{"product_id":"robert-gober-hanging-man-sleeping-man-wallpaper-1989","title":"ROBERT GOBER \"HANGING MAN \/ SLEEPING MAN\" WALLPAPER, 1989","description":"\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRobert Gober (b. 1954) is one of the most influential American artists to emerge in the 1980s. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eDrawing on the language of Minimalism and Conceptualism while introducing deeply personal and culturally specific imagery, Gober creates an uncanny space between the familiar and the disturbing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHis practice transforms familiar domestic objects and images into psychologically charged encounters with sexuality, religion, vulnerability, and social violence. Sinks, beds, doors, wallpaper, and other commonplace forms recur throughout his work, but are rarely what they first appear to be. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eHanging Man \/ Sleeping Man\u003cspan\u003e\" exemplifies Gober’s ability to turn domestic material into something deeply unsettling. Printed as a repeating wallpaper pattern, the imagery depicts a sleeping white man alongside a lynched black man. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe contrast is deliberately jarring. From afar it appears to be a pleasing pattern on a warm cream background...upon actually inspecting the work one is confronted with a disturbing repetition of images. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGober culled these images from disparate sources: the hanging figure was found in a political illustration at the New York Public Library, while the sleeping man appeared in a Bloomingdale’s advertisement.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWallpaper traditionally evokes decoration, privacy, and domestic comfort, yet Gober turns its repetitive surface into a vehicle for confronting racial violence and historical trauma. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe pattern's repetition suggests the persistence of violence within American history and culture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOriginally conceived as part of a larger room installation at the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York, the wallpaper was displayed alongside sculptures and domestic objects, further collapsing the distinction between private life and broader social realities. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eWhen the Art Institute of Chicago reinstalled the seminal work in 2009, \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eGober provided an accompanying text reflecting on its imagery and historical significance. He explained that the wallpaper was intended to evoke “the ugly and unforgettable reality of the United States’ history,” while its repetition suggested that violence was “not an isolated event” but had, in his words, “become our background.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"\u003c\/span\u003eHanging Man\/Sleeping Man\"\u003cspan\u003e has become a defining work of American art from a period marked by profound political and social upheaval, including the AIDS epidemic, the culture wars, and the Los Angeles riots. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eQuestions about this piece? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:info@caviar20.com\"\u003eContact us\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, call +1.416.704.1720, or \u003ca rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.caviar20.com\/pages\/contact\" target=\"_blank\"\u003evisit our Toronto gallery\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Hanging Man \/ Sleeping Man\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUSA, 1989\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHand-printed silkscreen on paper\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned in screen along right edge of panel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e85.5\"H × 29.5\"W\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVery good condition\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Robert Gober","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67606305407212,"sku":"10-26","price":16500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0074\/2712\/files\/Caviar20_Robert-Gober-Hanging-Man-Sleeping-Man-1989_01.jpg?v=1790873468","url":"https:\/\/www.caviar20.com\/products\/robert-gober-hanging-man-sleeping-man-wallpaper-1989","provider":"Caviar20","version":"1.0","type":"link"}