Philip-Lorca diCorcia and His Theatrical Documentary Photographs

Description

DiCorcia emerged in the 1980s as part of a generation of photographers who sought to explore and challenge the boundaries of the medium. Over the past three decades, he has become known for his planned and meticulously executed photographs involving a variety of individuals, including friends, relatives, anonymous strangers, pole dancers, and street hustlers, among others. Deploying his subjects in preconceived yet seemingly random positions and contexts, diCorcia’s images are far from candid snapshots, but rather explore the tension between the casual and the posed, the accidental and the fated. At once documentary and theatrical, his work operates in the interstices of fact and fiction.

Among the works shown in the exhibition is a selection of early images from the 1980s. For these works, diCorcia photographed friends and family members in seemingly spontaneous moments that were, in reality, precisely arranged by the artist. While the images offer a unique view into diCorcia’s private world, they represent a highly mediated and controlled representation of these individuals and settings.