Art and Documentary Photography - Loading LAPD1994.jpeg
Featured Film News Videos
Podcast: Joseph Rodríguez, "LAPD:1994" with Ruben Martinez for Skylight Books in Los Angeles
joseph rodriguez
Jul 27, 2021
In 1994, the New York Times Magazine assigned Joseph Rodriguez to ride along with cops from the Los Angeles Police Department, photographing them at work. This was just two years after the protests that erupted when four officers were acquitted on charges of beating Rodney King, and LAPD needed a public image makeover.

The photographs, now compiled in LAPD: 1994, tell a story about the power imbalance between police and the community, the constant tension between the stated goal of “protecting and serving” and the reality of police violence.

From behind my camera, Rodriguez saw how decades of profiling, racism, and brutality had led to deep distrust in many communities—a distrust that the LAPD’s mild attempts at reform couldn’t even touch. The photos capture a particularly turbulent time for the LAPD, just after several very public corruption scandals in addition to the charges of police brutality brought to light by the video of Rodney King’s beating.

Rodgriguez discusses his photographs with Ruben Martinez.
SKYLIT: Joseph Rodriguez, "LAPD: 1994" w/ Ruben Martinez
 In 1994, the New York Times Magazine assigned Joseph Rodriguez to ride along with cops from the Los Angeles Police Department, photographing them at work. This was just two years after the protests that erupted when four officers were acquitted...
Skylightbooks.podbean.com

Puerto Rican Lament by Joseph Rodríguez

Puerto Rico Lament is a longterm project by photographer Joseph Rodríguez that documents the economic crisis of Puerto Rico and the population at risk.
Website via Visura

Puerto Rican Lament by Joseph Rodríguez is integrated to:
Visura site builder, a tool to grow your photography business
Visura's network for visual storytellers and journalists
A photography & film archive by Visura
Photography grants, open calls, and contests
A newsfeed for visual storytellers