''Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967'' is a noted photograph by photographer

Diane Arbus Diane Arbus (; ; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971
by

from the United States. Since its debut ''Identical twins, Roselle, N. J.'', has become the image most closely associated with her large body of work. The photograph was chosen as the cover illustration for what was, for many years, Arbus’s only retrospective monograph: Diane Arbus, published by Aperture in 1972. It embodies a culmination of the strongest themes in her work, namely her fascinations with children, aberrance, and identity, among them.

History

Diane Arbus was known for her photographs of outsiders and people on the fringes of society. She often shot with a

Rollei Rollei () is a German manufacturer of optical instruments founded in 1920 by and in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras. Later products included specialty and nostalgic type films for the ...

flex

medium format Medium format has traditionally referred to a film format in photography and the related cameras and equipment that use film. Nowadays, the term applies to film and digital cameras that record images on media larger than the used in 35&n ...

twin-lens reflex A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" (the lens that takes the picture), while the other is used for the viewfinde ...

that provided a square

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

and a waist-level viewfinder. The viewfinder allowed Arbus to connect with her subjects in ways that a standard eye-level viewfinder did not.

Significance

''Identical Twins'' depicts young twin sisters, Cathleen and Colleen Wade, standing side by side in matching corduroy dresses, white tights, and white headbands in their dark hair. Both stare into the camera, one slightly smiles and the other slightly frowns. The photo has been said to sum up Arbus' vision. Biographer

Patricia Bosworth Patricia Bosworth (née Crum, April 24, 1933 – April 2, 2020) was an American journalist, biographer, memoirist, and actress. She was a faculty member of Columbia University’s school of journalism as well as Barnard College, and was a winne ...

said, "She was involved in the question of

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

. Who am I and who are you? The twin image expresses the crux of that vision: normality in freakishness and the freakishness in normality." Arbus' inquiry into identity reaches a climax in this photograph with the noticeable tension between the girls' being twins and individuals at the same time. Their extreme closeness, the uniformity of their clothing and haircut underline their close bond while the facial expressions strongly emphasise their individuality.Bissell, Gerhard
"Arbus, Diane"
in ''

Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon Thieme-Becker is a German biographical dictionary of artists. Thieme-Becker The dictionary was begun under the editorship of Ulrich Thieme (1865–1922) (volumes one to fifteen) and Felix Becker (1864–1928) (volumes one to four). It was compl ...

(World Biographical Dictionary of Artists)'', 2006, an
"Diane Arbus"
(condensed English version). The twins were seven years old when Arbus spotted them at a Christmas party for twins and triplets. The twins' father once said about the photo, "We thought it was the worst likeness of the twins we'd ever seen."

In popular culture

The photo has also inspired other art. Most notably, it is said to be echoed in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's horror film '' The Shining'' (1980), which features the twin Grady sisters in similar dress and pose. It is also briefly referenced in

Harmony Korine Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, photographer, artist, and author. His methods feature an erratic, loose and transgressive aesthetic, exploring taboo themes and incorporating experimental techniques,Alicia Kn ...

's ''

Gummo ''Gummo'' is a 1997 American experimental drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine (in his directorial debut), and stars Linda Manz, Max Perlich, Jacob Sewell, Jacob Reynolds, Chloë Sevigny, and Nick Sutton. The film is set in X ...

'' and in an

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of the

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...

'': "The Old and The Restless". It also appears in ''A Simple Favor'', a novel by Darcey Bell, where it hangs above the mantel in one of the main characters' home.

Art market

In 2004, a print of the photo was sold at

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in New York for $478,000. It is also one of a set of recreated iconic portraits through photographic history by the photographer

Sandro Miller Sandro Miller (born 1958), known professionally as Sandro, is an American photographer. He has worked with actor John Malkovich. Career In 2001, Miller photographed Cuban Olympic athletes. This project was the first US/Cuban collaboration since ...

using

John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...

as the actor in each portrait.

Peter Bunnell Peter Curtis Bunnell (October 25, 1937 – September 20, 2021) was an American author, scholar and historian of photography. For more than 40 years he had a significant impact on collecting, exhibiting, teaching and practicing photography throu ...

's 25.4 cm x 26 cm print was sold at the Phillips auction in April 2023, for near-high $215,900. Bunnell’s print is titled and dated by the photographer. The purposely diffuse edges of the image are a hallmark of Arbus’s mature printing style in which she employed a filed-out negative carrier while making prints in the darkroom.

References

External links

Diane Arbus: Revelations
exhibition,

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

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