Dead by drug overdose. The officer said, "Drug related deaths are hard to solve. With drugs one never knows." Dirty drugs are a lethal weapon. New York City.
Artist:
Leonard Freed
(American, 1929 - 2006)
Date: 1972
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image: 13 × 8 3/4 in. (33 × 22.2 cm)
Sheet: 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Brigitte Freed
Object number: 2019.16.1
Portfolio: Police Work
Label Text
From 1972 to 1979, Leonard Freed worked alongside officers of the New York City Police Department, photographing the gritty world of law enforcement, which culminated in the 1980 photo book Police Work. During the 1970s, New York City was plagued with an economic crisis, rising crime rates, increased drug use, and police corruption. The Rockefeller Drug Laws, adopted in 1973, were a draconian attempt to mitigate the situation through the criminal justice system. However, the incarceration of drug users inordinately affected communities of color and did little to save lives. Through Police Work Freed investigates the complex “concept of police as a symbol of society's efforts to control itself.” (Group Label, Lana Meador, 2021)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
