Stephen Shore. Yesterday’s America at MoMA

Forty years before the rise of Instagram, Stephen Shore was taking pictures of everyday objects, unremarkable buildings, hotel rooms, people’s faces, unmade beds, and much more.

Stephen Shore, West 9th Avenue, Amarillo, Texas, October 2, 1974. 1974

He started developing negatives from his parents when he was only 6, received his first camera when he was 9. At the age of 14 he called up Edward Streichen, then director of MoMA’s Department of Photography, and offered him to have a look at his work: Streichen said yes and bought three of his pictures. Forty years before the mind-blowing rise of Instagram, in March 1972, he started keeping a visual diary of his daily life, taking snapshots of everyday objects, unremarkable buildings, hotel rooms, people’s faces, unmade beds, and much more.

The MoMa presents the most comprehensive exhibition ever organized of photographer Stephen Shore’s work, on view from November 19, 2017. The exhibition tracks the artist’s full oeuvre chronologically, from the gelatin silver prints he made as a teenager through his days at Andy Warhol’s Factory to his current engagement with digital platforms.

Stephen Shore, 2nd Street, Ashland, Wisconsin, July 9, 1973, 1973. Stampa cromogenica a colori, © 2017 Stephen Shore, courtesy 303 Gallery
Stephen Shore, 1:35 a.m., in Chinatown Restaurant, New York, New York, 1965–67. Gelatin silver print, © 2017 Stephen Shore, courtesy 303 Gallery
  • Stephen Shore
  • Organized by Quentin Bajac, The Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Chief Curator, with Kristen Gaylord, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Curatorial Fellow, Photography Department
  • until 28 maggio 2018
  • MoMa
  • 11 West 53 Street, Manhatta, NY