In 2001 Gober represented the United States at the forty-ninth Venice Biennale. His installation in the American Pavilion focused on, in his words, “forgotten and cast-aside detritus from American life. Vignettes of violence and banality and garbage and hope.” To accompany the installation, he produced his first artist’s book, consisting of twenty-two black and white photographs.

The suite of photographs spans two decades, beginning with images Gober shot on a day trip to Jones Beach with friends in 1978, shortly after moving to New York. In 2000 he created a new set of images, including these two works, on a beach near his Long Island studio.

In Page 11 a clipping from The New York Times rests on the sand between the artist’s legs. The article describes the brutal murder of Billy Jack Gaither by two young men, who beat him to death because he was gay. In Page 12 Gober’s hand holds a second clipping from the Times in front of the first, a letter to the editor voicing the opinion that opposing homosexuality doesn’t make you a bigot.