Canadian-born “Saint” Clayton Patterson has been documenting New York City’s ever-changing Lower East Side for nearly four decades. A staple figure in the community, donning his signature skull-embroidered cap and leather jacket, Patterson, along with his partner-in-crime Elsa and his trusty camera/video camera, was always on the front line in the war against the cops, yuppies, and gentrification. He interacted with, recorded, and gave a voice to the tattooed, drag queens, hardcore punks, anarchists, homeless, drug addicts, gang members, bikers, street kids, immigrants, and artists that populated the area and whose plights and concerns were largely ignored by the City. Himself a self-described societal outcast, Clayton permanently set up camp when he and Elsa bought a two-story building on Essex and used the first floor as an art gallery and baseball-cap embroidery company, and the second as their living quarters. Positioned at the cultural climax of the LES, Patterson repeatedly knocked heads with police officers (quite literally, as he had many of his teeth knocked out while getting arrested) who mistreated members of the neighborhood and tried to dismantle “Tent City” in Tompkins Square Park. He captured four hours of controversial footage during the police riot in 1988, when squatters and anarchists decided to defend their territory at Tompkins while the police tried to implement curfews and violently kick everyone out of the park. With these precious videos and others, Patterson had more police officers fired for misconduct than any other New Yorker.

Three young filmmakers, Ben Solomon, Dan Levin, and Jenner Furst, took it upon themselves to document this documenter. Four years later, after lots of digging around, the world premier of the aptly titled Captured (also the title of Patterson's history book of the LES) served as the kickoff for the Rooftop Films “Underground Movies Outdoors” summer series in New York. Hosted by IFC, Rooftop Films will show 38 feature-length and short films throughout the summer at various outdoor venues. Captured was shown on the rooftop of New Design High School in the LES; an ideal location, as the walls were covered with colorful and beautifully designed graffiti from the students and neighborhood kids themselves. The New York band A.R.E. Weapons opened the show (the series always features a musical performance before the film) and dedicated two songs to the late musician/graffiti artist Joey Semz, who was also featured in the film. While the highly energetic band performed their set, and while the eclectic cast of artsy New Yorkers found spots to sit on the cement floor, some of Patterson’s most powerful photographs were projected onto the large screen. As revealed in the film, Patterson’s collection of photographs hits the one million mark (and is currently organized in cardboard boxes and filing cabinets by year), while he also possesses thousands of hours of video.

Captured was a brave attempt at summarizing the evolution and deconstruction of the LES through the eyes and records of its very own outlaw historian, and it succeeded in its mission. Visually and organizationally as raw and radical as its primary subject, the film is thoroughly enjoyable (especially for someone like myself who only wishes they were around to experience the eccentrically charming, grimy and “dangerous” New York City of decades past), yet terribly painful. Featuring interviews with a wide variety of people on either side of the fight (the radicals vs. the cops), including former NYC Mayor Ed Koch, Captured presented its material in a straightforward fashion, and doesn’t hesitate to reveal Patterson’s own controversial footage of police battles (there was definitely a lot of baton-whipping underway), other painful-to-look-at images, and, perhaps most importantly, opposing sides of the argument. An eye-opener to any new New Yorker or non-New Yorker unaware of the history of this city, and how much gentrification and overpricing has forced out former residents and remodeled and repopulated downtown areas, Captured stands as a testament to the LES and one of its last remaining authentic residents. It is a truly important film.

 

For more on Captured, check out the Summer 2008 issue of Beyond Race Magazine.