A work can do many things at once, and it doesn't have to be just about the world, it could also be about photography, it could be about perception, it could be an exploration of the medium. It could be a document, it could be a visual poetry, and it could be a formal exploration all at the same time.
Stephen ShorePhotographers have to impose order, bring structure to what they photograph. It is inevitable. A photograph without structure is like a sentence without grammar-it is incomprehensible, even inconceivable.
Stephen ShoreI have to be reminded, โโItโs your sonโs birthday party. Bring a camera.โ And then, when Iโm there, โTake a picture,โ because it doesnโt occur to me to use it as this memorializing thing.
Stephen ShoreA quote that I like very much comes close to explaining my attitude about taking photographs. โChinese poetry rarely trespasses beyond the bounds of actuality the great Chinese poets accept the world exactly as they find it in all its terms and with profound simplicity they seldom talk about one thing in terms of another; but are able enough and sure enough as artists to make the ultimately exact terms become the beautiful terms.โ
Stephen ShoreThere's something essentially fictive about a photograph. That doesn't mean that if you understand that, and you understand how the world is transformed by the camera, that you can't use the limitations or the transformation to have an observation that is a very subtle perception of the world.
Stephen Shore