The Hilton Brothers are the American photographic duo of Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg. A student of Man Ray, Makos is perhaps most widely recognised for his work with Andy Warhol, who once proclaimed his friend and colleague as “the most
The Hilton Brothers are the American photographic duo of Christopher Makos and Paul Solberg. A student of Man Ray, Makos is perhaps most widely recognised for his work with Andy Warhol, who once proclaimed his friend and colleague as “the most modern photographer in America.” More recently, Makos used these same words to describe partner Paul Solberg, whom he has collaborated with for the past eight years on a 350 page opus entitled Tyrants + Lederhosen. The project is an epic photographic journey which takes the form of a travelogue, featuring imagery from the duo that spans America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. With texts from Lou Reed and Ai Weiwei, the book documents The Hilton Brothers' diverse aesthetic and provides a visual narrative of this intriguing duo. Ahead of their exhibition Tyrants + Lederhosen at Galerie Catherine Houard, AnOther spoke to The Hilton Brothers about their past, present and future.
How did you two meet?
Christopher Makos: I had just come back from the Spanish island of Lanzarote and was eager to share my experiences about the other-worldly island. I was lucky enough to be introduced to Paul while I was on the west side highway, biking and resting. I met him and our energy was viable and palpable. We were connected almost instantly.
Why "The Hilton Brothers"? A reference to the infamous sisters, perhaps?
Paul Solberg: We were referencing the vaudeville stars from the 1930s, Daisy and Violet Hilton, conjoined twins, who were famous song and dance stars of their time. Being physically connected is the ultimate collaboration – more collaborative than a marriage or parenthood. We’ve been creatively connected for eight years but with the free will to part. We’re fascinated by the extreme levels of collaboration endured by others.
CM: Maybe the Siamese twins from the 1930s, maybe the sisters of the 1990s but in the end, it was and always has been about Chris and Paul. The names were just a means to an end and that end being a duo, a team, a reference to that team, and that team around the time we met was coincidently the Hilton sisters.
Who or what inspires your work?
CM: The world around me inspires my work - a bike ride, living in New York city, Paul, my past experiences… Just waking up in the morning and knowing the life that I have led, and the life that I lead inspires me.
PS: Everything has the potential to get us excited. A cheap wedding cake at Walmart, to the people inside such places that are the new public squares in most of North America. The interesting shapes of food. The neon-coloured sodas. Kids screaming in the parking lot. Famine and prosperity interchangeable. We spend hours in grocery stores. It really makes you think.
How does your partnership work?
CM: We both take pictures of the lives that we lead, sometimes together, sometimes not, then we have these weekly meetings about “what’s going on”. Between the meeting and our decision times we create works that appeal to our mutual sense of collaboration and beauty. We both believe in the beauty of the human experience.
PS: It’s unconscious. We rarely create deliberately. Images appear and we both respond to them naturally – we don’t overthink our first impression.
Had you created your signature diptychs with anyone else before joining forces?
PS: Chris had been playing with combining images for years and when we were preparing for our show for La Casa Encendida in Madrid with curator Lola Garrido, we came across a collage of stapled pictures of mine from South Africa from when I was a teenager. We have many occurrences of creative telepathy, even before we met.
Chris, how did your relationship with Andy Warhol begin?
CM: I met Andy at the Whitney Museum, through Dotson Rader, went to his studio and the rest is “art history.”
Who or whom would you like to collaborate with in the future?
CM: Everyone that I photograph – one’s life is a constant collaboration, some are more successful than others, but bottom line I am collaborating with you right now by answering these questions.
PS: In New York, and any big town, it seems collaboration is right there as soon as you leave your house. Everyday life and art are so intertwined if you allow it in. I find so many creative and physical collaborations with the city from “car, please don’t hit me” when I’m weaving through traffic on my bike, to taking pictures of people on the street.
A lot of your work revolves around ideals of beauty. What are your thoughts on the subject?
PS: Beauty is the new Punk. It can be provocative and unsettling to be confronted with something beautiful. We’re confronted with so much high vibration with relentless information and imagery, that to explore quiet ideas is quite interesting for us.
Is Tyrants + Lederhose a biography of sorts, albeit a visual one?
CM: Yes, it’s a visual narrative of the past eight years Paul and I traveled the world – the experiences that we have shared that have made this new body of work. It’s an opus that we have prepared to give to our collectors, our friends.
Where do you call home ?
CM: Home is wherever the people I love are, if I am there, I am home. I love Paul so that is home for me.
What’s next for The Hilton Brothers, a well-deserved rest?
CM: When you are creative, there is no rest. The mind doesn’t stop, the brain cannot really be stopped, the ideas just keep coming. Maybe a period in Southern California, during the really cold months in New York City. Rest is for the weak. A good night’s sleep is perfect.
PS: We’re too excited to rest; our idea of rest is work. Once your work begins to make you tired, it’s time to pack your things and get on the bus.
The Hilton Brothers are exhibiting Tyrants + Lederhose at the Galerie Catherine Huard from November 4 – January 21 2012.
Text by Frankie Mathieson
