American Bedroom

Barbara Peacock (1954)

Anthropological examination of contemporary American culture via intimate portraits in private domestic settings.

Description

Barbara Peacock's American Bedroom, initiated in 2016 and spanning seven years, provides an intimate portrayal of American lives through the private lens of their bedrooms. Peacock, photographer and director residing in Portland, Maine, undertook this extensive exploration following her prior long-term documentary work, Hometown, reflecting a consistent interest in capturing personal and communal identities.

Created during a period of heightened polarization in the United States, American Bedroom subtly engages with themes of shared humanity amidst division. While political fragmentation intensified during the project's timeline, Peacock chose to foreground the common experiences and emotions that unite individuals across diverse backgrounds. Her photographic journey delves deeply into everyday intimacy, vulnerability, and the quiet dignity of ordinary lives, placing significant emphasis on representing those often unseen or overlooked within broader societal narratives.

Peacock employs a thoughtful aesthetic approach, significantly informed by classical painting techniques, which is evident in her careful attention to natural lighting, composition, and color. Utilizing a 24mm wide-angle lens and tripod-mounted camera, she meticulously composes her scenes to encompass the entire bedroom space, capturing intricate details that reveal nuances about her subjects' lives. The vibrant use of color further accentuates personal items and decor, enriching the narrative potential of each photograph.

Selections first appeared at the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts in 2016; a full survey followed there in Dec 2024–Jan 2025. Further presentations include Head On (Sydney) and a forthcoming exhibition at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (Feb–Mar 2025). Support for the project includes a Getty Editorial Grant (2017), the Women Photograph/Getty Grant (2022), multiple Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 selections, several LensCulture awards, and the Arthur Griffin Legacy Award (Griffin Museum, 2024).

Behind the work

Peacock's methodology behind American Bedroom involves building rapport and trust with subjects, fostering comfort and authenticity. Each photographic session lasts around an hour, during which Peacock engages in meaningful conversation to ease subjects into natural, unguarded states. She also intervenes within each setting—adjusting elements like lighting, personal objects, and clothing—to shape a narrative rich in symbolic and emotional nuance.

The initial inspiration for American Bedroom struck Barbara Peacock one spring morning while observing her husband in bed, an image that brought to mind a Renaissance painting juxtaposed with the contemporary element of his snore mask. This personal moment sparked the broader idea of exploring the private worlds reflected in people's bedrooms.

The process of finding willing subjects for American Bedroom was multifaceted. It began with photographing family and friends before expanding to include people she met through social media, in small towns via local establishments, and through personal connections made during her travels.

Pepere’s portrait marked a decisive shift in the evolution of American Bedroom. At that stage in the project, Barbara Peacock had been photographing subjects without recording their words. But after capturing Pepere—a quiet, elderly widower—she heard him reflect, "Every day I try to be quiet... then I remember she's no longer here." That moment revealed the depth that verbal testimony could bring to the visual record. From then on, Peacock began collecting personal statements from each subject, recognizing that their voices added essential layers of meaning to the photographs.

Amy and Eric:

She asked for my faith. All I had to offer was a song. For her that was a kingdom.

Arlene:

I have buried all seven of my children (sons). I now live for my grandchildren.

Becky and Dave:

We felt the weight of responsibility for our children for decades. Now we are on our own. Our empty nest has reawakened the joy of freedom we had as youths.

Billy:

I live in a room without windows. It is my home.

Breezy:

I hardly ever get to see my son. Mostly I have sex with drugs and alcohol.

Cai and Claire:

Dismantle and rebuild (the urge to destroy is a creative urge, a natural reset) build a home in you, a home in me. Together home is always growing, always being redefined-dismantled, and rebuilt. We see each other, we make space for each other. And here, we are always safe inside.

Dale:

I never wanted to be a girl, I just wanted to be a cowboy with red lipstick. Now, far from Texas & all the religious repression of my youth in the 70’s , I feel powerful and finally free.

Esther and Jenne:

In my quiet space, I find rest and confidence in God.

Francisco and Lupe:

In the end, it’s all about love of family and one another.

Jeanine:

I tell myself I am beautiful, I am loved, I am good enough. I demand respect from myself because I deserve it. I am 5’3 and I weigh 230 pounds and I will never apologize for who I am.

Jeremiah:

I’ve been sleeping in the grasses beneath the trees for six years now. My body and soul are clean. When I go, I leave no trace.

Jessica:

Sometimes life throws you in all sorts of directions, the most important part about life is to remember you are exactly where you need to be.

Jon and Doris:

Caring for my mother in the final months of her life was the most fulfilling, satisfying, terrifying, and profound thing I have ever had the honor to experience. I sensed the trust she had for me to care for her without judgment or reservation and the love we shared was deeper than any we had ever expressed before. I wouldn’t have traded those shared moments for anything. It was her final gift to me.

Kalatas Family - Jordan:

Our world revolves around autism and the whole family struggles to keep up. But, its our hearts that keep us together and our large family bed where every night we reconnect. Nobody can love our family like we do.

Lafayette Family - Chevy:

I really want better for my kids. Right now, we all live in one room. We hope to get a home before the snow comes. I dream of becoming a nurse.

Laverne and James:

Finding love late in life has taught me many lessons including not to be shy or embarrassed by my body. It is freeing to say I am big, bold and beautiful!

Mark:

I hold onto life day by day with dialysis. I can’t bear the thought of leaving my family. My will to live is stronger than to die, at least for today.

Mathews Family - Stephanie:

Endless possibilities and adventure! We sold our home and just about everything we owned 3 years ago. Little did we know what awaited us on the open road… freedom unlike anything we had ever had.

Matt:

We made it out alive. Little else matters.

Mek:

While my physical parts feel safe among my living space, rested against a pillow, my heart yearns for my home, my community, our land.

Micah and Kody:

Love is accrescent. If you choose to love, there is no end to how big and all-encompassing it can grow. We choose to love each other daily and will keep choosing to love as we push on into the future.

Orville:

I get tired of talking to myself; I get tired of listening to myself.

Sarah:

Motherhood can be all encompassing. You can lose yourself in it, or you can be like a butterfly and transform into the best version of yourself. It’s holy work, growing little humans. These are the hardest and yet the sweetest days of one’s entire life. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Seh Nielson Family - Jamie:

With the world moving ever so fast, these apples of my eye remind me to slow down, see the beauty in all things. They are the light.

Shane and Carrie:

Life is tough, but we good.

Sonia:

I will never forget, I will never forgive, but I will never hate.

Sven and Nicole:

We are tattered and distressed, emotionally wiped, just lost a baby and repairing our relationship. We were made for each other from across the oceans, we found each other.

Tess:

No one knows how much violence it took to become this gentle.

Tinothy:

On hot nights I sleep outside with the dogs.

Quotes by the photographer

"I believe the bedroom is not just a private place, but a sacred place. We build it as a shrine to our lives (even if houseless) and spend nearly one third of our lives in it. It exemplifies our being; it is a place to rest, to love, to comfort, to be, to give life, to restore, to recover, to grieve, to lay sick and to die. The one thing I know for certain is that all lives are important, and everyone has a story to tell."

"When physical bedroom doors are opened to me there is a veil of religion, politics, and ideologies that is mysteriously and magically lifted. What remains, is the bare soul of human life, a story, and purity of heart that rises like cream to the top. This is not a look at our differences, although there may be many, it is about our likenesses, our loves, our dreams, and all the threads of commonality that connect us as human beings."

"My interest lies in the poetic resonance of ordinary subjects. I am passionate, but not sentimental about America. I am drawn to the quiet magisterial beauty of people half lost in memory, with too much time on their hands, or in silent paradox. I argue and persuade that these subjects matter."

"I started thinking about this in an anthropological way like, what does our bedroom say about us? Even without a person in there, it says a lot. Now put a person in there, and on top of that have the person make a statement. It all kind of came to me in an instant."

"I realized that I wanted to illustrate my love and influence of painting with this project. When I was a child, I watched my mother paint by window light and as a result, I am drawn to painting and interior light."

"It’s not so much about me taking a photograph, but them telling their story. Collectively, they are the voice of America."

"I think the trust builds and comes from a place of genuine interest in them and in their story. With gentle guidance and continued camaraderie together, we create the images. And we have fun. For some folks this is one of the most compelling and provocative moments in their life."

Tags and context

Suggest an Edit