Optimism – Artist – Paul Shambroom
Paul Shambroom
Buckland, Massachusetts (population 1,943) Board of Selectmen, July 27, 1999.
(L to R): Kevin P. Fox, John F. Brosnan (Chair)
Pigmented inkjet on canvas with varnish
Courtesy the artist and Joy of Giving Something Collection
Between 1999 and 2003, photographer Paul Shambroom undertook a journey to communities across the US to document town meetings, in which citizens gather to conduct the political business of a town, generally without pay.
The resulting photographs are printed in a painterly style, lending an air of history-making to Shambroom’s seemingly everyday subject matter. Many of the local politicians in the images have a tired air – most are likely volunteers, who work a paying job during the day – but the portraits capture the workings of the most basic and direct form of democracy in captivating detail.
Other works in the exhibition not pictured:
Dassel, Minnesota (population 1134) City Council, March 15, 1999
(L to R): Nancy Nicholson, Ava Flachmeyer (Mayor), Jan Casey, Sherlyn Bjork (Deputy Clerk)
Wadley, Georgia (population 2,468) City Council, August 13, 2001
(L to R): Izell Mack, Charles Lewis, Albert Samples (Mayor), Robert Reeves (City Attorney)