- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; New edition edition (20 Mar 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 000638885X
- ISBN-13: 978-0006388852
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,360,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
This affectionate, almost loving, portrait of two of Britain's most distinguished and most controversial artists is made all the more poignant by that fact that the biographer, art journalist and author Daniel Farson, died while writing it. Being Gilbert & George, the salacious material is fairly unorthodox--the most shocking revelation is that George married as a young man and has two children--and for the most part Farson is almost apologetic about any intrusion into Proesch and Passmore's (their surnames) private lives. The first half of the book takes us from childhoods in the Dolomites and Tiverton via their meeting at St Martin's School of Art in the late 1960s to their current status as art icons. The second half sees Dan following them around--Moscow, Shanghai, Barnstable--as they exhibit around the world. Farson wisely highlights his admiration for them at the outset and the reader is clear that this is no hatchet job. That said he covers both the art and the lives with a straightforward professionalism that is never less than absorbing. This book is a fine tribute to Gilbert & George. Equally their closing words are fine tribute to Farson. "On 27 November our dear Daniel died, not knowing how much we loved him (though we told him often enough)". --Nick Wroe
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
The candid, revealing inside story of one of the great and most original art acts of our time: the enigmatic ‘living sculptures’ based in Spitalfields in London’s East End.
Gilbert and George are unquestionably among the most important and original artists of our time. Critics have come to recognise the artists’ vision and to regard some of their works as among the major pictures of the century.
Gilbert (from the Italian Dolomites) and George (from Totnes) met at St Martin’s School of Art in the late 1960s and formed an immediate friendship. This is an engagingly informal portrait in which they reminisce about their family upbringing, their friendship, life in Spitalfields, and their relish of the mixed cultures of the East End. With their distinctive trademark single-breasted, three-button suits and their famously studied but courteous composure, Gilbert and George set out as artists without a gallery. From living, and singing, sculptures, they developed a line in controversial subject matter that extends from the Dirty Words Pictures to The Naked Shit and The Fundamental pictures. As exponents of photo-based art, they are, as writer David Sylvester has remarked, perhaps second only to Andy Warhol.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The best account of the duo's rise to fame, infamy and institutionalisation that you can buy, this is a warm-hearted biography of their life and work up until the mid-90s. The revelation that George was once married and led a relatively normal family life does nothing to dispel the suspicion that the pair remove their suits over the weekend and retire to the countryside anonymously, and it's amusing to listen to lots of critics initially find them amusing, then alarming, then deeply moving, according to critical fashion.
As with their art, the book has a melancholic air to it, as the author sadly passed away shortly before completion (the book stops rather abruptly and is finished with two travelogue essays on their exhibitions abroad). The closing observation by the pair that Farson did not realise how much they liked him is deeply sad.
Format:Paperback
i picked this book up in the art section of my local book shop and found it to be one of those rare books that once opened must be finished, so i bought it. Daniel Farson gives a clearly heart felt account of knowing the two G's, and an in depth account of his own exploits whilst with them. if you are already a fan of Farsons work and his own life, this book really is a must have, especially as he died finishing the it. As for me, being an art student and an avid fan of the two G's it was a great piece to read as the book reaches back as far as their student days. And like them, as i am going to St. Martins Art College next year it has been essential reading. enjoy.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It must be made clear that the title of this book is very apt, rather than a biography or critical analysis of G&G this is most definitely a portrait. Farsons love for the artists as people and there work is clear, yet he is able to show critical judgement and analysis making this a more complete work. This is probably the literary equivilant of writing a review on Amazon, the writer was so captivated by the artists that he felt the need to tell the world just how wonderful they are. Yet like all good portraits this book reveals as much about Farson as it does his subjects making this a wholy human read. There is a hint of Farson playing the Doctor Watson to G&G's Holmes.
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