I have always liked the atheistic appearance of their work. The vivid bold colours used in their large scale pictures are particularly striking. Producing pictures that are made up of large black lined frames or cells placed together (there is a stained glass effect) they bear a resemblance to church windows. Gilbert and George have always said they do not believe in religion, but religious ideas and taboos are a common part of their work. They tackle social subject matters, through their belief that art should be for everyone. This has sometimes been interpreted in a very negative way, for example the work ‘Paki’ has been said to glamourise skinhead culture.
Their work is clearly very personal. They do not appear to hold back their thoughts and feelings in terms of expression, the work can be very explicit which of course will create controversy. They have used urine, semen and excrement for pieces of work. My opinions on this are similar to those on Toscani and the issues of using shock to create attention and whether it is necessary. Personally I think their work is amusing rude and clever.
References
Evening Standard - Monday 11th May 09
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