Philip-Lorca diCorcia

Philip-Lorca diCorcia is an American photographer. In his photographs he pursues a dialogue with film, or more precisely with the television series. Everyday situations are literally given a particular illumination. Human beings appear as perfectly acting players in front of the scenery of a television play. DiCorcia in his work reveals only fragments of a story and we have to complete it using our own experiences and dreams.

Lighting is very important in his work, to find a hidden sources of light viewer has to look very carefully. The light distances the individual from his environment, it gives a meaning to everyday scene, it expresses desire, longing, questioning.

Mario (1978) by Philip-Lorca diCorcia

DiCorcia’s brother Mario, who is the actor in this image, is standing in the kitchen staring into open refrigerator. Everything in this image is under control, not just a scene and every detail of the room- such as the opening doors that turn the kitchen into a stage – but above all the direction of the light, the fall of the shadows and any reflection there might be.

It is hard to say at what he is starring and why, but whatever he is looking at is not in the fridge. Mario’s pose (hand on his waist) states that he is looking into the fridge for a while. That is not the pose of person, who just needed to take something in order to cook, that is a pose of person that thinks about something else. The patterns made by carpet and windows serve to structure a meditation, which says more about Mario’s idea of his own destiny than about which late-night snack he will choose.

Judging by the light and the darkness outside the window this picture was taken at the evening. Philip-Lorca diCorcia took many images during this time. Looks like he is capturing the life of sleepwalkers.

I am interested in the way he uses lighting, how it helps to express his ideas. It looks like he was using just natural light, which gives a realistic feeling. Just only when you look carefully you can see that he used some hidden sources of light. His photos don’t look staged, but at the same time they have that cinematic feeling, which makes to stop and look more closely at the image.

Bibliography:

Goldin, N., Pierson, J. and Dicorcia, P.-L. (1998) Emotions & Relations: Nan Goldin, David Armstrong, Mark Morrisroe, Jack Pierson, Philip-Larca Dicorcia (Foto Series). Edited by Christoph Heinrich. Germany: Benedikt Taschen Verlag.