Untitled #37, from the "44 for 44" series

About the Photographer

Bross, Suzette

American, b. 1968

On the night of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Suzette Bross took to Chicago’s Grant Park to document the nearly tangible excitement within the large crowd. The group slowly accumulated throughout the night and peaked at about 150,000 people right before Obama’s speech at 1:00 am—the time when most of these images were made. Without discriminating against race, gender or age, Bross photographed 67 individuals to create an accurate depiction of the collective elation.

Suzette Bross completed her BS in Television and Film from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (1990) and her MFA from the Institute of Design, IIT, Chicago, IL (1999). She has been included in numerous exhibitions nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at the Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL (2013), the Cleveland Museum of Art (2012), Martha Schneider Gallery (2011, 2007, 2004, 2003), and the Society for Contemporary Photography, Kansas City, MO (2006). Her work is held in the permanent collections of The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA, and the Block Museum, Evanston, IL, among others.