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Harmed and Dangerous consists of four 20"x20" Cibachrome
prints of armed Black and Latino men and women on the wall and a "prison
booth" approximately 4' from it standing on the floor. The "prison
booth" is what you might find if you visited someone in prison-you
are separated from them by a wall and a thick Plexiglas window. To
speak with them you must sit at the booth and each pick up a phone.
When you pick up either phone in Harmed and Dangerous, you will here
someone speaking about violence. The message plays in a continuous
loop, thus the voices that the viewer hears depends upon the position
of the tape at the time they pick up the receiver. The following is
an excerpt of the audio:
The problem ain't that there's too much violence. The problem is that
the violence is all coming down on us and that there ain't enough
violence going up against the system.
My life was typical.
The problem ain't that there's too much violence...
How many people in your family been killed? I've had 2 people in my
family killed. Maybe more for you. I know that's one thing that far
too many of us have in common.
The problem ain't that there's too much violence...
They say we violent. They say we violent cause of all the unwed mothers.
Well if you axe me that sounds like a dis on women. Don't that sound
like they sayin that women can't raise no kids without a man and that
it women's fault if they kids get a little buck wild because of the
fucked up situation we all in? How they gonna stop this violence anywaywhats
they solution? They want to send in more killcrazy cops into our neighborhoods.
Ain't that violent? They want to keep us at each other's throats,
Ain't that violent? Keep us hungry, we ain't got no jobs That's violent.
You know, they don't know a damn thing about Black people. And they
know even less about the poor. Which means they don't know shit about
us. Accept when it comes to the Black family or the so called destruction
of the Black family. Then they know everything. They dam system caused
that in the first place. When shit affects they world then they know
everything.
The problem ain't that there's too much violence...
Who do you think were aiming at now?..
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