Stephen Shore, ‘Yucatán, Mexico, January 4, 1990’, from Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography (MACK, 2022). Courtesy of the artist and MACK

Written by Federica Barrios Carbonell

Edited by Jana Massoud

American photographer, Stephen Shore, curates and writes beautifully about his experience with photography, what the art form means to him, and how images have the power to tell their own story. Unlike his previous book, The Nature of Photographs, an objective delineation of photography as a medium, Modern Instances is a collection of beautiful, personal stories, a memoir of impressionist content. “Modern Instances is a subjective scrapbook of thoughts and impressions.” (Shore, 7) How does an artist’s experience impact their work? Shore presents encounters that have impacted him and reflects on the connections between them through a collection of photographs.

Stephen Shore, ‘Self-Portrait, New York, New York, October 1997’, from Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography (MACK, 2022). Courtesy of the artist and MACK

The book begins with an insight into Shore’s artistic vision, the stylistic inclinations that inspire him, and the stories behind the images that leave his curiosity engaged. The book is a collection of well-rounded, clever thoughts; it reads like a conversation between the artist and the blank pages of his book. With ideas that pave the way for a discussion about his work, how did the inspirations he mentioned in the beginning pages of the book influence Shore’s work?

Unknown photographer, ‘Dead Cowboy’, from Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography (MACK, 2022). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

Stephen Shore is a well-celebrated photographer of this era, most famous for his pictures of ordinary, commonplace America. However, the images are anything but mundane. His exceptional capture of color creates so much excitement and animation in something as quotidian as a Chevron gas station, surrounded by run-of-the-mill American strip malls (Beverly Boulevard & La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 1975) or an uninhabited street with only a few signs and buildings to be used as landmarks (Proton Avenue, Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, 1974). We can see the artist’s focus on contemporary landscape and structure as he explores the aesthetics of the edifice and how portraying three-dimensionality on a flat image affects his vision.

Stephen Shore, ‘Granite, Oklahoma, July 1972’, from Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography (MACK, 2022). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

Shore describes his problems in recreating his artistic vision and tells a detailed story of historical solutions, and how they stimulated his own portrayals of visual relationships. The classic solutions offered to him by art history did not dilute the visual complexities of the forms and pressures of our modern age. He took it upon himself to translate the experience of standing in a modern American landscape, what aspects of the view truly shapes the confrontation between the eye and the street intersection (Beverly Boulevard & La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 22, 1975). Shore’s perfectionist lens would not rest until a scene’s essence was perfectly captured in his photographs.

Stephen Shore, ‘US, Arizona, June, 1972’, from Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography (MACK, 2022). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

The evolution of technology and its effects on society’s perception of the world is a crucial element in Shore’s narration of his long, successful career. Meticulous pictures of space encourage his photographs of monumental fabrications of nature like the red, celestial mountains on the side of the Arizona highways (US 89, Arizona, 1972). Nineteenth-century images of monasteries and the history of map-making incite his fairytale-like vistas of mountain greenery and creeks (Boulder River Valley, McLeod, Montana, 2021).

Stephen Shore, ‘Burbank, California, August 11, 1981’, from Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography (MACK, 2022). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

Through an organized narration of the numerous elements that frame and inspire the work of beloved photographer Stephen Shore, the artist creates an intimate account that provides a comprehensive appreciation of his pictures for the reader and kindles a personal consideration of our own inspirations and motivations.

To purchase or learn more about Stephen Shore’s Modern Instances, please visit here.