Robert Gober

Art as a

Metaphor

What is a Metaphor?

•a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.

•an object, activity, or idea treated as a metaphor

•

You will be introduced to the contemporary

artwork of Robert Gober and Rene Magritte who influenced him. Visual metaphors are found in

both artists’ work.

•Robert Gober is an contemporary artist.

•Contemporary art is generally considered to be artwork created after 1950 to the present.

Who is Robert Gober?

Biography

•Born: Wallingford, Conneticut

•His father who worked in a factory, built the family home, and taught him the merit of making things by hand.

•Education: School of Art, Rome 1973-1974, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT., B.A., 1976

•Lives and works in New York City

Gober was influenced by the art movement of

Surrealism.

SURREALISM

A 20th century literary and artistic movement that attempted to express the workings of the unconscious by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

Rene Magritte1898-1967

Time Transfixed, 1938 Oil on canvas 147 x 98.7 cm Joseph Winterbotham Collection, 1970.426, Art Institute of Chicago

Magritte constantly challenged our preconceptions about reality. His works contain extraordinary juxtapositions of ordinary objects or an unusual context that gives new meaning to familiar things.

"In my mind the 'invisible' dissolves the usual meaning of things visible in a picture. Through this our secret starts to dominate us completely.” Magritte

The Victory, 1939

The Listening Room , 1952

Illustration 1. Rene Magritte, The Tune and Also the Words, 1964. (Ceci n'est pas une pipe; "This is not a pipe"). Gouache over traces of graphite on cream wove paper362 x 548 mm Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection, 144.1991 Art Institute of Chicago

“This is not a pipe.”

"

The Red Model II, 1937

Themes in Gober’s Work

•Surrealism

•Everyday Object

•Social/Political Issues

•Religion

Untitled. (1989-90.) Wax, cotton, leather, human hair, and wood, 11 3/8 x 7 3/4 x 20" (28.9 x 19.7 x 50.8 cm). Gift of the Dannheisser Collection. Photograph by Tom Griesel, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Surrealism

Robert Gober. Untitled. 1991. Wax, fabric, leather, human hair, and wood, 13 1/4 x 16 ½ x 46 1/8" (33.6 x 41.9 x 117.2 cm). Gift of Werner and Elaine Dannheisser. © 2004 Robert Gober

Leg with anchor:  1990

Untitled, 1991

The Art Institute of Chicago

Inverted Sink, 1985.Plaster, wood, wire lath, steel, and paint61 1/4 x 102 1/4 x 24" (168.3 x 259.7 x 61 cm.)Sarah Norton Goodyear Fund, 2003Albert-Knox Art Gallery

Untitled, (2000) Plaster, beeswax, human hair, cotton, leather, aluminum, enamel paint 85×101×63

Text

Robert Gober, Untitled Door and Door Frame , 1987–1988Collection Walker Art Center; Gift of the John and Mary Pappajohn Art Foundation, 2004

Everyday

Object

Untitled (Farina box),1993Sculpture/installation, 6' 8" high

Untitled,1993-94.Beeswax, wood, glassine, and felt-tip pen, 9 1/2 × 47 3/4 × 40 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

An incongruous combination of disparate forms.

Untitled, 1998–99. Willow and silver-plated bronze, 19 1/2 x 70 1/2 x 41 1/2 inches (49.5 x 179.1 x 105.4 cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the International Director's Council and Executive Committee Members, 2000.113.

Installation

Untitled, 1989–96

Social/Political Issues

Untitled, 1994-95.

Vocabulary

• Contemporary

• Metaphor

• Surrealism

• Installation

• Concept

• Incongruity

• Juxtaposition

• Disparate

• Irony