A paradigmatic example of Gilbert & George’s witty multidisciplinary compositions, The Man, 1978, displays the artistic duo’s exploration of photography which has cemented their pioneering reputation as leading fgures in British art. Tripartite in composition, the picture is comprised of nine photographs, originating from their series, The 1978 Pictures. The series marked a signifcant conclusion to the decade and immediately preceded the pair’s departure from a red, black and white colour palette. Commenting on this colour selection, George stated: ‘Red has more strength than black. Black and white is powerful but red on top of it is even more so. It’s louder’ (George, quoted in Gilbert and George: Dirty Words Pictures, exh. cat., Serpentine Gallery, London, 2002, p. 15). A year later, in 1979, the artists paused to prepare for their frst major retrospective which visited the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Whitechapel Gallery in their East London base, and three other prestigious museums in Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Upon their return to London in the early 1980s, they employed a new range of colours and motifs, breaking from their iconic palette. Immediately following the highly celebrated Dirty Words series of 1977, the titles of The 1978 Pictures - including The Basket, The Office and The Gardener alongside The Man - are almost commonplace in comparison to the profanity evident in their earlier series.
Gilbert & George at the Premiere of their performance piece Underneath The Arches/The Singing Sculpture at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery at 60 Glebe Place, Chelsea, London on 1 January 1970 © Gilbert & George. Image: Getty Images
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