Stephen Shore

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Stephen Shore (American, born 1947). _Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975._ 1975. Chromogenic color print, printed 2013, 17 x 21 3/4" (43.2 x 55.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Thomas and Susan Dunn, 2013

Stephen Shore. Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975. 1975

Stephen Shore (American, born 1947). Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975. 1975. Chromogenic color print, printed 2013, 17 x 21 3/4" (43.2 x 55.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Acquired through the generosity of Thomas and Susan Dunn, 2013

Artist, Stephen Shore: In the series I had made before this one, I was using a small 35-millimeter camera. Here, I'm using an 8-by-10 camera, a large camera that's on a tripod, I go under a dark cloth, and it produces a negative that's eight inches by ten inches. And what I realized is that it renders the world in such detail that I don't have to move into something close to make it clear in a picture. I can let it be a small part of a larger, more complex picture.

And so, rather than the picture being, in a way, a view through my eyes, it becomes something else. It becomes a complex world where the viewer can move their attention.

One of the things that interested me during this time was communicating the experience of clarity. And clarity should not be confused with sharpness—an 8-by-10 camera will produce sharpness, but clarity is a psychological aspect. And clarity can be communicated by the way a picture is organized. But, it can also be communicated through light. And I was attracted to very crisp, bright days, because that light, I felt, communicated the experience of clarity.