I promised a while back that I would post about some of the Art i have seen. this is just a little appertif about the Hilton Borthers exhibition at La Casa Encendida in Madrid.
The Hilton Brothers, Mistaken Identity
1 + 1 = 3
Walking downstairs at la Casa Encendida in Madrid I was interested to see who these hilton brothers were. Some kind of "It" boys of the Art Scene? Actually, i think thats kind of accurate. their photographs contain a kind of charisma that comes only from being sure of your position. Not to say that they aren't talented (in my opinion, although flailing a little bit these days, Paris Hilton is very clever and has done marvelously well to catapult herself to the infamous status she now holds).
The Hilton Brothers (Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg) work consists of a series of Dyptychs, each with one Photograph from each of the brothers. One artwork + one artwork = a third piece made from the relationship between the two. Their subject matter ranges from instances where they have had separate takes of rge same object/idea., to a combinations of separate bodies of work, Makos combines his study of equine form with Solbergs intimate portraits of flower. They have also included self portraits as well as a smaller collection of their individual catalogue (Makos' portraits of William Borroughs were particularly capturing). Curated by Lola Garrido, Mistaken Identity brings together this collection of works by the hilton brothers that delves into the idea of the schema of identity.
Empathy is a quality that i have always been taught to maintain in myself and also regard highly n others. it is one of those things that allows you to understand other people better. I admit that sometimes i can get so caught up in my own little world that empathy doesn't always come easily. sometimes i can get flustered by other peoples illogicality (even though i know that my own personal logic is often very different to other peoples.
What I'm trying to get at in an off handed way- is that everyone sees everything differently. Its one of those things that you can easily forget, especially if you aren't very empathetic. Its strange to think that two people can see the same thing but really see something very different. wether it be the physical angle, what they focused on or on a more mental level- the psychological baggage they brought to the scene with them that related somehow to what was being seen. The world is a subjective pace made up of "endless layers that make up our psychological and material reality". Much of what makes our individual subjectivities relates to identity and how we relate ourselves to the world.
In Art, the importance of the viewers subjectivity is at the crux of Po-Mo practice. In the 70's performance art created a new space within artistic practice allowing the artist to become part of the work itself (instead of the master of modern enlightenment). This invited the spectator to have a role in the meaning of the work due to the fact that it was relatable.
For the Hilton Brothers subjectivity and difference have been key to their body of work. Their photographic sets show the parallels and differences between two peoples subjective view of reality. Part of what makes their sets really interesting is the fact that the Hilton Brothers have similar interests, so their subject matter while being the same objectively, is connected to each of them for different reasons. Sometimes when things are close to you (like something you are interested in) you realise how differently you see things and then sometimes you can be surprised by how similar you think.
According to the press release the questions that these diptychs are supposed to arouse revolve around the viewer: "who am I? What is this 'me'-ness that is me? What makes up my identity?". There is something so inane about the self-involvement of these statements. has globalisation led us to the point where we have so many choices(gay, straight, bi, high)that we no longer see who we are anymore? Garrido goes on to suggest that photography is an act of isolation due to its mechanics. Through representation subjects take another step away from "ultimate reality". In Post-modernity it is precisely because of this that images have become more important the the objects themselves. Is this why we struggle with our identity, because our identity cards mean more than our faces? With digital photography these images are even less physical than ever. The Hilton Brothers diptychs only become a physical entity when they are digitally put together and printed on the same piece of high quality paper.
The lack of permanency certainly forms a part of the pop-centric ironic aesthetic of the exhibition. Nothing is so serious, here the po-mo sensibilities show the artists subjectivity and also ask that you allow your identity to add another psychological layer to the work. the 'real' becomes less important that the idea of the difference in experience and in individual identity. The work is much less about self discovery and more about discovering (through the experience of empathy) individual subjectivity. It opens up a plethora of possibilities.
