Stump

Stump is a radical close-up treatment of the spectacle of American politics in an era marked by unprecedented political partisanship, most notably during the recent presidential campaign. As one of today’s most influential political photographers, Anderson has enjoyed rare behind-the-scenes access to the inner workings of the American political theater. The result is a set of shocking portraits that Anderson calls X-ray icons . Stump collects his colour and black-and-white photographs from recent campaign trails - particularly from the 2012 Obama/Romney contest - that scrutinise the highly rehearsed rhetorical masks of, among others, Barack and Michelle Obama, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton and others (including audience members at rallies). Removed from the context of reportage and sequenced here, these images accumulate a mesmerizing quality that is both frightening and hilarious. They are interspersed with other campaign-trail images, of fireworks, flags and other props of high pomp that attend such occasions. John Heilemann, author of the New York Times bestseller Game Change (on the 2008 presidential race), contributes an essay on Anderson’s work.