Philip-Lorca diCorcia

Philip-Lorca diCorcia's evocative and enigmatic photographs employ a calculated and often baroque theatricality. Using elaborate staging, he elevates everyday occurrences beyond the realm of banality, heightening our awareness of the psychology and emotion contained in real-life situations. His subjects include a wide range of characters, from strangers to those in his inner circle of family and associates. Some have personas already theatrically enlarged by their life choices, such as the pole dancers in his latest series. These photographs were shot in various locations and settings—empty theatres, rented rooms, and strip clubs. The dancers were not performing for an audience but rather for the photographer's camera, and this lends a non-specificity to most of the settings. Each image captures a dancer in mid-pose, her concentration reinforcing a complete unselfconsciousness. When suspended in the air, the bodies of these ravaged and imperfect subjects take on the character of sculpture, as perfectly modeled as monumental figures by Michelangelo. What might otherwise be considered lurid becomes in these compositions iconic, timeless, transformed into something symbolic with a look of architectural permanence. Far from titillating, diCorcia's powerful photographs engage with a long history of artists contemplating the human form, physical perfection, and prowess.

Selected Bibliography:

DiCorcia, Philip-Lorca. A Storybook Life. Santa Fe, N.M.: Twin Palms Publishers, 2003.

Galassi, Peter. Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1995.

Grundberg, Andy. "Street Fare." Artforum 37, no. 6 (February 1999): 80–83.

Morgan, Stewart. "Deliberate Fictions." Frieze 31 (November–December 1996): 50–56.

Links:

A Storybook Life

The Village Voice