Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography

by Stephen Shore

‘Although the dream is a very strange phenomenon and an inexplicable mystery, far more inexplicable is the mystery and aspect our minds confer on certain objects and aspects of life.’ Giorgio de Chirico

Stephen Shore’s Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography is an experimental new memoir from one of the world’s most prolific artists — an impressionistic scrapbook that documents the rich and surprising touchstones that make up over half a century of ground-breaking work. With essays, photographs, stories, and excerpts that draw on Shore’s decades of teaching, this is an essential handbook for anyone interested in learning more about mastering one’s craft and the distinct threads that come together to inform a creative voice. As much as offering meditation on the influences of a single artist, Modern Instances proposes a new way of thinking about the world around us, in which even the smallest moment can become a source of boundless inspiration — if only we pay attention.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Memoir

224 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2022

About the author

Stephen Shore's work has been widely published and exhibited for the past forty-five years. He was the first living photographer to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since Alfred Stieglitz, forty years earlier. He has also had one-man shows at George Eastman House, Rochester; Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Jeu de Paume, Paris; and Art Institute of Chicago. In 2017, the Museum of Modern Art opened a major retrospective spanning Stephen Shore's entire career. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. His series of exhibitions at Light Gallery in New York in the early 1970s sparked new interest in color photography and in the use of the view camera for documentary work.

More than 25 books have been published of Stephen Shore's photographs including Uncommon Places: The Complete Works; American Surfaces; Stephen Shore, a retrospective monograph in Phaidon's Contemporary Artists series; Stephen Shore: Survey and most recently, Transparencies: Small Camera Works 1971-1979 and Stephen Shore: Elements. In 2017, the Museum of Modern Art published Stephen Shore in conjunction with their retrospective of his photographic career. Stephen also wrote The Nature of Photographs, published by Phaidon Press, which addresses how a photograph functions visually. His work is represented by 303 Gallery, New York; and Sprüth Magers, London and Berlin. Since 1982 he has been the director of the Photography Program at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, where he is the Susan Weber Professor in the Arts.

Reviews

[Thomas Firth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put this book down for a while because I didn't want to finish it in a rush. Definitely one to go revisit occasionally, just so much useful insight for a young creative person. How to find a style, fan the flames of your creativity etc. Was very excited to have found such a book dealing specifically with photography, which is also a memoir. I love memoirs.

[Ryan Contreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely phenomenal. using beautiful photographs in relationship to ideas around the image, what it means to be in a state of making images, and, ultimately, the mystery of the image’s impact

[Roland Ramanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

You get a tremendous sense of Shore’s wide ranging intellect and sense of himself as an artist. An enjoyable exploration of what it means to lead a creative life. Quirky and eclectic and totally fascinating. One of the best books by a photographer about their craft I have read.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the advanced photographer or artist

[carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Photographers have to impose order, bring structure to what they photograph…A photograph without structure is like a sentence without grammar - it is inconceivable.”

This line toward the beginning of Shore’s book, along with a breakdown of his photo of Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue struck me immensely. Since beginning this book, I started taking those extra moments to really think about image structure when making photos and it’s already changing how I think about photography.

If you want to grow as a photographer, I highly recommend this book.

[Gorobets Eva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Очень обыденные рандомные мысли, никак не связанные ни друг с другом, ни с теорией фотографией, ни с историей. Ок, может быть кому-то интересно прочитать по 2-3 предложения о разных проектах. Но каждое описание поверхностно и не имеет никакой ценности, кроме ценности для самого автора в виде собственных мемуарных набросков. Вряд ли вернусь к этой книге когда-либо, хоть и являюсь практикующим фотографом в течение достаточно продолжительного времени.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very philosophical look at Shores life and experiences as a photographer. It was a bit too “deep” for me. It felt like a class I took in college. I honestly didn’t learn anything from it but that’s not to say this may not be awesome for someone else who understands it better.

[Coco Kneepkens · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This content, in this light, means something."

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable

[Sara Sahores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best read of 2023 :))

[dv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secondo libro teorico di Shore, che qui esplora i risvolti più personali e idiosincratici della pratica fotografica. La stessa struttura del libro è estremamente personale e dinamica, con una lunga parte centrale in cui l'autore dialoga con il fotografo George Miles. L'impressione che il libro offre è quella di una intensa lezione - o una piacevole conversazione - con l'autore, sicuramente uno dei riferimenti fondamentali per capire lo sviluppo della fotografia contemporanea dagli anni '60 a oggi.

[Pimenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always great to see how we can share our experiences for the happiness of the readers. Great book…

[Julian Schulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always liked Stephen Shores work. But after reading this and learning more about him, his life & practice I was quite blown away. Enjoyed that a lot. A lot to take away.

[Eliézer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful demonstration of how one should fuel one’s creativity: by feeding one’s mind with inspiring work and by plowing the field with work.