The Camera as a Catalyst

"Clayton Patterson began documenting New York City in 1979, immersing himself in the scenes that bubbled under the city’s surface: Drag Queens, Hardcore music, the Drug Trade and Street Kids that gave New York its energy.

Documenting the overlapping counter cultures of the Lower East Side in the 80's was a transgressive and political act on its own, and as the city changed so did Clayton’s use of the camera.

The Tompkins Square Park police riots of 1988 saw a city stretched to its limit, the results of poverty and institutionalized racism at the core. What Clayton and his partner Elsa Rensa documented that night shifted the narrative of the NYPD. Their tape circulated through the world and saw immediate consequences in NYPD resignations and galvanized a generation of photographers, journalists, kids, and activists to further understand the camera as a valuable tool for change.

The culture of the NYPD has long been a corrupt one, perpetuating a war on Black Americans and the poor in a city that is supposed to be at the forefront of progressive ideals.

Accountability, civil unrest and political action can and will continue to bring about change if we all show up to do the right thing.

In the words of Clayton Patterson on The Oprah Winfrey show circa 1989, “Little Brother is watching Big Brother.”

Don’t forget the streets, don’t forget the struggle."

Ben Solomon, June 2020

Opening space and amplifying voices is part of the initiatives SNS will be taking to collaborate with the efforts against racism and police brutality in the US and in the world. An effort far from it's final goal but one that is in motion.

We feel that Captured is more important than ever to watch right now as the corruption and abuse continues in America but the people have the power to make and affect change. Power to the People. You can watch 'Captured', the film about Clayton directed by Ben Solomon and Daniel B. Levin here. And also check some of Clayton's images exposed at SNS NY in an exhibition last year.