Gilbert and George
Base

Base
Base
Base
ArtistBritish, active since 1967
ArtistBritish, born Italy, 1943
ArtistBritish, born 1942
CultureBritish
Titles
  • Base
Date2005
MediumPhotographs
DimensionsImage (each): 29 1/2 × 24 13/16 in. (74.9 × 63 cm)
 Sheet (each): 29 1/2 × 24 13/16 in. (74.9 × 63 cm)
 Overall: 148 13/16 x 225 3/16 in. (378 x 572 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Chaney Family Collection in honor of Anne Wilkes Tucker on the occasion of her retirement
Object number2017.6
Non exposé

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Department
Photography
Object Type
DescriptionAddressing provocative issues such as sex, religion, and politics, the work of Gilbert and George attracts both commendation and condemnation. In Base, a mirrored image of a crucified Christ is flanked by the “saintly” figures of the two artists. The bottom register of this pseudo-altarpiece—an area usually reserved for narrative scenes from the lives of the saints above—is occupied by a line of cheap charms evoking homoerotic stereotypes: the policeman, the sailor, the firefighter. Gilbert and George leave the meaning of Base ambiguous—are they toying with sincere believers or suggesting an analogous history of rejection and persecution?
ProvenanceChaney Family Collection, Houston; given to MFAH, 2017.

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