Museum Cinema / The Pilgrimage of Gilbert and George, 2024
The finest films on art and culture will be screened, after a short lecture by the Museum’s curators.
Admission to the Museum’s exhibitions is included in the film ticket, during the Museum’s opening hours.
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The Pilgrimage of Gilbert and George, 2024 | Dir. Mike Christie | UK, 2024 | English with Hebrew subtitles | 88 minutes
Introduction: Tal Lanir, Curator of Interdisciplinary Exhibitions
Two elderly men walk side by side through the streets of London, neatly dressed in suits and ties. There’s nothing outwardly unusual or provocative about them. Yet these are the men who sparked a revolution in the art world—creating provocations and breaking taboos. Gilbert & George have been one artist made of two people for over fifty years. Even in daily life, they present themselves as a single entity: always seen walking together, acting out together, being interviewed together. And even now, in their 80s, they continue to live and create art together.
They began under the motto “Art for All” and quickly gained immense popularity. Yet even today, they say, the art establishment still doesn’t fully accept them or their work— art that dares, and often succeeds, to resonate with the general public. In their early days, they created living sculptures— “singing sculptures”— and performances in which they and their colorful clothing were the central elements. Later, they transitioned into visual art and achieved international success.
In this film, they speak candidly about themselves, their shared life, their collaborative creative process, and their approach to art—which to this day retains an anti-establishment, almost subversive edge.