Lecture Entry: Paul Shambroom

Visiting photographer Paul Shambroom has been conducting, as he calls it, a "long term investigation of power". The artist grew up during the cold war and has an innate fear of nuclear weapons, a subject that appears throughout his artwork. Whether he is shooting actual missile silos, or training stations for the weaponry's guards, the sense of power and the threat of nuclear anihilation pervades Shambroom's oeuvre. He began his career as a commercial photographer, and found himself wandering around the military factories that have always seemed so imposing. In his speech, he explained that the American public has a constitutional right to see what our government is up to, a right which he exercised in his series. Shambroom gained access to these highly secured locations due to his persistent letter-writing. His Nuclear Weapons series shows the reality of this country's arsenal, juxtaposing complex weaponry and missile sights with peaceful landscapes. In contrast to these high-powered and classified locations, his series, Meetings 1999-2003 brilliantly showcases the board meeting of very low-powered committees. To lend these images a classical feeling, Shambroom studied historical paintings and emulated their compositions. They are compelling scenes of ordinary individuals taking their positions seriously and with pride.