Naked (uit de serie: Shitty Naked Human World)

Naked depicts the artists Gilbert & George almost completely unclothed, alongside excrement arranged in a phallic shape. This rather coarse and shameless directness raises a smile, yet the subject matter is more serious. Gilbert & George say they want to embrace humanity in all its facets. They want to make art that is not about art, but about life. With this in mind, Gilbert & George always involve themselves physically in their works of art, such as their famous performance on the steps of the Stedelijk Museum in 1969, when they became living sculptures, transforming themselves into art. This same principle can be seen in Naked, which is part of Gilbert & George’s four-part series Shitty Naked Human World. Characteristic features of this group of works are the montages of colored black-and-white photos, black outlines, the structure of rectangular panels and the monumental format.