Dicorcia is an American photographer who captured people of America in the 1980s-90s who were in pursuit to follow the American dream and were not so successful. Every photo of a person was titled their name, and certain photos would be titled the person's name, age, location and price. The price was related to the fact that some of these people had to sell themselves to survive in the states.
Mario
This photo presents Dicorcia's brother, 'Mario' staring into a refrigerator late at night. The light from the fridge presents the front of Mario is a harsh white light. The light almost appears as a stage light, as if it were presenting Mario in a dramatic moment, which creates irony because Mario is performing a very non-dramatical act. His posture is composed but he appears relaxed in this moment, as though the only truly important thing to him at this moment is deciding what to eat, which is very anti-climatic. But Dicorcia captures his brother so it appears as though this is a dramatic and impacting scene in Mario's life, when it truly isn't. The composition makes it appear as though Dicorcia is stalking Mario, hidden in the doorway to his kitchen, just watching him exist in his uneventful life; this will make the viewer feel intrusive and almost uncomfortable to be watching Mario. However, due to the meaningless meaning Dicorcia has created, the viewer will still be intrigued, attempting to find what is so meaningful in this photo, when really there is nothing. The light surrounding Mario is unnatural and dim, it is unable to brighten the whole of his surroundings, becoming insignificant, this could symbolise the motivation and hope in Mario's life. It is clear that Mario isn't a successful or very active person by this photo, the kitchen is rather small and minimalist with things, his hair is unkept and his surroundings appear unclean; these factors suggest an uneventful life for Mario.
Brent Booth; 21 years old; Des Moines, Iowa; $30
A selection of Dicorcia's photos captured male prostitutes from Saint Monica Boulevard, he would pay the men their usual price of service, and stage them in situations that accurately depict their lives. Here we see 'Brent' sat late at night by the road with a soda drink at a table. The street light highlights the details of Brent's face just from above. Brent appears to be lost in thought as he looks off to something in front of him that the viewer cannot see. Once again, the streetlight appears as a stage light to Brent, as if it shines onto his face so he can share his story to the viewer, share how he didn't make it in the states, and has resorted to selling himself to survive. Brent's unkept hair and simple clothing suggests he is still struggling with money, and by the price titled in his photo ($30), it would be clear as to why he is struggling. Having Brent sat late at night in the streets presents symbolism of him not having a home, showing him left alone in the cold night. Even the street he is captured at appears rugged and poor, a place he has no choice but to stay at because of the failure of his hopes and dreams. The streetlight makes Brent's face appear clinical and cold, leaving no warmth to the colouring of his skin, making him appear even more isolated in his life.
Marilyn; 28 Years Old; Las Vegas, Nevada; $30
Here Dicorcia captures 'Marilyn', also a male prostitute but who is dressed as a woman and named a woman's name. With him wearing a short black wig that appears cheap and tattered, and his face clearly powdered with also lipstick and eyeliner, with even a beauty spot placed on his cheek. It is unclear what he is wearing but it appears to be a simple red dress exposing his arms. Marilyn's face is presented by a bright streetlight just above him, which highlights his makeup and shoulders. The light presents his makeup harshly and makes the powder on his face have him appear very pale; almost a completely different skin tone to his arms. The red lipstick appears deep and feminises his features along with the beauty spot. Dicorcia used this lighting to highlight the fact that this man has had to resort to dressing as a woman to make money and survive, making many viewers sympathetic but also slightly disgusted by this unfortunate situation. The fact that we cannot know this man's real name leaves him as a mystery and almost as though he is not a real person, he is just an object for certain people to buy. There is a man sat behind Marilyn who appears possibly as a 'customer' or maybe a friend to Marilyn. If he is interpreted as a customer, this makes Marilyn appear vulnerable, he already appears frail with the way his arms are positioned almost to protect himself and his expression which feminises him, but adding the man behind him conveys how vulnerable he is, Marilyn actions now appear in command of this man. If the man is interpreted as a friend to Marilyn, this makes him appear less vulnerable, but does create more sympathy, it is almost as if Marilyn needs protection from customers and others so this friend is there to protect him, hence why he watches Marilyn in this photo because he is making sure he is okay.
Igor
Here we are presented with 'Igor', sat on a train with a bag containing a goldfish in water. Igor is leant back on his seat and starring up to the lights of the train. The light from the train is reflected from the metal walls and plastic seats, so the area is well lit around Igor, presenting him in an even way. Igor appears to be an unusual and possibly foreign name, suggesting he is not from America, and came there in hopes of success, like the many others Dicorcia captures. This further suggests that Igor's expression is so vacant, because this is a foreign place to Igor, and he is lost with what to do in this country, or where to go. The fish in the bag suggests Igor was at a carnival and won the fish, but this is usually the reward for a child, this could symbolise that Igor is unable to achieve the things he truly desires and is left with minuscule rewards that he does not strive for. His expression appears forlorn and empty, as though he is unsatisfied with life, and this train ride feels meaningless to him, and the fish feels meaningless to him. All these things surrounding him and he appears unsatisfied with life.
Overall...
I feel Dicorcia's work is an excellent depiction of lives that are broken and desperate in a dramatical and beautiful way. Using artificial light from streetlights, fridges, trains, etc, to capture someone in a theatrical atmosphere, as if Dicorcia opened the stage for these people to tell their story in a photo. I found no specific camera techniques in Dicorcia's work but a method he uses is highlighting the subject's face with the artificial lights to create an impact. I will use this when recreating his work for my inspiration.
Author Unknown, "Philip-Lorca diCorcia
American, born 1951", [https://www.moma.org/artists/7027?locale=en&page=&direction=], (accessed: 11/02/2020)
After Recreation...
After research into Dicorcia's work, I discovered there to be no specific techniques in the editing or camera processes but a common composition where the light is used to highlight the subject and create a story line to the subject by their environments. I only took the feature of highlighting the subject in my photos. My photos are more eerie compared to Dicorcia's but the subject (me) is still highlighted. Dicorcia used various artificial lights such as street lights, lights from trains, fridges, etc, for my photos I used a snoot light to direct the light onto my face and neck from the left side of me. I did vary the exposure settings at points to create a different intensity of light, Dicorcia tended to use a sharp light on the subject, but this was blended with the dark and warm surroundings. My intentions were not to perfectly recreate Dicorcia's work, but to take the dramatic atmosphere that he created, which I feel I was successful in doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment