Stephen Shore

Stephen Shore is an American photographer known for his images of diverse landscape and objects within the United States, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. He analyses different aspects of American life showing contrasting images of bustling intersections and roads compared to desolate landscapes of the desert. His images mainly take place on location which gives the audience a sense of journey as they are able to experience these different environments from different lifestyles and cultures first hand.

This image features an empty dirt-road. The audience are offered connotations to loneliness within journey and a sense of travelling into the unknown. The image accomplishes this with its use of minimalism, deciding to focus on the lone dirt-road instead of any life within the frame. It is clear that no life exists here apart from the man and his dog within the image as the sun bakes the desert landscape. This sense of abandonment is intensified by the use of brown filters which help to wash out colour within the image clearly stating that the landscape is dried up and inhabitable.

This image shows journey over time. What appears to be a drive in movie theatre sign. However the audience can clearly see that the sign is distressed as its paint is chipped and fading and the body has been damaged over years of being in the sun. The worn down nature of the image gives the sign a vintage appearance. This allows the audience to draw connotations to another moment in time. The contrast of an empty background compared to the giant size of the sign makes the object seem even more out of place and unique to the audience. The sign acts almost as a piece of history that stands out within our modern day world. This evokes a sense of discovery within audiences which is a key theme of journey.

This image shows a busy junction, focusing on two cars at a set of traffic lights. This image depicts journey in a general way by showing other people and the routes that they take within their own journeys. The most notable aspect of this image is how Shore decides to represent a most basic form of journey. The two cars appear similar in height and build filling space in opposite sides of the frame, however the cars are shown as completely different. Shore uses parallel colours of red and blue along with the parallel position of the cars in order to depict differences. This can show the different directions and form that journey can take.

This image depicts two different rooms. Contrast is one of the main themes within the image as it shows two rooms, one of which being pink and the other being a standard beige colour. The pink room offers connotations to excitement and intrigue while the other offers connotations to the mundane nature of everyday life. The image is composed in a way so the audience can see everyday life through a frame, consisting of two open doors. This can depict journey as it shows that the photographer has decided to walk from their normal life into a more exciting reality.

Summary:

To summarise, Steven shore uses different aspects of American life ranging from different moments in time to contrasting landscapes and backdrops in order to evoke a sense of journey through his variety of work. He uses simple visual indicators such as minimalism, contrast, or composition in order to evoke certain feelings that may be felt along a journey and translate them to the audience.