8 9 May 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
£49.95, 256 pages,ISBN:9781838660628,
Phaidon, Hardback★★★★★
American Surfaces
Stephen Shore
Thisupdatedand
revisededitionof
AmericanSurfaces
comesnearlyhalfa
centuryafterthe
original,asAmy Davies
discovers
BOOK
C
onsideredoneof themostinfluential
livingphotographers,StephenShore
is oftenheraldedasa pioneerof
colourphotography.
In1972,hefirstexhibiteda seriesof 174
postcard-sizedphotographswhichheshoton
a roadtripacrossAmericain theearly1970s,
titledAmericanSurfaces.
Thework,whichwasunmountedand
unframed,confoundedthecriticswhosawit
installedin NewYorkCity’sLIGHTGallery.They
werea starkcontrasttotheusualblack&
whitearchivalprintsthatweregenerally
presentedasartphotographyat thetime.
Unfavourablereviewsfollowed,butdespite
that,theentirecollectionwasboughtby
curatorWestonNaefanddonatedtothe
MetropolitanMuseumof Art.
Sincethen,AmericanSurfaceshasbeen
exhibitedanddiscussedmanytimesacross
EuropeandtheUS.It is consideredbysometo
bea benchmarkof documentingourfast-
living,consumer-orientedworld,which
continuestoinfluencephotographerstoday.
In this latest edition, published nearly 50 years
FliptothebackpagetoreadmoreaboutStephen
Shore’s life in this week’s Legends column.
afterthe 1972 show,dozensof previously
unseenimageshavealsobeenincluded.
There’salsoa newlycommissionedessayby
prominentcritic,curatorandphotographer
TejuCole,whoprovidesa fresh perspective
onthisbodyof work.
Aheadofitstime
Itis of courseveryfairtosaythattheworldis
a differentplacethanit wasin 1972.Ata
timewhenInstagramandotherformsof
socialmediaarethepredominantmethod
forsharingsnapshotsof everydaylife(indeed
StephenShoreusesit himself),it’san
interestingtimetorevisitworkwhichin many
wayswasaheadof itstime.
Theimageryin thisbookcertainlywon’tbe
tothetastesof allof ourreaders,butif
you’reinterestedin thedocumentaryand
streetgenre– andspecificallyitscolour
roots– it’scertainly a worthy one to add to
your collection.
Queens, New York, April 1972
ALL PICTURES © STEPHEN SHORE. COURTESY 303 GALLERY, NEW YORK
