by Stephen Shames and Jeffrey Henson Scales
228 pages, hardcover, €55
Published by Kehrer Verlag
kehrerverlag.com

Though photographer Stephen Shames photographed many central figures on the world stage between 1980 and 2020—including James Baldwin, Stephen Hawking, Barack Obama and Anwar Sadat—in Stephen Shames: A Lifetime in Photography, it’s the people who scuffle around the edges, poke through holes in their thin disguises and grapple with their brief time on Earth who are the real stars.

In classic reportage mode, the black-and-white photography displays the work of a master chronicler unafraid to embed in an inner-city world where cigarettes, money and tight quarters are the only currency, a form of exchange that teaches hard-scrabble truths about the street. Featuring a rapid-fire pacing of images and multiple double spreads of children caught at the perilous crossroads of an early entry into adulthood, this visceral volume designed by Caleb Cain Marcus still manages to include scenes of tenderness, intimacy and fear. It’s as if the photographer’s presence was not a hindrance but a gift, one that lets us share split seconds at the end of the day—that soft, melancholy hour between the dog and the wolf.

Though known for his close friendship with Bobby Seale and his unfettered access to the Black Panthers, this handsome book features only a few of those images—save for the seminal image on the back cover. Instead, the book gives agency to that pivotal moment in US history through an assured curation, inviting us into a fragile world where children create their own society in the shadows of potential confrontation. —Max Hirshfeld ca