Are You Angry or Are You Boring?

Description

The photographic work 'Are You Angry or Are You Boring?' by the English artist duo Gilbert & George consists of 16 panels which have been arranged together in a block of four by four. The top row shows a brick wall with the text of the title. Below this, Gilbert is depicted on the left side across three panels and George is depicted on the right. The other panels show busy street scenes, buildings and boys in close up. The four panels in the middle are coloured red, the other photographs are black and white.

This photographic collage is part of a series of works dating from 1977 entitled “The Dirty Word Pictures”. Every work contains photos of the text shown on walls, usually foul language. In addition, there are London street scenes and close-ups of people. In most cases, these are figures on the margins of society such as tramps, drunks and aggressive youths. Finally, every work contains portraits of Gilbert & George themselves, always dressed impeccably. The works have an almost architectural structure, the text is shown like an architrave at the top of the work and is “carried” by Gilbert and George. The panels between provide a view of their daily environment. Gilbert said: “By placing the words at the top with something vertical along both sides, this looked like a door, a door to hell.”

The young people that are shown can be associated with race riots and civil unrest, but they do not look explicitly aggressive. The viewer can interpret the elements introduced by the artists in their own way. Gilbert & George show the world as it is but remain at a distance themselves both literally and metaphorically. They are observers who see it as their task to show human life in all its aspects.

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