Up God
Gilbert and George, Up God, 1983, 30 hand colored gelatin silver prints mounted on Masonite, The Blanche Eloise Day Ellis and Robert Hale Ellis Memorial Collection, © 1983 Gilbert & George, 93.66a-dd
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Up God
- Artist
- Date
1983
- Medium
30 hand colored gelatin silver prints mounted on Masonite
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
overall: 119 in x 119 in; each image: 23 5/8 in x 19 5/8 in
- Collection Area
Photography
- Category
Photographs
- Object Type
photograph
- Culture
British
- Credit Line
The Blanche Eloise Day Ellis and Robert Hale Ellis Memorial Collection
- Accession Number
93.66a-dd
- Copyright
© 1983 Gilbert & George
- Terms
In Up God eight sullen young boys with luridly colored flesh and clothing are posed as if on display. The lush, saturated colors and gold and silver leaf imbue Up God with its brilliant and decorative surface, ironically reminiscent of a stained glass window and thus at odds with the work's undertones. Angels’ wings are suggested at upper left and right, but their heavy, sharp edges connote danger rather than salvation. The black grid created by the abutting metal frames serves as a disjunctive device, deliberately destroying the viewer's impulse to easily decipher an obvious narrative.
- Exhibitions
1995 Hard Choices: Works from the Permanent Collection Portland Art Museum
