Past Time By Paul Shambroom

Past Time

by Paul Shambroom

Troubled Visions of the Good Old Days

Past Time explores the political and cultural idealization of an America that never existed for many. It juxtaposes popular imagery from our past with photographs of contemporary life taken in locations such as Dixon, IL, the hometown of Ronald Reagan, and Mount Airy, NC, the hometown of Andy Griffith. Shown together, these elements portray how exclusionary misrepresentations of a mythological past-perfect, White America align with the current reality of iconic American towns, truly questioning the notion of “the good old days.”

Artist Biography

Paul Shambroom uses found and original photographs to explore American power and culture. He’s published two monographs: “Meetings” and “Face to Face with the Bomb....” and 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 also an Associate Professor in Art at the University of Minnesota. To see more of Paul Shambroom’s work, visit https://paulshambroom.com.