It’s a Hard Knocking Life
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 21, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 The Perfect Exposure Galley Della Rossa’s exhibit
includes photographs of Los Angeles gangs and their families.
By Sara Mortimer
Daily Bruin Contributor
When violence is examined closely, it has a human face.
Photographer Della Rossa uses her art to capture the faces that
are most known for violence in her exhibit “Street Gangs and
their Families” at The Perfect Exposure Gallery in Los
Angeles running now through May 17.
The exhibit contains over 40 black and white images of Echo
Park, Diamond Street and Temple Street gang members at home and on
the streets.
Rossa is an 81-year-old woman who has been shooting photographs
for the past 40 years. Over the last 20 years, she has concentrated
on the diverse and enigmatic aspects of Los Angeles.
Her interest in L.A. street life began in 1983 when she was a
student at Pasadena City College learning dark room techniques.
“When I was studying photography, I felt that I wanted
more of a challenge,” Rossa said in a phone interview from
her home in Echo Park.
“I suggested that I photograph the length of Sunset
Boulevard as a project and the instructor agreed. That was a real
experience,” Rossa said. “It was a year that there were
prostitutes on each of the four corners all around the
boulevard.”
Rossa’s interest in gang members was ignited by an
encounter she had with five high school girls on Sunset
Boulevard.
“They were in a good mood and I asked if I could
photograph them,” Rossa said. “They said yes and they
took a gang stance and they had gang bracelets on. Two of them were
sisters.”
 Artist Della Rossa has been
photographing gang life in Los Angeles for over 20 years.
Rossa got along with them so well that the two sisters invited
her to an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner at their home. At the
dinner, she took a five-generation photograph of the family and
continues to keep in contact with them.
“They like the attention,” Rossa said of the gang
members. “I ask a lot of questions of them. And the
information that I’ve learned, I have always been careful
with. I don’t want them harmed, and I don’t want
anything released that the police would use.”
Rossa’s reputation on the streets for trustworthiness has
allowed her to continue successfully with her work.
“When I approached them it was always with a respect
because I was concerned about them,” she said. “I had
the attitude of a mother toward them: hate what they do, but
concerned for them. And that’s what enabled me to photograph
them.”
 Photos from The Perfect Exposure Gallery Della Rossa’s
photography capturing gang life on the streets of Los Angeles will
be exhibited at The Perfect Exposure Gallery until May 17.
Photographs like “First Communion with Her Cousin”
show some of the subjects that she has formed a relationship with.
The little girl in this photo was 8 years old at the time. Now,
years later, Rossa hears of her graduating high school wanting to
become a fashion model.
Rossa also formed a relationship with Danny Busto, the only one
out of all the gang members Rossa has photographed whose name she
can use freely.
“(Busto) is so well known to everyone, including the
police,” she said. “He’s a heroin dealer, and
he’s been in and out of jail. … He’s a very gentle
person, a small man and sort of laid back.”
Another of her photographs, “Flaco-Echo Parque” is
of a kid whose name she never learned.
“I joined a group of people who were watching a mural
being painted on Sunset Boulevard. And this young man was just
standing by me. I said, “˜Do you relate to Echo Park?’
He had printed EP on the palm trunk.”
People viewing Della Rossa’s photographs may wonder what
really drives her to take such an interest in gang life.
“I’ve always had a social conscience, and I became
very concerned about the gang kids,” Rossa said. “Why
they get in a gang, get killed, go to jail, and not leave the
neighborhood ““ because they’re lonely and they feel
that is their home. Most of them do have problems. But it
isn’t just at home. They see no future for
themselves.”
Her interest in gangs also derived from a curiosity she had with
her own neighborhood.
“One thing that interested me before I met any gang
members was the graffiti all around. I tried to translate. I
wondered what it meant, who the people were who put this stuff up,
and why.”
From her time photographing, Rossa has seen fewer success
stories than those who get killed or go to jail.
“Those who escape the gang have to move away or get out of
the state. Those who stay, it is because they’re lonely
people for one reason or another.”
ART: “Street Gangs and their
Families” runs from April 18 to May 17 at The Perfect
Exposure Gallery, located at 3513 W. 6th Street in Los Angeles. The
gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is free. For further information call (213) 381-1137.
