Untitled (40021)

1959

Brooklyn Gang: Untitled (40021), 1959. Bruce Davidson (American, b. 1933). Gelatin silver print; paper: 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of an anonymous donor 2018.682 © Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos “The hole,” a space 3½ feet wide by 30 feet long between two buildings, was one of the places where the Jokers went to drink beer, smoke pot, and occasionally pop a pill. “We used to have the big guys buy full quarts of beer,” remembered Bob Powers. “Then we’d go down in the hole, open one at a time, and pass it around until they were empty.” One of Davidson’s best-known series, Brooklyn Gang was inspired by a news story he read about a teenage gang called the Jokers.