Gilbert and George "The Singing Sculpture"

Gilbert and George did the “Singing Sculpture” in 1970. They stood on a table and played the song “Underneath the arches.” They sang to it, sometimes for a day at a time. They painted their faces bronze to become living sculptures. The suits they wore became like a uniform and make them recognizable. The pair seem to still always be seen together. They consider that everything they do in their everyday life has to do with art. They did this work to become popular and later focused on large scale photo works. They do not use much of their space. They stand on the table and their movement is limited by dance. Yet, this makes them seem more like a sculpture that would be limited in movement anyway. Their performances are watched live and recorded. Yet, they realized after they could only reach a certain amount a people at a time, they then created films and pictures that could extend their idea of “the living sculpture” without needing their presence. They used their bodies to become pieces of art and give life to what a sculpture would normally look like. The performance explores idea of having the art interact with the audience. I like how they were able to bring life to something that is normally stagnant. Yet, even though they wanted to make a more serious performance to be respected and gain popularity, I think this work is amusing. I think their work could be applied to modern day by having a someone acting like a sculpture and singing modern songs. There could be a way to juxtapose the image of traditional art to modern times. Even though they are most known for “The Singing sculpture,” I also enjoy seeing them trying to do the moonwalk as they dance to Michael Jackson. I also like the idea of painting the body and making it look like something else for a performance.