"Gilbert & George are excited. And proud. And smell so good that I'm tempted to ask what colognes they're wearing. We've all just arrived at the Hayward Gallery on London's South Bank, where their forthcoming show, 21st Century Pictures, is mid-hang. As soon as we're through the doors, Gilbert darts about like a puppy let off the leash, urgently assessing the installation."
"Perhaps the most contrarian thing about this show is that there's going to be an accompanying orchestral extravaganza at the neighbouring Royal Festival Hall. Musical pieces will be performed by the Philarmonia, picked in order to explore Gilbert & George's themes of sex, money, race and religion (collectively, the title of a massive four-part artwork). Their art will be projected on to screens during the performance."
"This all goes against much of what Gilbert & George stand for. Just last year George dismissed an immersive Van Gogh experience as some populist nonsense. But most of all, the event flies in the face of their longtime motto: Music is the enemy. I want to talk to you about music, I say as provocatively as possible, but they decline to rise to the bait."
Gilbert & George, both in their 80s, present 21st Century Pictures at the Hayward Gallery, composed of work made over the past 25 years. The gallery displays large, provocative pieces characterized by rudeness, colour, contrarianism and cheek, emphasizing warts-and-all humanity. A central four-part work bears the collective title Sex, Money, Race, Religion. An accompanying orchestral extravaganza at the Royal Festival Hall will pair Philarmonia performances with projections of the art. The collaboration contradicts the artists' longstanding motto, 'Music is the enemy,' and recalls their earlier musical ties, including choirboy and Bach-choir experiences and singing 'Underneath the Arches.' The artists express excitement and pride during the installation.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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