By: Danii Oliver
Drugs, sexuality, colors, pretty men, youth, faith. These are the terms that spoke out loud quietly behind the glass on the walls of the Gilbert and George show at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The Gilbert & George show was comprised of a retrospect of their lives’ work. Each piece represented a concern of male youth. Gilbert & George explore those concerns and graphically give us a framed day in the life of.
The pieces came off as mainstream 1980’s grit imagery with graffitied walls, acid color saturations and a feeling of a British accent. The world that Gilbert & George put before us seemed to be a world of examination and exploration. All the pieces contained images of the duo seemingly examining their perspectives on the world or giving the viewer a look inside their minds and the minds of those going through the same things.
Gilbert & Georges’ works seem to explore all that a youth boy in a revolutionary time period would be dealing with. Their works DEATH, LIFE, FEAR, HOPE, all seem to touch graphically on the unspoken worries of young men. In each piece Gilbert & George juxtaposed their images with images of young boys who seemed to be looking for a way. In LIFE and in DEATH their presence in the image seems to give direction to the wandering young men.
MM2000 explored another concern within young men the search for companionship and the desire to get off. The piece was homosexually directed. It showed various avenues to travel. It gave you a look in to the eyes and ultimately the souls of the requesting young men. Inviting personal ads sold the person on the outside. Graffiti comments spoke the truth of their thoughts and sexual hand and finger interlockings, told of their true intent as well as nervousness to pursue. Once again Gilbert & George’s larger than life presence in this image of a thought process seems to give direction to any young man wondering what to do or how to proceed.
EXISTER brought the show together. An image full of young men from different walks of life looking to the future, looking toward a way oozed with the chant of “Boy Power”. A test of the waters and a fight for a place – the postures of the young men tells the viewer that they belong like anyone else and will be seen and heard. Gilbert & George sit in this image much more reserved than in the other images, appearing as one of the rest of the young men whose concerns they have explored. It says “we are you and you are us, we understand”.
The works of Gilbert & George speak out to a very specific target and concern. They are speaking out to young men exploring their worlds, bodies, faiths and desires. The works show the impact of reactions on the mind and the journey through growth and developmental phases. Gilbert & George’s work expresses to its audience that they are not the only ones in their state of mind and that they will make it through because they have been there and are still here.