ABOUT THE ARTIST Steve Snider graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he received the Senior Design Award. In his 50 year career Steve owned and operated his own design studio, was Art Director of the Atlantic Monthly, De… — ABOUT THE ARTIST
Steve Snider graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he received the Senior Design Award. In his 50 year career Steve owned and operated his own design studio, was Art Director of the Atlantic Monthly, Design Director of Arnold and Company (now Arnold Worldwide), Art Director of Little, Brown and Company, and for 18 years, before turning to photography full time, Vice President, Creative Director of St. Martin’s Press. As the designer of numerous bestsellers and iconic book jackets, Steve has been the recipient of hundreds of design awards including a Gold Medal from the New York Art Directors’ Club, First Place from the Victoria and Albert Museum, First Place from the New England Hatch Awards, and First Place from the New York Book Show. His work has been featured in numerous design books and publications and was included in the show Fame After Photography at MoMA.

Artists Statement

Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic that values the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. This echos my response to the torn and tattered billboards which seem indigenous to cities around the world. I began photographing aged and weathered walls many years ago, mostly while traveling when I would have my camera with me. But at home I never liked lugging the camera around, so even though I saw many walls that I wanted to photograph I rarely went back to shoot them. And then a few years ago something miraculous happened: the iPhone. Suddenly this little device I could carry in my pocket allowed me the freedom to be spontaneous; I could stop anywhere, get as many shots as I wanted and see them instantly! And then a second thing happened: Instagram, an app that is a platform for sharing photographs. I began posting images, one a day, at stevesnidernyc and calling them #todayswall. I found myself anxious to leave my desk at lunchtime and anticipating time out of the office to wander around looking for subject matter. Something that had always been within me surfaced as a passion, and I realized that I wanted to devote myself to it full time. So, in 2014, after 50 years in publishing, my new vocation became seeking out and photographing great walls. As a designer I have always viewed the world in terms of graphic compositions. My mind frames what I see: shapes, colors, patterns, textures, content, and how they juxtapose, so finding the pleasing compositions in the chaos seems natural to me. And I believe it is that cropping that sets my images apart from those of similar photographers. I also feel that I am making a record of our times, capturing this transitory beauty even as it vanishes forever.