful. Through symbolism, text and their own image they produce engaging scenes which mirror their environment, their world. They speak a language I find accessible, void of pretentiousness or a patronising undertone.

In the Sky Arts program Gilbert and George described themselves as outsiders. In the early days they would scribe their address and telephone number on their artwork so that they could be contacted by the establishment. They yearned recognition from their peers but it soon became apparent that they didn't need it, they have each other.

Links:

The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George

Complete list of unit 3 blog posts