Background information

For the American photographer Stephen SHORE, the profane has become art. In this way he moves in line with the movement of American photorealists, who use such photos as a model for their painting. The picture 'J.J. Summers Agency, First Street, Duluth, Minessota' is reminiscent of the older realistic painting of Edward Hopper. In 1972, then 25 years old, the American photographer Stephen SHORE traveled North America, considering worthy of painting precisely that which was encountered daily in America, but of whose aesthetics not everyone was aware.

Content, Criticism

During his travels, Stephen SHORE focused his camera on the country and the variety of its appearances. These included anonymous suburban architecture, parking lots, intersections, shopping malls, commercial areas, gas stations, interior views, portraits, and landscapes alike. He approached the world with the attitude that the extraordinary is inherent in the everyday - you just have to discover it. In Stephen SHORE's photographs, the everyday develops an unexpected appeal."
"His style of image composition and virtuoso use of color, light, and shadow contributed significantly to making color photography interesting for artistic photography. Stephen SHORE achieved the sharpness of his images by using a large-format camera." (© Priesnitz)
"At first glance, the subjects are nothing out of the ordinary - parking lots, backyards, and the like. But Stephen SHORE discovers unique and unusual things in these unspectacular and almost banal scenes and also manages to safely direct the viewer's gaze to them. The first photographs were taken spontaneously and are more photographic documents of his journey through the country. Later, the photographer moved on to shooting his subjects on a medium-format camera: the arrangements became more thought-out and clear, the angles and cropping more careful and precise. At the same time, they lost nothing in authenticity, on the contrary." (© Colorfoto)

Additional information

The first edition of the title 'Uncommon Places' by Stephen SHORE was published by Aperture in 1982; however, it contained only 49 photographs. An expanded edition was published in 2004 and shows the new show of works conceived by the American photographer himself. The German-language edition also dates from this time.