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don: Chatto & Windus Ltd., 1987.PIERRE ET GILLES
French
Afin du sie`cleretrospective of Pierre et Gilles’s
work, appearing in Manhattan at the New Museum
of Contemporary Art from September 2000 to Jan-
uary 2001, constituted the first major exhibition in
the United States devoted to the French duo’s
work. This show brought to the attention of the
American public the work of the French team of
artists who have tirelessly exhibited their images in
galleries and museums worldwide since the begin-
ning of their collaboration in the mid-1970s. Pierre
et Gilles are widely considered among the most
famous and influential artists living in France
today. Their images in reproduction have also ap-
peared in magazines and music videos, as well as on
movie posters, album covers, and postcards. It is
primarily through magazine and advertising work
that the artists have achieved international notori-
ety and admiration.
In 1976, Pierre and Gilles met at a party thrown
by the fashion designer Kenzo, and from that point
on their lives and work have been irrevocably inter-
twined. At the time of their meeting, Pierre was
working as a fashion photographer whereas Gilles
was a teacher and painter. Born in La Roche-sur-
Yon, Pierre had studied in Geneva before arriving
in Paris in 1973, where he entered the photographic
world through his work for music and fashion
magazines. Born at Le Havre, Gilles enrolled in
the Academy of Art at the age of fifteen and grad-
uated with distinction. He also moved to Paris in
1973, where he embarked on an artistic career
creating collages, paintings, and illustrations des-
tined for magazines and advertising. In 1977, Pierre
and Gilles began to collaborate artistically under
the name Pierre et Gilles. In the years to follow,
their work appeared in magazines such asFac ̧ade,
Gay Pied,Marie Claire, andPlayboy. They also
designed several album covers, including those for
Boy George, Marc Almond, Lio, and Etienne
Daho. Throughout their years together, Pierre et
Gilles have ventured as far as Morocco, India, Sri
Lanka, Laos, and the Maldive Islands, producing
numerous works during their travels. In 1993, they
received the Great Prize of Photography of the City
of Paris. They currently live and work in Le Pre ́
Saint-Gervais, on the outskirts of Paris.
The French artists’ images are created through an
elaborate process that achieves incomparable and
sophisticated effects by the successful marriage of
photography and painting. In an age marked by the
dominance of the digital media, Pierre et Gilles’s
images are conspicuous insofar that they are the
product of time-consuming and meticulous tradi-
tional craftsmanship—this in contrast to what their
appearance might suggest to the viewer. These crea-
tions are best described as hand-painted photo-
graphs, with Pierre taking the picture and Gilles
painting over it. It is important to note that neither
medium takes precedence in their work. In fact, the
frontiers between photographic and painted effects
are so elegantly obscured that it is at times difficult
to distinguish between what was captured by
Pierre’s camera and what added by Gilles’s brush.
Pierre et Gilles begin by sketching a work based
on a concept or idea that they mutually find fas-
cinating or intriguing. With a model in mind, they
construct an elaborate set using props and acces-
sories carefully collected over the years and often
brought back from their travels. Lighting is then
used to enhance and magnify the subject through
an interplay of angles and filters. What follows is
the selection of costumes, make-up, and hair
styles, which sometimes requires the help of spe-
cialists. Pierre then shoots about 50 to 80 framesPICTURE POST