A black and white photograph of a young man wiping oil off his hands by a car with the hood rai…

Untitled

Artist Bruce Davidson (American, born 1933)

Date1959

Mediummodern gelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 8 1/2 × 13 inches (21.6 × 33 cm)
Sheet: 11 × 14 inches (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
Matted: 16 × 20 inches (40.6 × 50.8 cm)

Portfolio/Series"Brooklyn Gang" series

Credit LineGift of an anonymous donor.

Object number2018.16.10

On View

Not on view

Copyright© 1959 Bruce Davidson. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextBruce Davidson’s first major project was his 1959 Brooklyn Gang series which documented the daily lives of the members of “The Jokers,” a teenage gang in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Davidson recalled: “I was 26 and they were 15, but I could see my own repression in them and I began to feel a connection to their desperation. I began to feel their isolation and even my own.” The series has been hailed for its probing empathy and authentic portrayal of these adolescents, mostly Catholic school students or dropouts from working class and impoverished families. The shirtless young man pictured next to his automobile, Jimmie, was remembered as the James Dean of the group: “He was good looking, he had the women, and he was always working on cars.” Members of The Jokers later reported that Jimmie passed away of a drug overdose. Text written for the exhibition Vehicles of Change, February 27-August 22, 2022.

Subject MatterBrooklyn, New York City, New York, United States of America

Terms