Exhibitions

LOS ANGELES UPRISING 1992

National Civil Rights Museum / 450 Mulberry St. March 13, 2017 - April 29, 2017

José Galvez
Lawrence Matthews

LOS ANGELES UPRISING 1992 BY JOSÉ GALVEZ, PULITZER PRIZE WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER 

FEATURING: ART INSTALLATION FLORENCE AND NORMANDIE BY LAWRENCE MATTHEWS

In the spring of 1991, Rodney King was beaten by four Los Angeles police officers after a high-speed chase. A bystander's video footage of the assault was broadcast nationally. A year later, the officers were acquitted of all charges and rioting ensued in Los Angeles. 53 people died and thousands were injured.

In the aftermath, José Galvez, a Los Angeles Times photographer, took personal time to record the changes in the community. Less than a week after the riots had died down, he discovered that flashpoints had become tourist attractions. Curiosity seekers brought their own cameras to pose with wreckage. Galvez also stumbled on quieter damage that captured the deep sadness behind the violence: burnt Bibles, a destroyed wedding dress, and close to his heart, scattered dark room supplies from a camera store.

“I went out to photograph, knowing I’d see destruction of property, lives, and dreams,” Galvez said. “But what surprised me was how quickly a week of sorrow, anger, and tragedy so clear in the detritus, had become yet another LA attraction. True pain had been reduced not just to ashes but, on some other level, absurdity.”