I have always enjoyed Philip Lorca diCorcia’s photographs. Although many of his portraits have stuck in my head, his portrait of Erno Nussenzweig is burned into my memory. Part of his series, Heads, the portrait of Nussenzweig’s title is actually Head 13 (2000). The anonymous and random individuals from the series, which were taken over the span of two years, were photographed from a hidden camera in a Times Square subway station. The only reason that Nussenzweig’s name was ever released was due to his lawsuit against diCorcia that turned into a public scandal. Regardless of the various issues underlying the ethics of the portrait, the image itself has always intrigued me due to its combination of documentary street-style photography and elaborate staging. The result is an enigmatic image that almost seems like it is a still from a film. The portrait, though elaborately staged, is from real life and his work, effectively, reinvented the genre of street photography for me.
After today’s trip, Barkley Hendrick’s portrait, What’s Going On (1974), keeps reappearing in my memory. Although Barkley’s portrait is an oil painting, there is a photographic quality to his work that reminds me of DiCorcia’s staged portriats. This portrait, set against a plain white background, is highly stylized in a similar manner to DiCorcia’s Head series.
Philip Lorca diCorcia, Head #13 (2000)
Barkley L. Hendricks, What’s Going On (1974)
I like how you find the connection between these two images that very different in terms of medium and method. I see how they are both highly stylized and how this artistic decision pushes the image further.
I love how you describe the diCorcia as being “an enigmatic image that almost seems like it is a still from a film” because I also feel that way when looking at it. You do such a good job of connecting it to the Hendricks because it seems realistic in a way because of its crisp detail but it’s not. They both have elements that make them seem separated from the world and their media in a league of their own where they play with these boundaries.