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Identical: Twins and Multiples
Long a source of fascination, twins have often been a theme of myth and legend. The founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus is one of the many instances that spring to mind. Even when separated at birth, twins usually have uncannily similar tastes, habits and life experiences. In this landmark photographic study, Martin Schoeller uses his distinctive close-up portrait style to examine 40 sets of identical twins, capturing every subtle aspect of their facial structure and expressions. We notice the myriad similarities and the seemingly miniscule--yet significant--differences. Browsing this remarkable collection, you'll find yourself pondering how appearance and identity define our sense of our selves.
- GenresPhotography
132 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 2012
31 people want to read
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December 17, 2012
Identical twins are some of the most fascinating people out there. They share exact copies of their genes, and they question our notions of individuality and personal uniqueness. Fascination with twins has a long history, and Martin Schoeller’s “Identical” takes us on a very, quite literally, in-your-face exploration of these natural clones.
Most of us who have not had twins in our families are not able to distinguish them apart, even when they are someone close to us – friends, coworkers, associates, etc. We are told that they do in fact poses distinguishing characteristics, but for the most part those are too subtle to be noticed. One of the biggest virtues of “Identical” is that it enables us to take a very close look at the faces of identical twins, something that would be too creepy to pull of in the real life. When we are finally able to take such a close look the distinguishing characteristics spring at us in full force and become more than obvious.
I am not the biggest fan of these extreme close up photographs of front-facing unsmiling twins (and triplets, quadruplets …) The photographs are certainly unique and somewhat provocative, but the eerie unflinching stares, especially when repeated on facing pages with subtle (and not so subtle) variations leaves me feeling mildly disturbed. This is particularly the case for those twins who had gone through the process of “extreme makeover” with the gender reassignment.
All of the photographs are shot in extreme shallow depth of field. The effect of this is to bring the faces closer to us, but it also manages to soften the features. This prevents one form taking a more “clinical” look at the photographs, and see all the minute and unflattering details of human faces – warts, moles, pores, wrinkles, etc. It is understandable that an artistic book would shun such details, but I would have preferred to see them. It would have enriched my understanding of human faces in general.
This is certainly a very interesting book, and well worth going though. However, it is not the kind of book that I would want to go back to repeatedly. These are not the kinds of photographs that I gravitate towards in my leisure time, nor are they so overwhelmingly artistically unique that I’d derive some inspiration from them. Granted, these are all just my personal tastes and you may find this book much more alluring than I had.
Most of us who have not had twins in our families are not able to distinguish them apart, even when they are someone close to us – friends, coworkers, associates, etc. We are told that they do in fact poses distinguishing characteristics, but for the most part those are too subtle to be noticed. One of the biggest virtues of “Identical” is that it enables us to take a very close look at the faces of identical twins, something that would be too creepy to pull of in the real life. When we are finally able to take such a close look the distinguishing characteristics spring at us in full force and become more than obvious.
I am not the biggest fan of these extreme close up photographs of front-facing unsmiling twins (and triplets, quadruplets …) The photographs are certainly unique and somewhat provocative, but the eerie unflinching stares, especially when repeated on facing pages with subtle (and not so subtle) variations leaves me feeling mildly disturbed. This is particularly the case for those twins who had gone through the process of “extreme makeover” with the gender reassignment.
All of the photographs are shot in extreme shallow depth of field. The effect of this is to bring the faces closer to us, but it also manages to soften the features. This prevents one form taking a more “clinical” look at the photographs, and see all the minute and unflattering details of human faces – warts, moles, pores, wrinkles, etc. It is understandable that an artistic book would shun such details, but I would have preferred to see them. It would have enriched my understanding of human faces in general.
This is certainly a very interesting book, and well worth going though. However, it is not the kind of book that I would want to go back to repeatedly. These are not the kinds of photographs that I gravitate towards in my leisure time, nor are they so overwhelmingly artistically unique that I’d derive some inspiration from them. Granted, these are all just my personal tastes and you may find this book much more alluring than I had.
Displaying 1 of 1 review