Philip-Lorca diCorcia

By Peter Galassi

Book Overview

Back in Print Philip-Lorca diCorcia's inventively staged and exquisitely crafted color photographs occupy a special place in contemporary art. Operating in the gap between postmodern fiction and documentary fact, between slick convention and fresh perception, they deliver a powerful emotional charge. The 55 color plates in this book, dating from 1978 to 1994, trace the evolution of a compelling and influential body of work. Beginning with enigmatic domestic scenarios whose protagonists are the photographer's family and friends, diCorcia moved on to an ambitious series in which Hollywood drifters and hustlers are pictured as emblematic figures of contemporary America. He proceeded to deploy his probing curiosity amid the energy and turmoil of big-city streets, reinvigorating a rich photographic tradition that had been dormant for nearly a generation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870701452
• ISBN13: 9780870701450
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Museum of Modern Art
• Length: 79 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 10.7" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Brief review

The photographer produces only a few photos each year. The detail and care of his art challenge me to become as powerful in my own work.

Great book!

If you're a fan or love photography, well it's a good one. Especially if you're interested in portrait and street photography. Philip-Lorca diCorcia is a must in that field. So, of course, there is plenty of photographs (great ones) but that's about it. This is not the book you want to buy to read about diCorcia. But still, very glad to have it!

Realism and Artificiality

In Andy Grundberg's book, Crisis of the Real, he predicts that "the character of photography in the new millennium will be something more overtly fabricated, manipulative, artificial, and self conscious then the photography we have come to know." Interested in this prediction, I have been exploring artists using fiction and theatricality in their work; such as, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Jeff Wall, Eileen Cowin, and Tiny Barny to name a few. These artists are not only questioning the representational authority of photography but also exploring the extent to which artiface takes part in constructing a narrative. In carefully staged scenes, apparently taken from ordinary, everday life, diCorcia's images originate not so much from experience as from imagination. They seem convincingly real, yet are just enough over the top to remind us of how mediated photography can be. I think this is the type of overt fabrication Grundberg was referring to. diCorcia gives meticulous attention to every detail and has a wonderful sense of composition, particularly with the use of color. Many of his pictures will make you laugh, while others may offer an odd parallel to your own experiences. This is an original book, well worth having to return to as a source of pleasure and inspiration.