Stephen Shore book ‘Topographies’ explores USA from skies

Cover of Stephen Shore book 'Topographies; Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape' — (Image credit: Stephen Shore and MACK Books)

Photographer Stephen Shore is best known for his reportage on the American landscape, grounding the USA’s expanse with carefully filtered views of human interactions and ephemera. His newest monograph, Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape, shifts his point of view, but not his subject.

New Stephen Shore book explores USA from the skies

View of river and hills, from the photography book 'Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape', by Stephen Shore — *45º36.400296N, 111º34.501908W*

For Topographies, Shore has embraced the viewpoint of the drone, working mostly during the period of the pandemic, when his road trips in Montana, New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere were even more lonely and isolated. Yet instead of using the device to capture the states’ majestic wilderness, Shore is exploring the edge cases, the places where nature has been trammelled by human activity, or perhaps has even managed to reclaim itself.

View of meandering river from above, from 'Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape', by Stephen Shore — *46º21.458793N, 110º43.432813W*

This new perspective only rarely reveals the big expanse of Montana sky; more often than not, the camera is aimed downwards, filling the frame with a bird’s-eye view of the idiosyncratic patterns of human development.

Urban intersection from above, from photo book 'Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape', by Stephen Shore — *45º39.611201N, 110º33.555856W*

This might be the tumbling form of a creek alongside the unnatural directness of a dirt road, or the bone-dry banality of a main street’s empty pavements. Trailer parks and campsites, creeks and causeways, junkyards and sidings are all taken in by Shore’s famed eye. These are the vignettes and juxtapositions that Google Earth captures but cannot hope to curate.

Car park beside water, from 'Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape', by Stephen Shore — *45º38.786N, 111º31.43025W*

What makes Topographies so essentially American is the mix of sheer scale with the audacious integration of humanity into the landscape. For the most part these aren’t agricultural scenes, but places of industry, inhabitation, transport and leisure. The American landscape has submitted to so much over the course of the country’s modern history, but still retains its grandeur.

Stephen Shore, Topographies: Aerial Surveys of the American Landscape, £65, MACK

mackbooks.co.uk

Also available from waterstones.com

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.