Lot #34: Paul Shambroom

Paul Shambroom

Radiation check (National Center for Combating Terrorism, Nevada Test Site), 2005

Archival inkjet print

Edition: 4 of 8

24 x 30 inches

Courtesy of the artist

Estimated value: $4,000

Starting bid: $2,800

Paul Shambroom (American, 1956)

Paul Shambroom’s series Security (2003-2007) examines issues of fear, safety and liberty in post-9/11 America. Over four years he photographed facilities, equipment and personnel involved in the massive government and private sector efforts to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks within the nation’s borders. First responders and law enforcement officers train in large-scale simulated environments such as “Disaster City” in Texas and “Terror Town”, an abandoned mining community in New Mexico purchased with funds from the Department of Homeland Security. Training scenarios, by necessity, involve simulated environments and threats. This blurring of fiction and truth mirrors the difficulty we have discerning between legitimate safety concerns and hyped-up fear.

Paul Shambroom uses found and original photographs to explore American power and culture. His recent practice incorporates sourced images, collaborative theater and 3D constructions. His documentary subjects include nuclear weapons and small-town council meetings. He’s published three monographs: Past Time, Meetings, and Face to Face with the Bomb as well as a catalog for his mid-career touring exhibition Picturing Power. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and a Creative Capital grantee, among other honors. His work has been in the Whitney Biennial and has been collected and exhibited by major museums including the San Francisco MoMA, MoMA (NY), the Walker Art Center and the Art Institute of Chicago. He is an Associate Professor in Art, University of Minnesota.