David Hilliard Research Paper
DAVID HILLIARD
David Hilliard “Widow” (2003)
Research Paper by Amr Kashmiri
Background & Description of his work
David Hilliard makes unique multi panel images that narrate complex yet personal stories. The scenes his photographs portray are mostly staged and set up in a manner that they showcase Hilliard’s strong sense of perception and depth of field. Because the photographs are set up, there's a certain kind of rigidity in Hilliard’s work that is similar to the older portraits from the turn of the century, when cameras were very big and clunky and exposures were very long due to the slow photographic process.
His photos also act as self-portraits in a away, as they show the people that Hilliard chooses to surround himself with; A lot of his work show people in very private instances, with very private possessions; both elderly and young men and women appear half dressed performing normal daily routines such as ironing, eating, reclining, vamping, watching and/or reading pornographic material. Homosexuality, heterosexuality, the essence of masculinity, femininity, the father/son relationship, solitude, and isolation from a group; are all major themes in Hilliard’s Photographs.
Hilliard’s Camera fractures the spaces that his subjects inhabit. The sequencing of photographs and shifting of focal planes allows Hilliard the luxury of guiding the viewer across the photograph, directing their eye; an effect which could not be achieved through a single image. Hilliard focuses on different things in each of the frames. This way of setting up a photograph inherently leaves clues for the spectator to figure out, interpreting the images one sees as a story happening.
The multi panel work declines to a seamless transition in our panoramic view of the scene. The seams do not quite match between two of the images. Instead of a smooth transition from frame to frame, we are jolted a bit and reminded that we are looking at photographic media, not a window
David Hilliard “Widow” (2003)
Research Paper by Amr Kashmiri
Background & Description of his work
David Hilliard makes unique multi panel images that narrate complex yet personal stories. The scenes his photographs portray are mostly staged and set up in a manner that they showcase Hilliard’s strong sense of perception and depth of field. Because the photographs are set up, there's a certain kind of rigidity in Hilliard’s work that is similar to the older portraits from the turn of the century, when cameras were very big and clunky and exposures were very long due to the slow photographic process.
His photos also act as self-portraits in a away, as they show the people that Hilliard chooses to surround himself with; A lot of his work show people in very private instances, with very private possessions; both elderly and young men and women appear half dressed performing normal daily routines such as ironing, eating, reclining, vamping, watching and/or reading pornographic material. Homosexuality, heterosexuality, the essence of masculinity, femininity, the father/son relationship, solitude, and isolation from a group; are all major themes in Hilliard’s Photographs.
Hilliard’s Camera fractures the spaces that his subjects inhabit. The sequencing of photographs and shifting of focal planes allows Hilliard the luxury of guiding the viewer across the photograph, directing their eye; an effect which could not be achieved through a single image. Hilliard focuses on different things in each of the frames. This way of setting up a photograph inherently leaves clues for the spectator to figure out, interpreting the images one sees as a story happening.
The multi panel work declines to a seamless transition in our panoramic view of the scene. The seams do not quite match between two of the images. Instead of a smooth transition from frame to frame, we are jolted a bit and reminded that we are looking at photographic media, not a window