Control Freak: David Hilliard's Images of Order

Every person on this earth struggles to control something, and this struggle manifests itself in many different ways, both physically and mentally. Making Boys Cry, David Hilliard’s newest collection of photographs showing at the Bernard Toale Gallery, boldly creates images in which the characters search for control and order in their lives. In the beautifully colored photographs, men and women of various ages search for control over fate, their desires and themselves. Making Boys Cry is a follow-up to Hilliard’s previous show entitled Endurance, in which pictures captured images of the strengths and weaknesses in everyday life.

All of Hilliard’s photographs include multiple panels. This technique adds significant depth to each piece. On the Bernard Toale Gallery website, Hilliard explains, “This sequencing of photographs and shifting of focal planes allows me the luxury of guiding the viewer across the photograph, directing their eye; an effect I could never achieve through a single image.”

The three-panel photograph entitled “Stella Searching” shows an elderly woman, rake in hand, staring upward while standing in a neat and orderly lawn. The middle panel pictures a single old and brittle leaf attached to a branch. The top panel depicts a gray storm cloud with a bit of sun peeking from behind it. The orderliness of the lawn suggests that Stella, the old woman, is attempting to control her life. Stella stares at the lone leaf, which represents her fate, in a vain attempt to master it. Its lengthy distance from Stella may point to her inability to control every aspect of her life. The storm cloud represents the things that threaten the fragile leaf, the things that threaten Stella’s destiny. Stella looks to the cloud, but, even more so than the leaf, it is impossible for her to control Mother Nature. This piece leaves the viewer with questions about Stella’s fate. Does the storm doom the leaf? Does the hiding sunshine overcome the storm?

The largest photograph, “A to Z of Taxonomy,” is seven panels long and the most ambiguous piece in the collection. Six of the panels are radiant and colorful photos of silk flowers in a shop, each of which is strong enough to stand alone. The seventh panel shows two women closely analyzing the flowers. These women are ordering the flowers, so the photo can be seen as a metaphor for the human attempt to order life. There are so many flowers, each precious and beautiful, that ordering them seems an impossible task. Is Hilliard sending the message that it is impossible to control and order every little thing in our lives? Is he saying that every bit of ourselves is beautiful no matter what the state of disorder? Taxonomy is classification, so the title of the piece agrees with Hilliard’s assertions of order.

“Making Boys Cry,” the piece for which the collection is titled, consists of three bright, horizontally positioned panels. The first panel pictures a pre-adolescent girl sitting on a table leaning on one arm. She is wearing a pink two-piece bathing suit. The second panel shows the legs of another girl standing on the same table. It is impossible to be sure of her age, but she is likely a pre-teen as well. The third panel captures a young man, wearing sunglasses, looking up at the girl in the second panel. This may represent the young man’s attempt to control his lust for the girls. The girl in the first panel appears in an oddly sexual manner, consistent with the theme of lust. The temptation that the girls represent is thus posited as what makes boys cry. The young man’s panel is darker, less colorful than the other two, and it is angled to make him look farther from the girls than he really is. His separation signals his dilemma.

The common desire to dominate is presented intriguingly in “Shirts vs. Skins.” The three panels belonging to this piece show two rival basketball teams, one shirtless and facing the viewer, the other wearing shirts and facing the rival team. The intent expressions on the faces of the adolescent boys show their desire to control the situation and win against the opposing team. The teams are positioned in relationship to the viewer in such a way that the viewer feels as if she were part of the team with shirts on. This strange warping of reality pulls the viewer into the emotions of the moment. The viewer can actually feel the desire to dominate the other team, making this piece almost interactive.

Each piece in this intriguing collection holds the viewer’s attention and is worthy of prolonged observation. Even if the meaning of the piece is not entirely understood, the beauty, detail and color are enough to hold any audience. Hilliard does a wonderful job of depicting human struggle.

Making Boys Cry is on display at the Bernard Toale Gallery, at 450 Harrison Ave., Boston. For more information, call (617) 482-2477.

MAKING BOYS CRY

by DAVID HILLIARD

at Bernard Toale Gallery

Through October 27