Iowa courtrooms

2019

So much happens in a courtroom. People’s lives change. Power structures alter. And we know it too; we dress them up to make clear their power. Each room performs a version of seriousness: domes, polished wood, brass fixtures, chairs arranged for an audience the room expects. In Iowa Courtrooms, I resist the performance long enough to look at the staging of these public places that in theory we all own, but in reality most people rarely enter.

Black and white photograph of the Supreme Court of Iowa Courtroom

So much happens in a courtroom. People’s lives change. Power structures alter. And we know it too; we dress them up to make clear their power. Each room performs a version of seriousness: domes, polished wood, brass fixtures, chairs arranged for an audience the room expects. In Iowa Courtrooms, I resist the performance long enough to look at the staging of these public places that in theory we all own, but in reality most people rarely enter.

Black and white photograph of a large courtroom in Hardin County, Iowa

Black and white photograph of a small courtroom in Muscatine County, Iowa