Hose and Porch

About the Photographer

Shirk, Richard K.

American, 1924-1985

After a tour of duty as aerial photographer during World War II, Richard K. Shirk became an architectural photographer until the 1970s, when he expanded his practice to include printmaking. Part of a movement of photographers to first experiment with color film in the early 1970s, Shirk focuses on using blocks of color, rather than recognizable objects, to compose his images. The series portrays everyday items, such as a garden hose and fence, to emphasize the way color is experienced and to make the argument for Kodachrome and dye-transfer prints as a legitimate medium for artists during this time.