- Wolf Jahn is deeply knowledgeable about Gilbert & George's work and
practice, having written extensively about them over the past 40 years,
including the book The Art of Gilbert & George (Thames & Hudson, 1989)-
The Meaning of the Earth has been designed to reflect the anarchic
nature of Gilbert and George's practice. Only Gilbert and George's works
are allowed to sit large across the pages - all other works and
comparative images are deliberately shrunk down and thrown into the
margins - reflecting the importance of the unique system of meaning they
have wrought within their practice- The cover and printed edges of the
book are illustrated with original artwork created by Gilbert & George
especially for the bookThe Meaning of the Earth offers a retrospective
on the lives and work of the relentlessly controversial artists, placing
them within the context of twentieth century British culture. Wolf Jahn
tells the story of how Gilbert & George found their identity in
opposition to pervasive ideas around social conformity and religion
after meeting in 1967. The artists staged an internal revolution, mining
their psyches to create visionary and unwaveringly modern art. The 'two
people but one artist' ask the questions that gnaw at us all: 'Where do
we come from?', 'Who are we?' and 'Where are we going?' The book
meditates on the artists' role in this century, connecting their
beginnings as Living Sculptures to their pictorial work of today. The
Meaning of the Earth is a continuation of Jahn's 1989 work, The Art of
Gilbert & George. The author writes a playful philosophical
interrogation of Gilbert & George's work that truly grasps its cosmic
scale.
