Hollywood Boulevard, 3 a.m. Possibly 1988 - 1994

Jim Goldberg’s photograph captures a street scene on Hollywood Boulevard. We can assume it was shot in the 1980s, and the image is a stark black and white. Goldberg documented marginalized communities, and in this picture he directs our attention to a woman kneeling on the sidewalk with a police officer standing nearby. The visual codes here are complex. The woman is vulnerable, yet the location, Hollywood Boulevard, speaks of dreams and aspirations. The police officer represents authority, but also perhaps, a failed social contract. Goldberg’s work often comments on the social structures of his time. This was a period when the American dream felt increasingly out of reach for many. The power of this image lies in its ability to provoke questions about inequality and the institutions that perpetuate it. To truly understand this photograph, we might delve into the history of Hollywood, the LAPD, and the socio-economic conditions that led to increased homelessness in Los Angeles. Art history gives us the tools to contextualize and interpret such a loaded image.