Hustlers

More about the book

Between 1990 and 1992, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, with funding from a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, traveled to Los Angeles to scout locations and create scenarios involving male prostitutes willing to pose for him. He found that compensating the men for their services made this task easier, which later led to a complaint regarding the misuse of government funds. In 1993, twenty-five selected images were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, marking diCorcia’s first solo exhibition, titled “Strangers,” accompanied by a catalog. Twenty years later, the complete series is published by steidldangin. The work serves as an empathetic yet melancholic reflection on the Hollywood dream gone awry, showcasing diCorcia's signature heavily-staged pictorialism and street casting approach. Each photograph was meticulously planned to avoid police interference, with settings ranging from motel rooms to vacant lots and fast-food restaurants. The narrative was always intentional, and from the initial approach to the completion of a shoot, rarely more than an hour elapsed. The titles of these encounters provide stark details, such as Ralph Smith, 21 years old, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and $25.