I caught a great photography exhibit at the ICA this past weekend: the first comprehensive exhibition of MassArt graduate, Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s work. The museum showcased 125 of diCorcia’s photos, some from each of his series. I tried something new and brought my ipod full the ICA’s commentary on the exhibit, and listened while I walked. All his photos mix somewhat mundane subject matter with incredible lighting. In Mario, a man simply stares into a refrigerator; the man is haloed though (diCorcia hid a flash in the fridge) to the point where you start to wonder what he’s looking for, he’s clearly looking for something more profound than say cheese. The viewer can easily be fooled by the very ordinary imagery; most of diCorcia’s early work is in fact elaborately staged to look, well not-staged. And in turn, these staged but not-staged photos make you look deeper to find your own meaning.
The first series was Hustlers in which diCorcia approached male prostitutes for staged photography and paid them the equivalent of what they would normally charge for an hour of their typical services. diCorcia moves to less staged photography with his Heads series. For Heads, diCorcia would place large strobe flashes under scaffolding in New York City. As pedestrians walked by he snapped their portrait. The results are highly detailed impromptu portraiture where the subject seems to be bathed in an aura of light, while the background is almost completely black.
It’s clear Philip-Lorca diCorcia gains inspiration (whether consciously or not) from cinema, the lighting and the staging make his photos appears as if they could be one frame stolen from much longer film, a film that you must ultimately construct on your own.
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