Between 1990 and 1992, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, funded by a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, paid male prostitutes as usual, then instead photographed them. This controversial method led to accusations of misusing government funds. In 1993, his series Strangers debuted at The Museum of Modern Art, later published as Hustlers. The work is a stark, melancholic portrait of the Hollywood dream gone wrong, with each shot deliberately staged in gritty locations like motels and fast-food joints. The titles reveal unsettling details: names, ages, and the price paid—exposing the raw transaction behind the facade.