Stephen Shore's "Uncommon Places" Today
Over at World-Architects I did a write-up of Image Building, an exhibition that opened last weekend at the Parrish Art Museum. Some of my favorite images in the exhibition, which "explores the many connections found among viewer, photographer, and architect, from the 1930s to the present," are by Steven Shore. I didn't include him in my write-up, so I'm focusing on him here, specifically his Uncommon Places series from the 1970s. Sparsely populated, and with rich colors and tones, his photographs exude Hopper-esque qualities.
When thinking about what to say about his photos, I decided to jump into Google Street View and find the locations, so see how much they've changed. It was not a hard feat, given that Shore labeled his photographs as the intersections where he took them. Even if via an app instead of in person, it was fun to come across the same spots that he depicted back then. Below are nine of his photographs and nine embedded Street Views. In some cases, the differences between then and now are not very great, as in the first photo, but in many there's only one building or other element that spans the last 40-plus years.
⇅ Church Street and Second Street, Easton, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1974
⇅ Second Street, East and South Main Street, Kalispell, Montana, Aug 22, 1974
⇅ Thirty-First Avenue and Crescent Street, Queens, New York, October 28, 1974
⇅ Holden Street, North Adams, Massachusetts, July 13, 1974
⇅ West Fifteenth Street and Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 15, 1974
⇅ Broad Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, August 17, 1974
⇅ Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975
⇅ West Market Street and North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina, January 23, 1976
⇅ U.S. 93, Wikieup, Arizona, December 14, 1976
When thinking about what to say about his photos, I decided to jump into Google Street View and find the locations, so see how much they've changed. It was not a hard feat, given that Shore labeled his photographs as the intersections where he took them. Even if via an app instead of in person, it was fun to come across the same spots that he depicted back then. Below are nine of his photographs and nine embedded Street Views. In some cases, the differences between then and now are not very great, as in the first photo, but in many there's only one building or other element that spans the last 40-plus years.
⇅ Church Street and Second Street, Easton, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1974
⇅ Second Street, East and South Main Street, Kalispell, Montana, Aug 22, 1974
⇅ Thirty-First Avenue and Crescent Street, Queens, New York, October 28, 1974
⇅ Holden Street, North Adams, Massachusetts, July 13, 1974
⇅ West Fifteenth Street and Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 15, 1974
⇅ Broad Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, August 17, 1974
⇅ Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975
⇅ West Market Street and North Eugene Street, Greensboro, North Carolina, January 23, 1976
⇅ U.S. 93, Wikieup, Arizona, December 14, 1976
Fantastic post, thank you Mr. Hill, has me itching to take a road trip. Interesting too the way subtle changes in the POV & framing btwn the original artist and your screengrabs affect the interpretation of both images.
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