The Deuce 1 by billnatkin on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

This photo is part of a collection of pictures taken in the mid-1970s, in an area of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, known as "The Deuce". This was a run down section of the city, centered around 2nd Avenue, that was frequented by men (primarily) down on their luck, who had serious alcohol addition problems.

As a very young photography student coming from a more affluent background and surrounded by students of similar fortune, I was motivated to reveal to my peers that which they had never seen. My work was not well liked by them. They could not understand why "ugly" pictures of old men in tattered clothing and worn shoes was something anyone would want to see. Of course, that was the whole point; to make visible that which was hidden from their pretty lives.

The photo series project was a social commentary calling attention to the poverty and substance abuse issues that were prevalent at the time. The pictures were not intended to ridicule the subjects.

It is interesting to note that there was no widespread houseless problem in the U.S. at the time. This was the pre-Reagan era, before public mental health care took a dive and prior to the sharp increase in income disparity. Back in those days, one had to go looking for poverty. Unlike today, when every city in the country is seeing widespread despair in parts of the downtown. In 1963, the wealthiest families had 36 times the wealth of families in the middle of the wealth distribution. By 2022, they had 71 times the wealth of families in the middle.

Many years following the date of these photos, after having identified The Deuce as a blighted area, the City of Phoenix purchased several square blocks of property. The Deuce was razed and the City built several municipal buildings in the area and encouraged commercial development nearby in an effort to revitalize the downtown.

Original photo taken using a Nikon F with 35mm black and white film.

_____________________________________________________

My artwork is copyrighted. Pictures are not to be used as stock photos, nor may they be reproduced, copied, edited, or published outside of this platform without my permission.