Lecture # 3: Paul Shambroom

I really enjoyed artist Paul Shambroom’s lecture on his different photo series.  During the lecture he showed a variety of work that he has done, and while they are all different from each other, they are all connected with their focus on power.  While many of his photographs take place in mundane settings, they are still quite enthralling because we are getting a glimpse into the secret world of corporations and weaponry that make America so powerful.  It is evident in all of Shambroom’s series that he has a fascination with power—and what it is that makes us so formidable as a nation.  Shambroom credit’s this obsession with power to the fact that he grew up during the cold war era, with the constant threat of death and nuclear warfare.   In all of his photographs, particularly the ones dealing with political issues of nuclear weapons and homeland security, Shambroom emphasizes his stance on maintaining a neutral political tone, and photographing the subject matter from a very straight-forward perspective.  While at first I thought that this conservative viewpoint began to look a little redundant, I later started to appreciate thae fact that Shambroom is taking these photographs and then offering them up to the viewer to put their own spin on them.