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47 Images. Statement follows. Also see the photo essay The Southern Man Shoots and various postings on the DeclareArms blog.
A Declaration of Arms is an ongoing project that seeks to record and distill the act of armament, and to illuminate the environments, passions, and practices of “gun culture.”
Though the project is more anthropological than political, it is set against a political background. Our nation struggles to balance freedom and security—many believe the bearing of arms to be an antiquated reaction to an insecure world. We hear daily of mass shootings in schools, shopping centers, churches. Solutions are offered like sales pitches—ban guns, arm teachers, close loopholes, check backgrounds. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Heller vs. DC decision, the nation struggles to come to terms with armament as an individual right.
The Declaration of Arms, a little-known historical document, was composed by the Second Continental Congress as an explanation for their use of force against the British. Something of these intentions still exists today, kept alive by those who believe that self-defense is requisite to self-determination.
The ideological descendants of that declaration—the men and women I photograph at shooting ranges and informal gatherings—have become the fulcrum in the nation’s struggle for balance. What exactly is the act of armament? Is it self-affirming, or socially debasing? To what rituals and customs does it adhere? Who are these people that carry with them an ideology more than 200 years old?
To answer these questions, I’ve taken my camera to shooting ranges here in Appalachia over the past three years. The images in this series begin with the On Target shooting range in Asheville, where I’ve encountered a wide range of people, ideas and temperaments. Through connections fostered at On Target, I’ve gained access to matches held by the Asheville Practical Pistol Association, the area’s largest shooting organization.
In search of more direct answers, I began photographing more intimate events—friends coming together for an afternoon of shooting. It’s here that I’ve found the truest answers to my questions: Portraits of shooters who are unconcerned with their sport as an identity or political label, the type of men and women who take for granted their right to bear arms. These are people I know, people I grew up with, and their story—their declaration—is remarkably similar to that of our Founders.
For better or worse, our Founder’s passion is alive in our time. It’s with a similar passion that the people I photograph take up arms, and I take up my camera full of questions. These photos are the answers I’ve found.
Max Cooper
July 3, 2009