Philip-Lorca diCorcia: Hustlers
Publisher: Steidl|dangin
Publication Date: 2013
Created by Pascal Dangin in collaboration with the artist, this large-scale publication presents the now iconic Hustlers series in its entirety.
Between 1990 and 1992, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, funded by a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, made multiple trips to Los Angeles to scout locations, invent scenarios, and ultimately find male prostitutes that would agree to pose for photographs. DiCorcia used his fellowship money to pay the men whatever price they charged for their most typical service, and ultimately prompted a complaint of misuse of government funds. The titles of these encounters amplify the facts: Ralph Smith, 21 years old, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and $25.
Hustlers marks the beginning of diCorcia’s engagement with street photography. Many of his works appear to depict random events in public settings, yet rarely involve chance. Knowing precisely what he wanted from each photograph, diCorcia would first try out his idea for a composition with his assistants, and then return to the location with the hustlers he had approached (usually around Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood), such as a motel room, a vacant lot, a fast-food restaurant, in between and inside cars. The narrative was always deliberate, and the result is a series of carefully composed, yet loaded works which revolve around a tension between the subject’s unique presence in front of the camera and the artist’s predetermined idea for the shot.
The publication coincides with the exhibition of the same title at David Zwirner, New York (September 12 – November 2, 2013).
Details
Publisher: Steidl|dangin
Artist: Philip-Lorca diCorcia
Publication Date: 2013
ISBN: 9783869306179
Retail: $128 US & Canada | £145 | €98
Status: Not Available
Designer: Pascal Dangin
Binding: Hardcover
Dimensions: 13 x 17 1/2 in (33 x 43.2 cm)
Pages: 168
Reproductions: 66 color
Artist and Contributors
Philip-Lorca diCorcia
American photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia (b. 1951) emerged in the 1980s as part of a generation of photographers who sought to explore and challenge the boundaries of the medium. He has become known for his meticulously planned and executed photographs involving a variety of individuals in images that 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.
$128