From his earliest works, American photographer Stephen Shore has been recognized as one of the most talented and influential of recent generations. At a time when black and white photography was largely dominant, he is famous for having contributed, like his contemporary William Eggleston, to the recognition of color photography as a distinct art form, not a technique reserved for commercial images. Stephen Shore viewed the camera as a tool for analysis, a space for exploring the photographic medium itself: rather than capturing beauty or spectacle, Stephen Shore was the first to focus on the ordinary, the mundane, the invisible. He thus stood in opposition to the prevailing aesthetic in American photography of the time.
This explains the diversity of his work, from his breathtaking landscapes of Texas and Scotland to the deceptively anonymous images of his meals or hotel rooms while traveling, mimicking the aesthetics of utilitarian or amateur photography. The book Stephen Shore, accompanying the eponymous exhibition, analyzes, through more than 200 images, his conceptual approach to photographic practice within the specific historical and cultural context of the 1970s. It aims to highlight the complex relationship between the art world and the world of photography during this period, whose mutual influences have profoundly shaped the art of photography to this day. This first monograph in French, enriched by a fascinating interview with Stephen Shore conducted by David Campagny, revisits all of Stephen Shore's series, from his earliest works to his celebrated Uncommon Places series, including 24hrs, American Surfaces, and New York City.