Philip-Lorca diCorcia at Spruth Magers Gallery

'DiCorcia first came to prominence in the 1970s with photographs that defied definition, existing in the space between documentary fact and movie-style fiction. The meticulous staging of quotidian scenes of family and friends lent the images an unparalleled sense of heightened drama and ambiguity.

Throughout diCorcia’s work he has used the Polaroid format to augment his photographic projects and with this publication he was able to showcase this technique for the first time. Whilst some of the images were taken as test shots to check lighting and composition, other scenes were conceived specifically to be taken only in Polaroid format, as an entirely separate endeavour. In 'Roid' fresh images from diCorcia's most recognised series - ‘Family and Friends’, ‘Hustlers’, ‘Streetwork’, ‘Heads’, ‘A Storybook Life’, and ‘Lucky Thirteen’ - are punctuated by intimate moments with family, friends, lovers, and scenes of everyday life ranging from the view from an airplane window to a cluster of dandelion bulbs or an unwashed coffee cup on a simple table-cloth. The installation of the works is of equal importance to the selection of images: by displaying this collection of small photographs together, one after the other on a thin aluminium rail, diCorcia is encouraging an altogether more immediate way of experiencing photography. Indeed, diCorica's use of Polaroid photography is a conscious attempt to question the current preoccupation with large-scale photographic reproduction.'

http://www.spruethmagers.com/exhibitions/288