Stockton, Utah (population 567), Town Council, June 11, 2001

Artist Paul Shambroom American, born 1956

Date2001

MediumArchival pigmented inkjet on canvas

Dimensions24 x 66 in. (61 x 167.6 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of Allen G. Thomas Jr. in honor of Lawrence J. Wheeler

Object number2004.13

On View

Not on view

Label TextBetween 1993 and 2003, Paul Shambroom visited 150 town council meetings in thirty states, photographing local government meetings in small towns and neighborhoods. “My goal,” he says, “was to find the body that represented the smallest increment of local government.” The photographs capture democracy in action and document the communities and people who govern these meetings. More than a document, however, the photographs draw attention to the drama in mundane events.

Shambroom’s panoramic photographs echo traditional history paintings of political figures, but on a more humble level. In this work the council officials sit behind a long, wooden table positioned at an angle parallel to the viewer. The table is both a physical and visual barrier, a subtle suggestion that these are the people in power, but their backdrop-a blackboard still covered with students’ scribbles—sets the tone for the picture.
[L. Dougherty, 2007]ProvenanceCreated Stockton, UT, 2001; collection of the artist; [Julie Saul Gallery, New York]; Allen G. Thomas Jr., Wilson NC; given to NCMA, 2004.

Published ReferencesPaul Shambroom, Meetings (London: Chris Boot, 2004), illus. (color) fig. 37.Exhibition HistoryNew York, Julie Saul Gallery, "Meetings," 2002.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "In Focus: Contemporary Photography from the Collection of Allen G. Thomas Jr.," April 3-July 17, 2005.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The Big Picture," March 18-September 2, 2007.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Photographs from the Collection of Allen G. Thomas Jr.," August 20, 2022-February 12, 2023. Object Rights Statement

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