id: 291572 accession number: 2016.283 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.283 updated: 2024-03-26 02:01:52.550000 Through the slats of the boardwalk above, the sun shines upon the figures below, and self-imposed laws operate to segregate the people at this great city beach, Coney Island, NY, 1963. Leonard Freed (American, 1929–2006). Vintage gelatin silver print; image: 20.1 x 13.3 cm (7 15/16 x 5 1/4 in.); paper: 25.2 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg 2016.283 © Leonard Freed /Magnum Photos title: Through the slats of the boardwalk above, the sun shines upon the figures below, and self-imposed laws operate to segregate the people at this great city beach, Coney Island, NY title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1963 creation date earliest: 1963 creation date latest: 1963 current location: creditline: Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg copyright: © Leonard Freed /Magnum Photos --- culture: America technique: vintage gelatin silver print department: Photography collection: PH - American 1951-Present type: Photograph find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Leonard Freed (American, 1929–2006) - artist Born in Brooklyn to Jewish, working-class parents of Eastern European descent, Leonard Freed (1929–2006) went to Europe to become a painter but instead discovered photography. After studying the medium in New York City, he worked as a documentary photographer and photojournalist in Europe. In 1972 he joined Magnum, the celebrated collaborative photo agency. Freed’s photographs in this exhibition are from Black in White America, a series inspired by an experience he had while covering the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. As he photographed an African American soldier guarding the border, it struck Freed that this man was risking his life to defend a country that limited his own rights. Freed returned to New York to undertake a multiyear exploration of African American life. Freed began shooting around New York, and then traveled extensively throughout the South. He spent time in communities getting to know his subjects, and kept a journal recording his impressions and their stories and words. During these years, he also covered Martin Luther King Jr. and numerous civil rights events, but when Freed published Black in White America in 1968, the book focused instead on the fabric of daily life. As a photojournalist, Freed was an observer rather than a participant, but not an impartial one. He believed that “photography is about who you are. It’s the seeking of truth in relation to yourself.” --- measurements: Image: 20.1 x 13.3 cm (7 15/16 x 5 1/4 in.); Paper: 25.2 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Written in pencil on verso: “LFBWA-59.3/7500” Written in pencil on verso: “NEW YORK” Imprinted in black type on white adhesive label on verso: “N.Y.C. BROOKLYN/CONEY ISLAND #2” Imprinted in black type on white adhesive label on verso: “Magnum Photos, Inc. © 1996 [crossed out in pencil] 1963 [written in pencil] Leonard Freed/[bar code]/LEI 03FRL004+001 [crossed out in pencil] = OLD # [written in pencil]/NYC. Coney Island-under the boardwalk./VINTAGE PRINT” Written in black ink on verso: “63578 [partially obscured by white adhesive label]” Imprinted in black type on white paper label on verso: “MAGNUM/72 West 45 Street, New York, New York 10036/LEONARD FREED USA 1963 [written in pencil]/at the Conney Island Beach in/New York-under the board walk/O 51-33 [crossed out in pencil] = OLD # [written in pencil]” Written in pencil on verso: “63-5-21-33” Written in black ink on white adhesive label on verso: “90326 DIB” Imprinted in black type on white adhesive label on verso: “NOTICE/Photographs must be credited to the photographer and/MAGNUM PHTOOS. Photographs may not be cropped/or altered in any way without prior written approval by/MAGNUM PHOTOS. Photographs consigned by/MAGNUM PHOTOS for your possible use may not be/scanned without the express written permission of/MAGNUM PHOTOS./VIOLATION OF THESE POLICIES WILL RESULT IN/FINES AT A MINIMUM OF 100% OF THE USAGE FEE.” Written in pencil on verso: “Leonard Freed (signed)” Stamped in black ink on verso: “© Leonard Freed-Magnum” Written in pencil on verso: “Book: Black/in White Ame-/rica p.59/1963 Coney Island, NY USA” translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Black in America: Louis Draper and Leonard Freed opening date: 2017-02-26T05:00:00 Black in America: Louis Draper and Leonard Freed. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 26-July 30, 2017). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES