The World of Gilbert & George (1981)

Genres - Culture & Society, Visual Arts  |   Sub-Genres - Biography, Performance Art  |   Run Time - 69 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Nathan Southern

Though all but unknown outside of the United Kingdom, the eccentric performance artists Gilbert and George (Gilbert Prousch and George Passmore) first carved out a niche for themselves in the 1970s and '80s. Always appearing together, and ere clad in matching business suits, the duo perpetuated such stunts as covering themselves in gold paint and miming continually to a recording of "Underneath the Arches," and filming themselves getting progressively intoxicated on Gordon's gin. They also created a series of incendiary artistic photographs highlighting a series of bodily substances (urine, semen, feces, etc.). The 1981 documentary The World of Gilbert and George (which the pair directed themselves) caters to those viewers familiar with the pair by assuming that the viewer harbors a foreknowledge of the artists' work. It features such spectacles as Gilbert and George drinking tea, Gilbert and George performing hymns, Gilbert and George doing a morrisdance, and Gilbert and George espousing their philosophies about art ad nauseum.