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For more than 20 years, Robert Gumpert
has traveled the world as a photojournalist, pursuing stories of social
and economic themes. Gumpert has two upcoming exhibits of note: first, his Lost Promise images will be shown November 13, 1998 through Jan.3, 1999 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Also, an exhibit of his labor photography is tentatively set for July through December of 2000 at The American Labor Museum in Haledon, New Jerse.y |
Shot in the city and county
of San Francisco, this project has been going on since September, 1993. It started
from a wish to document the work life of two homicide inspectors and evolved into
a document of the American way of justice. I spent 9 months with these two by the
end of which I had decided I wanted to take the same sort of look at a police station
and its area. By the time that part was done the project had developed into taking
a look at the workers in the criminal justice system and to a lesser degree those
that passed through it. In look, feel and detail, these photographs and interviews could have been done in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami or New York. That they were done in San Francisco is only a matter of circumstance and access. I hope this set of work shows a different side to the criminal justice system than has been depicted in Hollywood versions. It does not simplify or romanticize the lives and work of those in the system. It is neither a polemic on the failures of the system nor a public relations piece but rather is an attempt to be a fair and honest look at an institution with many problems, an institution which is a mirror of society at large. Once photography was finished I finally and belatedly got down to thinking about words. It seemed most appropriate, given the attack of this project, to let folks speak for themselves. For the past 9 months or so, I've been asking people to comment about the photos I've taken. Sometimes people talk about photos of themselves, but most often I just use the to photos elicit responses and get people to talk about their jobs, their lives and about the system. |
Please note: the topics and language
presented here are best suited for an adult audience. |