"Between 1990 and 1992, Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s first solo exhibition. The show, entitled “Strangers” was accompanied by a museum catalog. Twenty years later, steidldangin publishes the series in its entirety. Hustlers is an empathetic yet melancholic poem of the Hollywood dream gone wrong, prescribing to the heavily-staged pictorialism and happenstance of street casting for which diCorcia is most widely recognized.
Knowing precisely what he wanted from each photograph, and fearful of police involvement, diCorcia would prearrange all settings: this motel room, that vacant lot, in between cars, in a fast-food restaurant—the narrative was always deliberate. From the moment diCorcia approached a potential subject (usually around Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood), to the completion of the shoot, seldom more than one hour had passed. The titles of these encounters amplify the facts: Ralph Smith, 21 years old, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and $25."
