Well acquainted with controversy, dynamic London art duo, Gilbert and George, are set to claim centre stage in the art world once more.
Described by Tory MP Ann Widdecombe last year as “blasphemous in the extreme”, Gilbert and George are staging a major retrospective of their work at Tate Modern, opening 15 February 2007.
The retrospective promises to showcase much of the work that brought the two their infamy, along with new works, created specifically for the Tate Modern retrospective. Displaying over 200 of their pieces, it will be their largest exhibition to date.
Unsurprisingly, Tate Modern told Arts Hub last week: “Gilbert and George tackle taboos head on so we are absolutely expecting it to be discussed widely.”
The pair is no stranger to publicity, frequently charming journalists with good-humoured quirkiness. Appearing together and wearing only suits in public, the two are regularly described as warm and personable. The public is well-versed with Gilbert and George trivia. Many know that the artists eat in the same restaurant every night, with one walking to the restaurant and one taking a cab.
But despite their status as media darlings, their work continues to court controversy. Why?
Having met as art students at St Martins College in the late 1960s, they have since been inseparable. Initially performance artists, their early work, “Smashed”, saw the two artists drunk on gin and dressed in suits, singing songs about Gordon’s Gin while listening to classical music. The work displayed their inventiveness but barely hinted at what was to come.
They soon began experimenting with Christian symbolism in their photo montages, and these lavish works, flooded with colour and often backlit, created a stir in conservative circles as the pair were often, if not always, the subject of the quasi-religious imagery.
But later series of pictures were the true cause of infamy for Gilbert and George. Religion and race mixed with sexuality became their recurring motif and enraged many.
The titles of several of their later exhibits, “Naked Shit Pictures” and “Sonofagod Pictures: Was Jesus a Heterosexual?” were enough to stir up media attention, and the inclusion of nudity, sex and bodily fluids such as faeces, urine and semen, guaranteed the pair time in the media spotlight.
The launch of “Sonofagod Pictures” at the White Cube Gallery last year was enough to prompt Tory MP Ann Widdecombe to extend her criticism of the pair as blasphemers by saying, “[they] are blasphemous in the extreme, as they will find out when they finally stand before the Son of God”.
Unwilling to let such colourful critics silence them, Gilbert and George have ploughed ahead. Now, it seems, with a shift in focus. And, if the Tate Modern is expecting retrospective to be discussed widely, it is with good reason.
Gilbert and George have created a new series for the exhibition. Called “Six Bomb Pictures”, they are the only works created by the artists in 2006. Created to commemorate the recent London bombings, the work is described by the pair as their most chilling effort to date.
Comprising of a 14 metre triptych entitled Bomb and five other pictures: Bombs; Bomber; Bombers; Bombing; and Terror, the series promises to challenge. Housed within the retrospective, this new memorial will directly contrast against their older, more scandalous work.
Unperturbed by the placement of a memorial next to controversial work, Gilbert and George are characteristically enthused. They appear to be anything but nervous over any offense they might provoke in a still sensitive public. According to Gilbert, their unique perspective on the bombings encouraged them to create, rather than remain silent. “As artists we were able to bring something special in thoughts and feelings to this subject, something the media, religious leaders and politicians find difficult to do.”
Like their earlier works, the artists feature in this latest series, appearing as guards, witnesses and exploding atomised beings standing in ashes.
While Tate Modern Director, Vicente Todoli, said he was “delighted the show will be brought up to the present day with this remarkably powerful new group”, Gilbert and George hinted last week at the challenges they faced in mounting the exhibition.
Quoted in the Independent as saying, “We had to literally kick the door in,” Gilbert explained they had been trying to mount the exhibition for five years.
Tate Modern was quick to respond to Gilbert’s criticism that they rarely showcase British talent, telling Artshub, “From time to time we do – Rachel Whiteread in the Unilever Series was a fine example and British artists are well represented in the Collection displays at Tate Modern”.
So was it the volume of potentially offensive content in the pair’s work that gave Tate Modern cause for concern? It seems unlikely. Tate Modern hinted that the sheer scale of the retrospective and the enormous size of pictures themselves were initially a concern, rather than content or style.
Ultimately, however, Tate Modern decided their space was the best choice for an exhibition of such size and focus and they agreed to mount the retrospective.
Whatever the struggles Gilbert and George may have faced recently, their latest work will undoubtedly confirm their chair at the forefront of cultural discussion.
And, if not for the artwork itself, then the “Six Bomb Pictures” series will almost certainly be talked about for its brave inclusion in Gilbert and George’s exciting, controversial and challenging oeuvre.
Gilbert and George “A Portrait of the Artists as Young Men” from 1972.
