Heads

The photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia is best known for his elaborately staged scenes made to look like real life, in which he meticulously plans every element of a shot-lighting, pose, etc, before taking the photograph, creating the “ur” moment. This is conceptual photography with the veneer of the documentary. As such, his photographs have been integral to contemporary dialogues on street photography, portraiture and constructed versus spontaneous tableaus. His most recent body of work, titled Heads, is a departure from this method. Setting up shop in New York City, diCorcia took unstaged pictures of passers by that follow in the street photography tradition of Paul Strand, Walker Evans, Harry Callahan and Robert Frank. DiCorcia’s work helps to redefine the genre, bringing street photography into our postmodern world.