VIEWFINDING #34
Stephen Shore / Lisa Barlow / Larry Towell
Co-published by Atelier EXB and Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Stephen Shore: Vehicular & Vernacular accompanies the current exhibition of the same name at the Fondation in Paris, which is showing until 1st September.
Vehicles and mobility have been central to Stephen Shore’s work for half a century. The theme began when he started documenting Los Angeles from a car, which he chose to shoot in monochrome, snapshot-style, to create opportunity for luck and error. Taking this conceptual approach further, he explored the visual language of postcards, culminating in a series on the city of Amarillo in 1971. This was followed by two landmark series, American Surfaces and Uncommon Places. Together, these established Shore as one of the most significant pioneers of American colour photography. At the turn of the millennium, he returned to photographing from car windows, trains and planes, and then in 2020 began utilising camera-equipped drones to document changes in the American landscape.
In the words of publisher Atelier EXB, ‘Based on curator Clément Chéroux’s idea, this book and the accompanying exhibition look at Stephen Shore’s work through the unexplored lens of vehicular photography. The journey, as important as the destination, becomes a pretext for experimenting and developing a unique body of work. Stephen Shore explores vernacular contemporary landscapes and what they reveal about American society.’
‘To see something ordinary, something you’d see every day, and recognise it as a photographic possibility – that’s what I’m interested in.’ Stephen Shore
Stephen Shore: Vehicular & Vernacular is available now from The Photographers’ Gallery Bookshop. The exhibition at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson is showing until 1st September; more details, including an in-conversation video, here.
Images © Stephen Shore, courtesy of Atelier EXB / Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lisa Barlow: Holy Land USA
Lisa Barlow made Holy Land USA while an American Studies major at Yale, where she was taught by two of the photographic greats – Larry Fink and Tod Papageorge. Shot in the summer of 1980, the series was forgotten in the decades that followed, only to be rediscovered when Lisa spent time with her archive during the Covid pandemic. Almost forty-five years later, it will finally be seen when published by STANLEY / BARKER this autumn.
Lisa had heard of Holy Land USA – as Waterbury, Connecticut, is known – but had never visited. As the name implies, Waterbury is a devout Christian town, but one complete with a miniature Jerusalem featuring scenes from the Bible and biblical quotations engraved in cement. This replica’s detail and references are extraordinary – Pontius Pilate’s house is there, an inn displaying a ‘No Vacancy’ sign, a lump of something spray-painted white to represent Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt, and Lucifer locked in a dog cage.
The publisher provides some context, ‘Built 20 years earlier with concrete, plaster, wire and wood, the diorama had been sparingly repaired with modern materials such as plastic and aluminium siding. The Stairway to Heaven, cracked asphalt steps ascending the hill, had a cyclone fence along one side, and the Garden of Eden was completely obscured by thick vines under a tin sunshade. It was from there that Barlow first saw the city of Waterbury spread beneath her, its church spires and factory smokestacks in odd juxtaposition with Holy Land’s little foot high buildings at her feet.'
‘Before long, it was more than a fascination with Holy Land that kept luring me back to Waterbury. It was the people who captured my attention, my imagination and eventually, my love. This is the story of that year in pictures.’ Lisa Barlow
‘Barlow’s images of Waterbury and its uniquely American idiosyncrasies are enthused with a rare empathy combined with a visual complexity that continues to unfold with each viewing.’ STANLEY / BARKER
Lisa Barlow: Holy Land USA will be published by STANLEY / BARKER in October and can be pre-ordered here.
Images © Lisa Barlow, courtesy of STANLEY / BARKER
Larry Towell: The History of War
Magnum Photos member Larry Towell’s forthcoming The History of War combines photographs, collages, and general ephemera to chart Ukraine’s evolution from the 5th century and its long struggle for independence.
Towell first visited Ukraine during the Maidan uprising in 2014, when he bore witness to the violent clashes between the protestors and police in Kyiv. His photographs depict civilians behind makeshift barricades, armed only with home-made weapons, facing a modern riot-equipped police force. Then the dead are shown in a half-destroyed Maidan Square. Towell’s long-term commitment to Ukraine started here, compelling him to return in subsequent years.
The book also looks at the wastelands of Chernobyl, the site of history’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the cause of many Soviets losing faith in the system. Other chapters cover the eastern Donbass, with its neglected coal miners and de-occupied ruins, the Bakhmut region, separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk, and then, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In the words of publisher GOST Books, ‘The History War challenges the possibilities of a photobook and demonstrates how storytelling can be woven together by different fabrics. Taking on the format of a scrapbook, Towell combines personal notes with ephemera—postcards, found family pictures, playing cards, cigarette packets and rubbish left behind by Russian soldiers to supplement his images.’
‘I believe this project is an important testament to a political crisis that will shape international relations and reverberate through the decades to come. It also challenges a world oversaturated with news pictures.’ Larry Towell
Larry Towell: The History of War is available to pre-order from publisher GOST Books here, shipping in the autumn. Signed copies are available.
All images © Larry Towell / Magnum Photos, courtesy of GOST Books
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