1. Robert Gober

2. Art as a Metaphor

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Who is Robert Gober? Robert Gober is an contemporary artist.
Contemporary art is generally considered to be artwork created after 1950 to the present.

6. 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 , Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT., B.A., 1976
Lives and works in New York City

7. Gober was influenced by the art movement of Surrealism.

8. 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.

9. Rene Magritte
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.
Time Transfixed, 1938 Oil on canvas
147 x 98.7 cm Joseph Winterbotham Collection, , Art Institute of Chicago

10. "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

11. The Listening Room , 1952

12. “This is not a pipe.”
Illustration 1. Rene Magritte, The Tune and Also the Words, (Ceci n'est pas une pipe; "This is not a pipe"). Gouache over traces of graphite on cream wove paper 362 x 548 mm Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection, Art Institute of Chicago

13. " The Red Model II, 1937

14. Themes in Gober’s Work Surrealism Everyday Object
Social/Political Issues
Religion

15. Surrealism
Untitled. ( ) 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

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

17. Leg with anchor:  1990

18. Untitled, 1991

19. The Art Institute of Chicago

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

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

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

23. Everyday Object Untitled (Farina box),1993
Sculpture/installation, 6' 8" high

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

25. 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 x cm). Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Purchased with funds contributed by the International Director's Council and Executive Committee Members,

26. Installation
Untitled, 1989–96

27. Social/Political Issues

29. Untitled,

30. Vocabulary Contemporary Metaphor Surrealism Installation Concept
Incongruity
Juxtaposition
Disparate
Irony