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Enduring Justice: Photographs by Thomas Roma
Camping out in the Brooklyn Criminal Court building from December 1997 to early 1999, Roma, photographer and director of photography for Columbia University, talked to victims, defendants, trial witnesses and their families, and sometimes took their portraits then and there. The result is this collection of 83 duotones that give human faces to the application of the law.
- GenresPhotography
184 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2001
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November 21, 2016
This is a collection of photographs by street photographer Tom Roma taken at the Brooklyn Criminal Court Building in 1997-1999 - of people who are waiting, waiting, waiting endlessly for their cases to come up, or confer with an attorney, and so forth. Some have fallen asleep, some have small children with them who are fast asleep, others are cuddling with loved ones, and so forth.
This is a cross-section of life, conveyed by means of anonymous images or portraits of individuals connected in some way to the criminal justice system at around the end of the 20th Century, in downtown Brooklyn, NY. We can only try to imagine or reconstruct the circumstances which led to these peoples' involvement with the court system - some may be witnesses, others may be attorneys,others defendants or complainants. Yes, mostly the viewer sees stark reality of facing or waiting for justice.
These are people drawn from all walks of life, all socio-economic levels of society. It is difficult to discern the "role" each will play in a hearing or trial - are some of them jurors or potential jurors waiting to be called?
The book "matches" in a way Roma's subway portrait book, as well as the "Vale of Cashmere" - I'm not sure why it seems "related" to those books, but somehow,it seems another chunk of Brooklyn reality of the late 20th Century. Each portrait is exquisite, perhaps distills the time and place, and the subject's self-perception of their role, what they are doing, where they are going, what point they are at in their lives. The subway portraits perhaps seemed random, but the portraits of the "Vale of Cashmere" were exceptional studies of men within a specific social scene (perhaps now made obsolete in the age of dating web sites); the present volume also seems to draw connections from one portrait to the other. We don't exactly know the role of each person or family unit portrayed, but all are seeking or will be participants in the justice process, as it is meted out in court.
Two essays, one by Norman Mailer, and one by Robert Coles, preface the photographs. I didn't find Mailer's essay too enlightening, but enjoyed reading Coles' essay. These essays were "extras" though as far as I am concerned; the reason to borrow from the library or buy this book is to view the photographs, which, as always with Mr. Roma, are superb. They are "slice of life" "gritty" "down to earth" but also show great sensitivity. Each person is an individual and each attempt or effort at individuation - sports T shirts, sneakers, unique jewelry - further individualizes each person, even if recurrent sports franchises or style labels, or styles, often reappear. Each person is different and one can only imagine the context, their lives, their life stories, their futures.
The book is just 17 or 18 years old yet it seems like ages, years and years have elapsed since some of these clothing styles - the trendier looks - were considered chic. The cut of suits, lapel widths, have completely changed around since then, as have jeans styles. In 1999, jeans were still being worn at the waist, most people had not yet completely become "shapeless" or lost their waistline, necessitating the low-waistline look. The population has definitely changed even in the past 15 years; people 18 years ago were still making phone calls from phone booths, which were still intact. People were not hunched over devices, because these devices either had not yet been invented or were not widely/cheaply available. Only one portrait shows what appears to be a well-groomed female attorney studying a lap top - the only portrait that includes any device. This was an era of waiting without the distraction of the internet/facebook or non-stop chatting on the phone or via Skype. Clothing was baggier or looser-fitting in general than today, but the classic casual styles (various types of jeans jackets, jeans, T-shirts, trendy tops) are the same today as then. One or two portraits include what appear to be beepers (remember beepers?) clipped to jacket pockets etc.
These are exceptional photographs and Mr. Roma's project of photographing people in the hallways of the court house, was definitely successful. This a thought-provoking book of photographs, also, by now, a document recording a particular time and place that seems so distant by now although the photos were taken less than 20 years ago.
This is a cross-section of life, conveyed by means of anonymous images or portraits of individuals connected in some way to the criminal justice system at around the end of the 20th Century, in downtown Brooklyn, NY. We can only try to imagine or reconstruct the circumstances which led to these peoples' involvement with the court system - some may be witnesses, others may be attorneys,others defendants or complainants. Yes, mostly the viewer sees stark reality of facing or waiting for justice.
These are people drawn from all walks of life, all socio-economic levels of society. It is difficult to discern the "role" each will play in a hearing or trial - are some of them jurors or potential jurors waiting to be called?
The book "matches" in a way Roma's subway portrait book, as well as the "Vale of Cashmere" - I'm not sure why it seems "related" to those books, but somehow,it seems another chunk of Brooklyn reality of the late 20th Century. Each portrait is exquisite, perhaps distills the time and place, and the subject's self-perception of their role, what they are doing, where they are going, what point they are at in their lives. The subway portraits perhaps seemed random, but the portraits of the "Vale of Cashmere" were exceptional studies of men within a specific social scene (perhaps now made obsolete in the age of dating web sites); the present volume also seems to draw connections from one portrait to the other. We don't exactly know the role of each person or family unit portrayed, but all are seeking or will be participants in the justice process, as it is meted out in court.
Two essays, one by Norman Mailer, and one by Robert Coles, preface the photographs. I didn't find Mailer's essay too enlightening, but enjoyed reading Coles' essay. These essays were "extras" though as far as I am concerned; the reason to borrow from the library or buy this book is to view the photographs, which, as always with Mr. Roma, are superb. They are "slice of life" "gritty" "down to earth" but also show great sensitivity. Each person is an individual and each attempt or effort at individuation - sports T shirts, sneakers, unique jewelry - further individualizes each person, even if recurrent sports franchises or style labels, or styles, often reappear. Each person is different and one can only imagine the context, their lives, their life stories, their futures.
The book is just 17 or 18 years old yet it seems like ages, years and years have elapsed since some of these clothing styles - the trendier looks - were considered chic. The cut of suits, lapel widths, have completely changed around since then, as have jeans styles. In 1999, jeans were still being worn at the waist, most people had not yet completely become "shapeless" or lost their waistline, necessitating the low-waistline look. The population has definitely changed even in the past 15 years; people 18 years ago were still making phone calls from phone booths, which were still intact. People were not hunched over devices, because these devices either had not yet been invented or were not widely/cheaply available. Only one portrait shows what appears to be a well-groomed female attorney studying a lap top - the only portrait that includes any device. This was an era of waiting without the distraction of the internet/facebook or non-stop chatting on the phone or via Skype. Clothing was baggier or looser-fitting in general than today, but the classic casual styles (various types of jeans jackets, jeans, T-shirts, trendy tops) are the same today as then. One or two portraits include what appear to be beepers (remember beepers?) clipped to jacket pockets etc.
These are exceptional photographs and Mr. Roma's project of photographing people in the hallways of the court house, was definitely successful. This a thought-provoking book of photographs, also, by now, a document recording a particular time and place that seems so distant by now although the photos were taken less than 20 years ago.
Displaying 1 of 1 review