Gilbert And George And Their ‘Interesting’ Exhibit

// January 14th, 2011 // b-inspired // b-uncut

Art can be a funny thing at times. Creative types are known for being a tad eccentric, the line between genius and insanity is fine after all. But do some artists cross that boundary with their works?

Legendary art duo Gilbert and George have just unveiled their latest exhibition in London at the White Cube gallery. The collection is a set of prints created from postcards. This is nothing new, the pair are famous for their postcard work. However, this is their first postcard collection in 20 years and is also happens to be their biggest. Still, nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Except, that is, for the them of the exhibit…

‘The Urethra Postcard Art of Gilbert and George.’

What? Urethra? Seriously? Those were my initial thoughts on this ‘interesting’ theme. Apparently each print in the collection consists of thirteen postcards – twelve arranged in a rectangle with one in the middle – representing “an angulated version of the urethra.” You may be wondering why the duo decided to take on this theme. As they explain it:

“Everyone has a urethra, very few people knew that word and even fewer can spell it but we all know how to spell leg, arm, head, stomach, foot, but not the urethra which is vital. It’s also, it’s not only for urine it’s also for sperm so it’s the beginning of life as well.” Well that explains that then?

Excuse me if I sound like a dumb art critic here, but what the hell has art got to do with the urethra? Maybe it’s sensationalism, maybe it’s a joke that they know no one else will get, but I just don’t see where they are coming from with this collection. I really don’t think ‘art’ like this helps the cause of modern art being seen as relevant or admired in mainstream society. As I observed about Damien Hirst, art like this can start to wear thin pretty quickly when the PR spin and shock and awe factor wears off.

There are so many artists out there stretching the definition of ‘artist’ very thin indeed. The problem is, with so many of today’s artists putting controversy and PR at the forefront of their work, it is becoming more and more difficult to differentiate what is hype and what is actually good. Someone like Banksy is a great example of an artist that courts controversy, but he also backs it up with clever, skilled art that makes you think. A far cry from someone that just draws huge amounts of attention to their exhibit without having great art to back it.

If an artist goes down the controversy route nowadays they better have some truly impressive art to back it up. I don’t think a few postcards count…