PROPOSAL:

 We are going to look into the artist Gillian Wearing, especially focusing on her series of photographs called Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say, through which she questions the relationship between a person's public image and his or hers actual identity. The research will be based on reviews and media's coverage on the piece and the artist's work in general.
Research into artist Gillian Wearing and her photography series Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say.

Introduction

Gillian Wearing is an English artist who was always fascinated by the idea of identity. Most of her work focuses on the definition of one’s identity, whether it was defined by the person itself or someone else. Her series of photographs entitled Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say shows ordinary passers-by, strangers, she approached on the street holding up signs that they wrote to define themselves. Through this artwork, the artist gave people the ability to question their representation by allowing self-representation, which is often undermined when people are photographed or in any other way represented by others. Wearing creates an interesting illustration of how concealed people’s emotions or life in general are and how little a person’s appearance actually communicate. Giving someone the power over their representation she also makes you question why exactly they choice of thoughts to share. By remaking this work, we wanted it to talk more about today’s society. In order to understand what circumstances exactly lead to the creation of the piece and what was its significance for its time as well as ours, we will look deeper into the artist, the historic and political context of the artwork and where it fits into our society today.

Biography of Gillian Wearing

“I’m always trying to find ways to learn about people, and at the same time learn more about myself.”(1) The british artist Gillian Wearing was born in 1963 in Birmingham. After studying at the Chelsea School of Art and Goldsmiths’ College between 1985 and 1990, this conceptual artist made some notable pieces in the early 90’s, including Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say in 1992. She is one of the Young British Artists, and winner of the annual British fine arts award, the Turner Prize, in 1997. In 2007 Wearing was elected as lifetime member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

(1) Lauren Consky, “Gillian Wearing’s Facial Features,” The McGill Tribune, tuesday, 18th of march, 2003

By means of photographs or video films, Gillian Wearing transforms the banal anonymity of an urban existence into a documentation of private and social behavior. More interested in people than in their daily lives, the artist is working to update the notion of portraiture. In addition, she believes that her works are closer to television documentaries and journalistic reporting than to art. Constantly blurring the frontiers of fiction and reality, she starts from 2003 the series of Self Portraits As, where she is masked under the appearance of the members of her family, a theme that she also extends in the video Family History (2006) which is inspired by English soap operas of the 1970s.

Addressing the tragedies of daily life, crisis situations, traumatic states and psychological disorders, Gillian Wearing is part of a long iconographic and literary tradition from Goya to Zola, via Dickens. Fascinated by the spectacle of human nature, she works to explore the links that unite some people. In Sacha and Mum (1996), for which she won the Turner Prize in 1997, she films with intensity the (fictional) relationships of a mother and her daughter, alternating moments of violence that are difficult to sustain with moments of tenderness. Gillian Wearing also seeks to dismantle the mechanisms of advertising and their effects, for example with the work I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing. The artist’s attention to being, humanity, her interest in portraits of marginalized people, and her aspiration to the universal, bring her closer to Diane Arbus, an American photographer. Doing most of the time allegories of the human experience, Diane Arbus(2) explores the relationship between the appearance and the identity of strangers in the street. Gillian wearing’s influence, known for capturing a sense of intimacy in people’s life, brought the british artist to the serie of photographs Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say.

(2) Unknown, “Gillian Wearing.” Gillian Wearing Limited Edition. Accessed November 26, 2017. http://countereditions.com/eu/gillian-wearing-limited-edition-print-1190u.html

Historical context

Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say indicates a long and great recession in Britain during the early 1990s. Wearing gives those “ordinary” people a chance to speak for themselves, which it leads to a huge effect in not only at that time she exhibited it but also in contemporary art world.

Most of Gillian Wearing’s works are exploring the themes of female identity, confessions and representations of herself through photography. Her art pieces are often mournful push and pull with concerns of her identity(3). However, she is also a listener towards the public, in which her series Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say, she becomes a perfect listener and gave people a chance to express themselves. Which the most interesting element in this series is that the public opinion and private life are inverted in this artwork.

(3) WM | whitehot magazine of contemporary art | April 2012: Gillian Wearing @ The Whitechapel, whitehotmagazine.com/articles/april-2012-gillian-wearing-whitechapel/2530.

The collections of fifth colour photographs has a cross range chosen of people, which not only shows a completely different sides from the physical appearance and their inner thoughts but also shows some historical context during 1990s. Some of the artworks refers to the British recession in the early 1990s, for example, manifested by the statements “Will Britain get through this recession?”(4) It is surprising that the statement came from a man that his clothes was not that tidy instead of a businessmen in suits. It is not just simply indicating Britain was going through such a huge depression in economics, but also reflecting how different is a person from his appearance and his real thoughts. Another example of is a smartly dressed young men with a smile that holding a statement said, “I’m desperate.” It was contradicted from his look, the way he wear and from his thoughts. “I think he was very serious,” says Wearing(5). But no one really knows what this man is really thinking. This is one of the strongest pieces in this series (6). With the same purpose in this artwork, she found a new method to interact with the public, ask strangers to expose themselves towards the public. The intimate thoughts with the contrast in the public also helps to create the inverted atmosphere.

(4) Tim Adams, “Gillian Wearing: ‘I’ve always been a bit of a listener’.” The Observer. March 03, 2012. Accessed November 27, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/mar/04/gillian-wearing-whitechapel-gallery-feature.

(5) “Gillian Wearing: The art of the matter.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 17 Oct. 2003, www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/gillian-wearing-the-art-of-the-matter-91846.html.

(6) Gillian Wearing, ‘Sign Language’, Dazed and Confused, no. 25, 1996, pp.53, 55

In the Sign series, because of the immediate and uncensored thoughts and feelings that people wrote, it also revealed and discovered the social truth during the 1990s. Her goal is quite similar to the survey by Mass-Observation called May the Twelfth (7), which is the collection of diaries from volunteers of recording everyday life (8). Both of them are aimed to listen to the ordinary voices from the public. Although the historical context are slightly different between them, the aims are quite similar.

(7) Lucy D. Curzon, Mass-observation and visual culture: depicting everyday lives in Britain. London ; New York: Routledge Taylor et Francis Group, 2017.

(8) Humphrey Jennings and Charles Madge, May the Twelfth: Mass-Observation Day Surveys. Mass Observation Online – Adam Matthew Digital. January 01, 1970. Accessed November 20, 2017.

Contemporary reception and current relevance

The series was very well received and brought public acclaim to the artist Gillian Wearing. As American art curator Dan Cameron said: “Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say” (1992–93) is “[…] the work that first established her as an artist of consequence […]”(9). The art piece also made her be seen as “One of the most astute artists focusing today on the contours and borderlines of identity […]”(10). Apart from having an incredible effect on the artist’s career, the series influenced many varied areas. The artist herself said: “I didn’t realize they were going to be so influential, on everything from advertising to people doing signs for their Facebook page.”(11) Artist’s signs became very well known, as well as “shorthand for emotional honesty”(12), so much that in his article English art critic and broadcaster Alastair Sooke traces a scene in a very famous Richard Curtis’s 2003 film Love Actually, where a man confesses his love on a written sign that he holds up in the street, back to the work of Gillian Wearing.

(9) Dan Cameron, “I’m Desperate GILLIAN WEARING’S ART OF TRANSPOSED IDENTITIES.” GILLIAN WEARING Parkett, 2004, 70, http://www.parkettart.com/downloadable/download/sample/sample_id/137.

(10) Dan Cameron, “I’m Desperate GILLIAN WEARING’S ART OF TRANSPOSED IDENTITIES.” GILLIAN WEARING Parkett, 2004, 70, http://www.parkettart.com/downloadable/download/sample/sample_id/137.

(11) Alastair Sooke, “Gillian Wearing: Everyone’s got a secret.” The Telegraph. March 28, 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9149522/Gillian-Wearing-Everyones-got-a-secret.html.

(12) Alastair Sooke, “Gillian Wearing: Everyone’s got a secret.” The Telegraph. March 28, 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9149522/Gillian-Wearing-Everyones-got-a-secret.html.

Although the project was carried out in the 1990s and some of the photos require knowledge of the time, to be fully understood, such as photo with a sign saying: “Will Britain get through this recession?”, most of them are still very relevant because they capture many enduring topics. The series is composed of over fifty photos. It can even be argued that some of them are even more relevant in these times. For example, one of the most renowned photos from the series shows a young man in a dark suit holding a sign saying: “I’m desperate”. In an interview, the artist herself commenting on the photo’s success said: “People are still surprised that someone in a suit could actually admit to anything.”(13) The photo touches upon a very pertinent topic today: stereotyping certain groups of people. Fighting against this issue is especially important in the present circumstances because of increasing levels of prejudice and aggression towards Muslims and other outgroups in the Western world today mostly spiked by Anti-Islamic political rhetoric and public misconception about violent extremism. (14)

(13)  Gillian Wearing, interview by Marcus Spinelli, Southbank Centre, 1997.

(14) Masood Farivar, “Attacks Against US Muslims Growing in Frequency, Violence.” VOA. August 18, 2016. Accessed November 25, 2017. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-rising-islamophobia/3469525.html.

Similarly, the piece of art is of everlasting relevance because it provides “[…] the possibility of entering into another person’s reality […]”. (15) A thing people are constantly seeking through books, movies, and other cultural instruments. The mix of people in the photos and the extremely personal statements that people wrote themselves ensures that people find something relatable in the photos.

(15) Dan Cameron, “I’m Desperate GILLIAN WEARING’S ART OF TRANSPOSED IDENTITIES.” GILLIAN WEARING Parkett, 2004, 70.

The artist was also called one of the “[…] exceptions, artists who seek to engage this public and engender a more direct kind of speech.” (16) Through this work, she tries to encourage people to speak their mind openly. The form that the statements take can also be interpreted as an allusion to signs held up during demonstrations. In this way, the piece gains political meaning when related to the ideals of democracy which is a system based on citizen participation, their willingness to speak their mind and freedom of speech. All of these things are encouraged by the series of photographs, therefore, the artwork can also be seen as advocacy for the ideas of democracy. Having in mind that recently more and more countries’ political systems have been noticed to advance towards authoritarianism, and it is said that “democratic ideals are eroding”(17), Gillian Wearing’s photography series seems to gain even more importance for modern-day societies.

(16) Cornelia Lauf, “On Language and the Public Art of Lothar Baumgarten.” Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry, no. 20 (2009): 90-98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20711736

(17) NPR “Decline In Democracy Spreads Across The Globe As Authoritarian Leaders Rise.” NPR. August 03, 2017. Accessed November 25, 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/08/03/541432445/decline-in-democracy-spreads-across-the-globe-as-authoritarian-leaders-rise.

Analytical description

Wearing’s Signs That Say What You Want Them to Say and Not Signs That Say What Someone Else Wants You to Say (1992-5) is a series of photographs of people expressing their thoughts and feelings by holding up placards. The artist approached strangers and asked them to write down something that would reveal something about themselves and photographed them. “One of the striking things about this series is the way it highlights how difficult it is to read off from people’s expressions, appearances and manner the type of thoughts they have. In a very simple way it reminds us with psychological force of the depth of people’s inner lives.”(18) writes Matthew Kieran in his book Revealing Art. Kieran also explains that the most interesting aspect of the piece is the absurdity between what we expect people to write down, based on their appearance, and the way they describe themselves through the placards. He adds: “We naturally tend to categorise, stereotype and overgeneralise people’s characters far too quickly.”(19)

(18)Matthew Kieran, “Revealing Art”, Routledge, New York, 2004, p. 205

(19)Matthew Kieran, “Revealing Art”, Routledge, New York, 2004, p. 207

By studying Gillian Wearing’s work, we came to the conclusion that it still applied to our generation, but in a very different way. Indeed, the series was published before social media existed. Nowadays, captions on Instagram and tweets say what you want them to say. It is common for people to constantly define themselves. It is common to share your opinion and display an image of yourself, one you imagine is better than you actually are. Therefore, our aim was to make this work more appealing to our generation, a version that would pass on the same message to a different audience, a different generation. In order to achieve our goal, we turned the series around, giving people the possibility to make a girl say what they want her to say. Our pieces, Signs that Say what Someone Else wants You to Say and Not Signs that Say what You want Them to Say, is an interactive work. Alice was filmed standing holding up a blank placard while Vaiva, Chloe and Lara reached out to strangers asking them to write one the blank sheet something she might be thinking or she would maybe say. The use of three different coloured markers hits the participation of three other members of the group, each colour used by the people they asked to take part in the work. The location allowed us to have a theatre for a background: inside, actors say what people want them to say. This highlights the message we are communicating. Our piece is composed of both the signs and a time lapse video that shows our process. The analogue format is meant as a reminder of Gillian Wearing’s work and the pre-social media period in which it was made. Our process and therefore work allows for Wearing’s message to be better received to the new generation as it lets people express themselves through someone else and face to face rather than through their social medias. Wearing and us deliver a common message through our art piece. We both denounce the habit we naturally have to instantly judge people on their aspect.

Conclusion

Ultimately, throughout remake, we brought Signs that Say what You want Them to Say up to date. Because of the historical background and as we can understand from the analytical description, it is clear that the current relevance had changed since the art piece was created, for example, due to the emergence of social medias. Although, it is clear that the ideas explored in the artwork are important both in our times and at the time the artist presented the piece. Through the biography and the historical context, we were able to understand and appreciate the series better. The contemporary reception and current relevance was essential to our piece since we were bringing it up to date and the analytical description allowed us to define our project and evaluate it in contrast with the original work.
Our audience’s feedback was mainly positive: the video was captivating and it was interesting to see the process. It was pointed out that the piece was very personal and specific to the subject. We could have had multiple subjects to explore this aspect. Some viewers would have liked to be able to better see the “writers” to have an idea of what to expect and have the potential to be surprised.
Overall, we are happy with the work. It could of course benefit from some improvement, on the technical aspect for example, but it was an enriching experience and a good way to share our research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Adams, Tim. “Gillian Wearing: ‘I’ve always been a bit of a listener’.” The Observer. March 03, 2012. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/mar/04/gillian-wearing-whitechapel-gallery-feature.
Cameron, Dan. “I’m Desperate GILLIAN WEARING’S ART OF TRANSPOSED IDENTITIES.” GILLIAN WEARING Parkett, 2004. http://www.parkettart.com/downloadable/download/sample/sample_id/137.
Curzon, Lucy D. Mass-observation and visual culture: depicting everyday lives in Britain. London ; New York: Routledge Taylor et Francis Group, 2017.http://www.massobservation.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/May-the-Twelfth–Mass-Observation-Day-Surveys/Publication-May%2012%20Daysurveys.
Farivar, Masood. “Attacks Against US Muslims Growing in Frequency, Violence.” VOA. August 18, 2016. Accessed November 25, 2017. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-rising-islamophobia/3469525.html.
Kieran, Matthew. “Revealing Art”, Routledge, New York, 2004

Lauf, Cornelia. “On Language and the Public Art of Lothar Baumgarten.” Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry, no. 20 (2009): 90-98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20711736.
Lauren Consky, “Gillian Wearing’s Facial Features,” The McGill Tribune, tuesday, 18th of march, 2003
Madge, Humphrey Jennings and Charles. “May the Twelfth: Mass-Observation Day Surveys.” Mass Observation Online – Adam Matthew Digital. January 01, 1970. Accessed November 20, 2017.
NPR, “Decline In Democracy Spreads Across The Globe As Authoritarian Leaders Rise.” NPR. August 03, 2017. Accessed November 25, 2017. https://www.npr.org/2017/08/03/541432445/decline-in-democracy-spreads-across-the-globe-as-authoritarian-leaders-rise.
Sooke, Alastair. “Gillian Wearing: Everyone’s got a secret.” The Telegraph. March 28, 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9149522/Gillian-Wearing-Everyones-got-a-secret.html.
Unknown, “Gillian Wearing.” Gillian Wearing Limited Edition. Accessed November 26, 2017. http://countereditions.com/eu/gillian-wearing-limited-edition-print-1190u.html
Wearing, Gillian, interview by Marcus Spinelli, Southbank Centre, 1997.
Wearing,Gillian, ‘Sign Language’, Dazed and Confused, no. 25, 1996, pp.53, 55
WM | whitehot magazine of contemporary art | April 2012: Gillian Wearing @ The Whitechapel. Accessed November 12, 2017. https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/april-2012-gillian-wearing-whitechapel/2530.