Peter van Agtmael & Paul Shambroom

About Episode 118

Photographers Peter van Agtmael and Paul Shambroom join Sasha Wolf on PhotoWork to discuss their documentary practices: where they align, and where they part ways, with Shambroom working closer to the fine art tradition and van Agtmael closer to photojournalism. The conversation ranges widely as they compare notes on the nature of documentary and its claims to truth, the ethical limits of the work, and how each engages with the communities they photograph, including questions of consent.

About Peter Van Agtmael

Peter van Agtmael was born in Washington, DC, in 1981. He was 20 years old and studying history at Yale on 9/11, an event that was pivotal in shaping his career. Shortly after graduating, he began documenting the United States at war and at home, which continues to be the anchor of his work.

Van Agtmael is known for his deeply affecting, sometimes surreal images, which explore themes of conflict, history, memory, nationalism, militarism, race, and class. He has spent more than 15 years covering US wars from both sides and countless angles, from embedding with military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to covering the civilian cost of the wars. He has also extensively documented the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Along with ongoing personal projects, Van Agtmael has photographed for many leading publications, including the New York Times Magazine, where his images have been featured on multiple front covers. His work is held at the International Center of Photography, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, and Yale University Art Gallery. He is the author of five books, 2nd Tour: Hope I Don’t Die (2009), Buzzing at the Sill: Peter van Agtmael (2016), 2020 (2020), Sorry for the War (2020), and Look at the U.S.A.: A Diary of War and Home (2024).

Van Agtmael is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship, the W. Eugene Smith Fund Grant, the ICP Infinity Award for Young Photographer, the LUMIX FREELENS Award, the Aaron Siskind Grant, and several World Press Photo Awards. Since 2014, he has been a mentor in the Arab Documentary Photography Program in Beirut. Van Agtmael joined Magnum Photos in 2008 and became a full member in 2013.

About Paul Shambroom

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….” 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 an Associate Professor Emeritus in Art, University of Minnesota.