Photographer Stephen Shore Walks Out Mid-Lecture Over Audience Smartphone Use

American contemporary photographer Stephen Shore walked out of a lecture at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing last week after he noticed that multiple people in the audience were more engrossed with their mobile phones than they were with the event. 

According to a video posted to Shanghai Daily’s digital news site SHINE, Shore kiboshed the lecture just as someone was about to ask a question. 

“Just before you ask that question – I’m gonna say something and I apologize in advance because it’s gonna be rude,” the photographer said from his seat on stage. “But it’s something [that’s been] on my mind as I experience the modern world.”

He went on to question the logic of an audience that would choose to come to a lecture only to focus their attention on their handheld devices. 

“Since we’re talking about attention, I think we understand each other,” Shore calmly said to the audience. “And I think you understand the value of attending to the daily life. I saw at least dozens of you who spent the entire lecture looking at your phones. You’ve come here. You hear a talk and you can’t even pay attention to whom you’ve come to listen to. How can you pay attention to the food you eat or feel the sunlight on your skin?”

After a stretch of silence the audience erupted into applause. In response, Shore said “I think this is a good place to stop,” stood up, and walked off the stage. 

According to SHINE someone who allegedly was in attendance said there had been a terrible misunderstanding, and claimed that most people who were at the talk, which was titled “Five Experiences That Transformed My Life and How They Inspired Me to Become an Artist,” were using their devices to take notes. 

Shore was told about the note-taking on the part of the audience and “felt better” about the whole affair, according to SHINE.