Photographer Bruce Davidson: Inside A 1950s Brooklyn Gang | TIME

[@FOSHOYODUDE]

“they were poor. they were sad. they were violent. they were sexual. they were full of life” wow

[@zyrrhos]

"Were" being the operative word. I love how photographs capture a time or a person and remind us how everything and everyone is fleeting.

[@frankcentola6112]

Teens are now in a daze. There were no drugs or cell phones. You were aware of your surroundings.

[@meyerpictures]

@@frankcentola6112 If only we could go back to the good old days where they would bash each other in the face

[@franchescazamora1726]

Frank Centola umm there were drugs

[@bethelshiloh]

Briley -they sound misguided.

[@sadie8002]

these are the most incredible portraits

[@trey241]

Cane toads

[@ukinam2143]

The photographer has a lot of sensitivity to his subject.. A mark of a great photographer.

[@Maddie9185]

Ukinam exactly what I was thinking

[@ukinam2143]

@Michael Moretti Definitely noticed that. A lot of photographers nowadays focus more on the post processing and editing than the actual action of taking the photo and in understanding the subject that they're going to shoot.

[@pawwalker3492]

@Michael Moretti - most "photographers" today use their iPhones 😫 This is becoming a lost art. Hopefully not forlong.

[@buzzkill808raven2]

I didn't see sensitivity. I saw unknowing exploitation. The guy had good intentions but he's romantisizing gang life and being poor and self destruction. He's showing some bruises and cuts, sure, but the way he frames it, and the media his work was published in was all about keeping people down in the gutter, both physically and mentally

[@casadimilano7048]

“All people need to be seen” best quote I’ve heard in a while.

[@Mr2tooCool4U]

thought the exact same thing...most profound thing I heard in this video

[@goldie862]

Me too, EXACT same thought when he said that. So simple, but profound without sounding preachy.

[@today8488]

I can already see people romanticizing this in the comment sections. This was a different time and these photos give such a different insight of these people in that time. Great photographer.

[@oliversmith9200]

People seem to want to romanticize the past. The American past that was soooo wonderful, except where it wasn't.

[@Maddie9185]

Mi U every generation has its good times and it’s bad times.

[@frankryan2505]

@@oliversmith9200 exactly mate.. Glory days of the 50's,60's, 70's..im not sure these kids would agree.. The working class have always done it hard.

[@HomeAtLast501]

Come on --- the photographer himself is romanticizing them. In so doing he is objectifying them. I find it disgusting.

[@mobetta2092]

Similar to how the mafia and wild west is romanticized, this is another textbook example of the media molding people's perceptions (good or bad) of "gangs" depending upon what the gang members look like.

[@404notfounderorr]

Can't help but wonder where are all those people now?! Did all of them die? Are they still alive? Did they continue to be friends? Did those couples get married? What happened to them? Those pictures tell us stories,they capture moments which no longer exist and I can't help but wonder what happend to those people after these pics were taken.

[@ArinGokdemir]

yes, a great photo hides a story beneath.

[@Inhirnamy137]

I read that Cathy , got pregnant at age 15, the baby died at 15mths....later in life Cathy committed suicide by shooting herself.

[@zyrrhos]

_Those pictures tell us stories, they capture moments which no longer exist and I can't help but wonder what happened to those people after these pics were taken._ That is the beauty of photography, and a great photo will make you ache with those questions.

[@frankcentola6112]

All moved on. Most into army. One member-John Gotti- went into the mob. All ended with good jobs,

[@kateo4052]

gdkg gded all art is open-ended specifically photographs as most of the time they only hold a second of moment. Wigs me out

[@kevins6285]

I was 14 in 1959 and living in Brooklyn. These photos bring back many memories of that time. Thanks!

[@dulcecmendoza]

beautiful photos...but tell me why they were all so attractive like it made me mad wow

[@loramichelle3073]

DM they were also very well dressed compared to the gangs now

[@porkchoppeaches]

It made you mad ?

[@dulcecmendoza]

just a figure of speech....

[@porkchoppeaches]

DM never heard that one.

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

Back then u had to be handsome to enter the gang. Ahh the good ole gang days.

[@ploptart4649]

"All people need to be seen." - I love that.

[@dionnet24]

WHAT a Brilliant Photographer.

[@risingsunmedia007]

Wow..learn from the master.. absolutely stunning photos

[@cacampbell3654]

Rising Sun Media : I love the interview with the photographer too. He is so respectful AND compassionate! No pity; no condescension!

[@cyberlioness]

"All people need to be seen..." These are astonishing. Thank you.

[@stevebailey5591]

'Everybody needs to be seen.' So true, amazing images.

[@Name-ps9fx]

Artistry in its truest and most noble form. Give that photographer a gold medal!

[@dance2jam]

Thank you TIME for this reflection of Bruce Davidson's work. It reminds us that imagery is more about the story than megapixels, accurate focus tracking, or digital technology. As a new photographer this was a very important lesson to see and I hope it serves me well in the future.

[@Faith-zt6cf]

"Their idea of a drug would be to hit someone in the face."

[@patriciatomilonus7384]

Lol!! Perhaps better that than drugs?? I'm starting to think so..

[@pawwalker3492]

@A B - I'm from Brooklyn, but that really doesn't matter in this comment ... I know from personal experience, you _DID_ _NOT_ talk about what went on in your home. And Mother and Father were _always_ right - even when they beat the crap out of you

[@blackquiver]

It still is..

[@blackquiver]

What us love..?.

[@alison2649]

Imagine a time when hard drugs weren’t really a thing,weren’t so easily available. I mean sure they did exist but we’re few & far between. The average person didn’t have access.

[@janedoe805]

Oh my goodness, KZbin recommended your channel. I was astonished to find this video, I recognized the vicinity immediately it is where I grew up. That is a picture of the “Holy Name of Jesus” Church on Prospect Park West (9th Avenue) in Park Slope, Brooklyn! I spent my entire childhood in that neighborhood, but I wasn’t born until two years after you took these photos 1961. I recognized the location of every single picture except the ones under the boardwalk of course. It was like déjà vu. That neighborhood has really changed. Thank you for posting your video was very interesting. Sincerely Yours, Linda Drysielski

[@pawwalker3492]

I'm from Dyker Heights. The only picture I DID recognize was under the boardwalk in Coney Island!

[@DoroteoVilla]

It’s funny, I was just telling my daughter that I used to be sixteen too once and that at the time, I thought it would last forever. These pictures are a sort of immortality yet the people them I suspect never believed those moments would ever end. Good, bad, indifferent, it doesn’t matter, those moments will quickly slip away. “Kids today!” Is a lament we adults will often use to complain about young people. To me it means that we’ve forgotten what it feels like to be not yet fully formed yet so urgently in the moment.

[@stevebailey5591]

That's so well put - you should do some writing other than youtube comments.

[@siddharthbirdi]

We'll put man, this last forever thing is so real, I just Couldn't believe when college ended and everyone went their own way, took me a long time to recover.

[@Godhelpus62]

At that age you really do lack the ability to see into the future. You are consumed with being a teenager and feel both invincible and vulnerable at the same time.

[@RONJAE212003]

All people need to be seen was an amazing statement to me. It rang so true💯

[@thevelointhevale1132]

Beautiful and timeless ... in them we see ourselves - bright and eternal.

[@tee_savy100]

they look like present day teens! it's crazy how life repeats itself...

[@corupptedkev6032]

Travis C Its How fashion works

[@bumpty1997]

MOH-Hansy you’re right.

[@kelliereynolds3722]

nah thats modern day 12 year olds... these kids do resemble todays 16-19 year olds, especially ones in nyc

[@saratatasval5726]

Hansy why are you acting like teens back then were better than teens today because their eyes on on their phones? These teens were in a gang. Is that better than kids today looking up to stupid people? I dont think so.

[@frankcentola6112]

They may look present day but their brains functioned.

[@phoenixgrove]

These are the guys that would pave the way for the 1960s hysteria and counter culture movement. It is always this one generation that leads to the revolutionary change of the following generations to come. With that said, as a 25 years old kid of 2018, I can resonate with these kids of the 50s and 60s. I can understand their tumultuous minds and I can get to their skin just like any youngster of any generation. I've been there! 💔

[@theworldisavampire3346]

Actually those are the type of the guys that held onto the greaser mentality and hated on the hippies that came along after them.

[@MikeRoberts1964]

@@theworldisavampire3346 Exactly, these guys were the guys working the shitty factory jobs or driving a truck by 1968, with a wife and a couple kids. THEIR kids would be the Punk Rockers of the 70s and 80s.

[@Tracymmo]

These working class guys were the ones who beat up hippies! Not the same people at all!

[@davidtingley9978]

The people who led the counter culture movement came from better homes and neighborhoods than these kids.

[@NoNo-ng9sl]

Meh.....I grew up in the 80s and 90s. If you think like this? You came into the neighborhoods we grew up in back when Crack was in and gangs were rampant. It's almost like a movie looking back how we grew up in the hoods/barrios......there isn't a 50s pretty aesthetic though. Nothing real romantic about finding needles on the street and hearing gun shots. But if you connect to the "counter-culture" movement? Feel free to connect to a more innocent time we all wish we could've seen.

[@hectoralers84]

"Everybody needs to be seen"!... Spoken like a true photographer ! Beautiful pictures of a tough life!

[@dorcaswg5726]

These teenagers remind me so much of teenagers today like damn in only 17 and relate so much.

[@henrycolestage4249]

These pictures put faces to characters (real-life ones) that I read about as a young man. I found a copy of "The Cross and the Switchblade" as a teenager and read it. I am not religious at all but was completely taken in by the raw emotions of those NY teenage gang members. 1958 NY was a planet far, far away from 1970's California so it was hard to imagine what their life was really like. Now I know better. Thank you, Mr, Davidson.

[@sint0xicateme]

1:22 she is absolutely slaying with that sultry saunter.

[@Tracymmo]

She is, though she's also walking in heels and a fitted skirt, so it's hard to rush anyhow.

[@billmcginnis3764]

PERVERT. . . .

[@billc2054]

Bruce you are an AWESOME photographer! It just brought water to my eyes the way you captured every moment! Thank you for sharing with the world

[@howardmanley3388]

We’re only here a short while “ Mae West said you only go around once, but if you do it right, once is enough...

[@raggeragnar]

Fantastic caption of a surtain group of human beings from a specific place at a special point in time. It’s a unique time-capsule. They will never be forgotten.

[@ßearhammer]

He’s my Grandfather in law! He’s such an amazing person! Thank you for this! He also did the photo for the beastie boys album cover for “Ill communication” lol not as important as the civil rights work but as a kid was my favorite lol

[@jfrankeltata8187]

This was one of the best things ive seen in a very long time. Thank you.

[@bethelshiloh]

Because my late husband was born there (1949), I’m always interested in anything Brooklyn. These were aimless teens (as many teens can be). They were muddling through with little to no guidance.

[@brianwalsh1401]

Yes. The most important thing anyone can have in life is people who care about them and take care of them. It's the foundation of a healthy life. If you don't have this you are going to have some issues and problems.

[@yaint77]

I keep seeing all these comments saying they look just like today’s teens like ? My guy, did you think that they’d be that different? Humans are humans, history tends to repeat itself as well. I just thought that was funny, no shade.

[@benadams3569]

People are dumb. They act as if current humans look nothing like people from even sixty years ago...only sixty.

[@Mlogan11]

True,...people don't change, the times do.

[@billmcginnis3764]

Sure the kids in Brooklyn look just like kids today. Did you 👀 see the green hair & metal hanging in their 👂 ears, nose and 💋 lips?

[@penguin902]

I forgot people said "shade" 3 yrs ago. But yes BK now is no different. The racism won in the end tho so they switch the strategy from 1950s: talk to the poor and understand them 1980s: Stop and frisk and harass 1990s: Mass incareration 2021: Gangs/Gun crime in NY and zero empathy for/from anyone. Every news channel on KZbin that shows a recent crime is FLOODED WITH RACISM. And the ppl are usually the same age as the commentors here. I won't generalize a generation but damn. Kinda interesting that when the skin color and time period changes the comments suddenly change too.

[@Santos.Sarmento]

Thank you Bruce Davidson for bring us these precious images. Thank you TIME for bring us Bruce Davidson.

[@yunglombardo4968]

These photos are, there’s not even a word to describe them. Maybe, fernweh? That whole “farsickness.” Feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been to and doesn’t exist. They remind me of when I was 18 and I left home. Excellent photography.

[@StrawberryNinjaNibbles]

One of my favorite photographers!

[@shylashes]

Incredible shots. Holy cow! My favorite era for clothing as well, personally, always.

[@frankcentola6112]

Custom made slacks cost $16. 22 inch knee , 2 inch rise and pegged. Uniform of hard rock, cool cat.

[@allisontaylor1818]

I love these pictures and resonate so much with times like these...where are they now?

[@nonesuch444]

We need photos of today that have a timeless reflection.

[@Bart-Did-it]

There is none its all instagram and fb and this dam thing 📲 there is life in our photo’s now but no heart just amount of .

[@sandramalone3522]

Thank you Bruce for all those amazing photos. You're an amazing photographer, if you have more please show them or if there is somewhere I can go to see more of your work especially of the ones of these kids please let me know where I can find them through you or wherever from. Thank you again.

[@CryptidWalks]

I read Run baby run and The cross and the switchblade years ago, two different sides of the same story of Nicky Cruz, and David Wilkerson. Nicky was the leader of the Mau Maus, David was a preacher. Great books telling the story of New York, Harlem gangs in the 50’s.

[@mattfrommo2483]

Cryptid Walks that was the first thing I thought of.

[@hapijen4828]

Amazing & fantastic shots. Definitely captured the ambience.

[@POLARIStheTRUE]

These are probably the kids in the book, Last Exit to Brooklyn. Awesome photos! Would love to see more.

[@laraanisere2962]

Wow. I am totally speechless. These images are so vulnerable and open.

[@bollockchops]

Amazing cinematography 🇬🇧🍀👍

[@angelp.5224]

I so adore your work and your photos. Great story teller

[@texas1949]

How the heck have I not seen this before??? Glad it came up in my recommendation list! Thanks for the upload!

[@frankcentola6112]

I was there. 1959. A gang was about 12 people. I belonged to a crew of about 100 people. No crew name but we were known as Fulton-Rockaway in East New York. All had nicknames. Mine was Frankie Bep a stand up guy, After a while we all moved on. Me to army, college, broadcasting and finally federal agent. What a time it was. The only thing I look back on.

[@princesspatriot1544]

Thanks for sharing . I imagine you have had amazing life experiences .

[@michaelstone7514]

Hey don't make it sound so depressing. In New York in those days you didn't need much to have fun. A couple bucks would take you far. Beach park movies. Plenty to do and see for free in New York. Not like kids today that need every gadget imaginable to keep themselves busy.

[@patricias5122]

I think you didn't quite see the pictures. You would have seen the despair on their faces.

[@Dreyno]

Street photographers try to recreate these sort of photos but these are the real deal. Fantastic. Could look at them all day.

[@damianmcdonagh7908]

Fascinating collection of photographs. Many thanks for posting.

[@AyeItsMike]

This appeared in my recommended, and this guy just made the list to people I look up to

[@JohnSmith-ij6ms]

beautiful art

[@___X___]

Always crazy to see someone outside the life to peer in and see the madness they sustain themselves in. People are like this all over, a city just puts a spotlight on them.

[@Seekingtruth-mx3ur]

Reminds me of the book Run Baby Run.

[@wayneb5054]

I grew up in Detroit this is my life.I was tough till someone showed me tough .One day everyone had a gun ......the fights were over .The killing began.I didnt know racism till I grew up. It never changed .Lets go back to more civil days ....a good fight a cold beer and a hot lady . Make it two. To all my friends Rest in pizza.

[@tonybony5805]

Well said

[@flagal519]

There was a haunting innocence about these young people....a glimpse into the distant past. I wish we could recapture this.

[@Buffalohump77]

That last shot of the two kids lying on the back seat was used on the cover of Larry Brown's Big Bad Love, paperback edition. Great book.

[@Lynne-28]

A true artist. 🕊

[@jantimmerby]

Strong images. Love these peeks into the story.

[@poetsandreamers]

Those are just beautiful! So intimate. Incredible photos ✨✨👍

[@geezergonewile]

Graduated HS in Brooklyn 1959. We would often cut class and walk to Coney Island for beer and hot dogs. I see myself with carefree teenage friends in these nostalgic shots. We looked just like these kids. Hot rods, pre-Pill girlfriends, and non-stop Doo-Wop. Hardly any violent crime, drugs or graffiti. People worked hard and had hope for the future ... and every day was fun. 1950s cool, indeed. What a fabulous era it was!

[@mcmxli-by1tj]

Yes, thanks. These photographs do bring back New York I once knew.

[@jackpivnick5065]

My husband was the leader of the Jokers. He would tell stories that my kids could not believe. He was the greatest. Miss you Mudge

[@delia5158]

Kathy and my mom were first cousins. Their mothers were sisters (Anna and Catherine O’Neill). My mom was given up for adoption at the NYC Foundling home in 1950. My mom was adopted by a stable, middle class family, while Kathy was raised in difficult circumstances. DNA helped me identify my grandmother’s family, but I have not been able to speak to anyone who could tell me stories about their younger years. Please respond if you remember them.

[@jamesfitzgerald4693]

Hi. My grandfather is Robert vasile who was also one of them featured. Any info you may have that i don’t would be greatly appreciated!

[@alanaknox49]

This was beautiful -- the photographs and the narration. Thank you.

[@sendmemeshoney336]

The photos are beautiful

[@dindings]

Beautiful words that match amazing pictures

[@kipphelan]

Wonderful evocative images. Really enjoyed this

[@KeoluBoy100]

Back in the days when Time magazine was honest.

[@johnsradios484]

Why would you give a thumbs down to this? The pictures are great from a bygone era.

[@benadams3569]

Because his commentary makes it seem as if it was a much better time and people are nothing like that now....ALL people. I call bull shit. Btw, my parents came from that generation (I'm 45). It wasn't all unicorns and rainbows as this man wants you to believe.

[@ea4744]

White privilege

[@zedwpd]

poor and hopeless doesnt sound all that cheery to me@@benadams3569

[@DrJones-nh4my]

Those are fantastic pictures. Besides beautiful art, they are historic

[@timlamb9428]

My uncle was in a gang on the west side of Detroit back during that time and my dad mimicked him with the hair, engineers boots, and leather jacket and followed him around though he was more or less a wannabe because he was several years younger. My dad described the scene as being like the movie west side story.

[@TDOTEMPIRE]

I love this series!

[@TheCecil64]

That was Beautiful - thanks for sharing.

[@MsBAustralia]

I wish he would have told us what happened to some of the key people in these photos. They are beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

[@billmcginnis3764]

Let's live in reality, most of them became drug addicts..

[@1SaG]

Incredible pics... I always love coming across pictures from a long gone era that show snapshots of "real" life - not carefully "choreographed" shots. That kind of stuff gets harder and harder to find the further back in time you go. Plus: Those photos really make me want to pop my "The Wanderers" BRD into the player and reminisce about my time in the 80s when I ran around with a greaser-haircut and a Stray Cats tattoo on my arm ... :D

[@biancaschwantes8429]

Amazing pictures....the way he captured their lives ....just wow 😯

[@anthonyperez1698]

Love his saying about the pics, a relatable connection

[@Mercyforthewicked]

These are gorgeous images

[@emiliomurillo20]

My teacher from Pratt, Art Freed,sent me to a class of his to learn photojournalism. He was a good teacher

[@bascal133]

it’s really disturbing how drugs have just decimated people like this compared to before

[@BatMan-oe2gh]

Compared to before? Of like all the booze they drank and drink driving and drink fighting. Marijuana will not kill you, simple as that. Booze kills just as bad as Heroin, Cocaine and Crack.

[@donaldsmith7824]

Bacall McElroy drugs have always been around, just the propaganda after abolition was abolished and H. J. Anslinger had nothing better to do..

[@brettmitchell8014]

Before? Drugs like alcohol have destroyed people always.

[@bascal133]

Brett Mitchell I think that’s true, but I do think modern drugs with fentanyl and meth take it to another level.

[@brettmitchell8014]

@@bascal133 absolutely!!!!

[@brettmitchell8014]

Alcohol is a drug just like Nicotine. So technically anyone who drinks alcohol or consumes nicotine are drug users and some are drug addicts.

[@Poetic_Justice1962]

I bet you're an addict in some way you'd hate to admit.

[@brianwalsh1401]

Nicotine and alcohol also cause a lot more morbidity and mortality than the rest of the drugs combined. I know he was referring to street drugs in the video but the the 2 legal drugs cause a lot more problems in society.

[@teddyhailey3035]

Gangs sure evolved one drugs and guns got heavy.. turf wars were always expected if you crossed that line...Out cast wanting to belong to something...60s hit and the hippies drugs and free love lol...

[@brettmitchell8014]

Amazing photos and story.

[@debramage739]

They speak so deeply. The photos.

[@bigbarkingdog2010]

Outstanding photography and story. Great video.

[@janisgay5507]

"They're all my children."

[@rossmorebaz]

how amazing, touching and beautiful was that video....... I wonder where those kids are now.... i wonder how their lives turned out .. i hope they made it through this crazy life ok

[@mollygarrett5838]

I wish boys would still dress like that

[@raina95150]

Righttt. Love a greaser !! Like Johnny depp in cry baby or of course John Travolta in Grease! The outsiders was a good movie and involved some well known actors who played greasers as well!

[@zoezzzarko1117]

Same

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

Hipsters in Brooklyn still do.

[@EclecticoIconoclasta]

Go look for guys around psycobilly and rockabilly bands

[@zoezzzarko1117]

@@EclecticoIconoclasta Stray Cats types? Hell. Yes. 😎💖💚💜🖤

[@herekittykitty02]

How cool to get a glimpse of the forgotten

[@josegalindo-herrador5565]

This is a real insight into the REAL 50s ! Tkx Bruce 🤗❤️👍!

[@laurieldeneuve8779]

Reminds me of my friends and I when we were younger with no babies. The good ol days.

[@98point6]

I'm moved by his images and the layers of artistic insight behind them.

[@abayless3816]

Wonderful Pictures, and such a Story.

[@joes7885]

This is very cool. Thanks for posting

[@lilacfloyd]

The photos all look like they could be Smiths album covers.

[@DR-xt9ux]

Yeah for real “hatful of hallow “

[@Robbhoy89]

Would like to see pictures of them today and how they turned out.

[@rocketsauce420]

RobbieCFC1888 W Sadly they are all probably dead

[@onedirectionfever212]

@@rocketsauce420 doubt it, if the photographer is still well alive then I'm pretty sure so are those people that were photographed since they were younger than the photographer

[@rocketsauce420]

onedirectionfever212 Yeah but the photographer mentioned they got into drug use

[@Tracymmo]

@@onedirectionfever212 Probably some are alive, but as they'd be in their late 70s - early 80s, some will be gone. Given their hard lives, some would have died young. Even the ones who got straightened out would have had hard, physical jobs.

[@gnash64]

@@SlickJohnny What about Artie Giamarrino? (The guy pictured with Cathy.)

[@reethkitchards]

My Man! God bless you Burce, hope to see you in the city roaming the Streets.

[@THE1668KID]

Love this story!! Amazing Times

[@ronniebishop2496]

Great post thank you so much.!

[@annginke5435]

A genius with a camera! Real and raw and sad photos. Go back and photograph now.