The color photos collected here, taken at various locations across the country by photographer Chad Ress, document some of the maintenance and construction projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. From an accessible restroom to brownfields transformed into parks, the projects and the photos raise issues of public works, political identity, and aesthetic practice. The book includes an essay on infrastructure and citizenship by architectural scholar Jordan H. Carver. Photography historian Miriam Paeslack offers an essay examining narratives of public works images, and political theorist Bonnie Honig considers the beauty of public works. The book stems from a 2015 symposium, The Aesthetics of Citizenship. Annotation 2020 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
