Stephen Shore, Steel Town, 2021

In 1977, Stephen Shore traveled through several states including: New York, Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, an area in the midst of industrial decline, also known as the Rust Belt. In his wanderings, the author met several workers laid off in the wake of factory closures, and captured with his images their world that had suddenly become fragile: deserted factories, emptied bars, decaying main streets, and carefully furnished homes. Hope and despair lurk restlessly in equal measure behind the surfaces of store fronts, domestic interiors, and the tense expressions of those facing the photographer’s lens. Initially commissioned as an extended photo report for Fortune magazine in the wake of Walker Evans, Shore’s multifaceted investigation only gained political relevance in later years. Through unfailingly compelling images by one of the world’s recognized masters, Steel Town offers an engaging portrait of a time and place whose significance is still urgent today.