The Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1968–1993 presents a rare opportunity to study the rich color prints and photographic projects of one of the most prominent and influential American photographers to emerge in the last half-century. The exhibition comprises approximately 120 works from Stephen Shore’s key series, American Surfaces and Uncommon Places, as well as his later landscape photographs. At the heart of the exhibition is Uncommon Places, Shore’s quintessential series on the American vernacular landscape photographed between 1973 and 1982. Many of the works on view have never before been exhibited in the U.S., including original prints, objects from Shore’s earlier conceptual projects, as well as his obsessive daily logs from 1973. The Biographical Landscape illuminates the evolution of Shore’s influential work and gives a full picture of Shore’s articulate and groundbreaking use of large format photography as well as his great contribution to photography in the late 20th century. A self-taught photographer, Stephen Shore (born 1947) began working with a camera and darkroom at an early age. He is among the first photographers to work almost exclusively in color and is a pioneer of large format photography. In 1971, Shore was the first living photographer to be honored with a solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Subsequently, his work has garnered awards from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts, among others. He is currently the director of the photography program at Bard College. The Hammer Museum is the first U.S. venue for The Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1968-1993, following its European showings at Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna, Austria, and Jeu de Paume, Paris, France. The exhibition will subsequently travel to Presentation House Gallery, North Vancouver, Canada (November 12, 2005 – January 15, 2006), and Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts (March 24 – June 23, 2006). The Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1968-1993 is curated by Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen. The exhibition is accompanied by the expanded publication of Uncommon Places: The Complete Works (hardcover, 188 pages, $50), featuring 140 color reproductions accompanied by an essay by Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen and an interview by Lynne Tillmann. Aperture Foundation, a not-for-profit organization devoted to photography and the visual arts, has organized this traveling exhibition and produced the accompanying publication.