As with many exhibits, the materials in Crime in Miami came from a variety of sources. Most of the artifacts and photographs are from HistoryMiami’s collection, but there are also a variety that come from law enforcement agencies and private individuals.
One portion of the exhibition that did not come from our collection is a video that features Samantha Steinberg, a forensic artist who works for the Miami-Dade Police Department, showing how she creates an age progression. The age progression, which is featured in the “Forensic Art” section of the exhibition, is of Gustavo Falcon, an alleged drug kingpin from the 1980s who was never apprehended.
The video came to be a part of the exhibition because of the television show America’s Most Wanted. AMW featured Gustavo back in 2008. The goal of the show, of course, is to encourage private citizens to help law enforcement locate fugitive criminals. Since the most recent photograph of Gustavo was from 1990, Samantha was enlisted to give viewers a better idea of what he would look like almost twenty years later.
After locating the video on the website of America’s Most Wanted, I contacted them to see if they would provide us with a copy. As with any organization that is unfamiliar, it took me some time to locate the people who were able and willing to help. There were many phone calls and a number of e-mails, but I found people with a passion for what they do in the form of the Miami-based producer and the folks at the D.C. headquarters, including a lawyer who authorized the use of the footage, technicians who located the master file and burned it to a disc, and the administrative assistant who coordinated it all.
When all was said and done, I had the finished product in my hands about a week and a half before the exhibition opened. It was a bit tight, but into Crime in Miami it went. Getting the disc to play the way we wanted in the space we already had was a task, but that’s a story for another time.
If you want to see the footage, check out the Gustavo Falcon fugitive brief on the America’s Most Wanted website: http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=61019 (click on the “Media” tab). Maybe you’ll see something that will help to bring in the last of the Cocaine Cowboys.
-- Robert Harkins
In 1996 local quilters collaborated with the museum to create the Miami Centennial Quilt, now part of our collection. Quilters submitted too many blocks to fit in the quilt, so some gems had to be left out.
This block made it into the museum’s collection, but not the quilt. This block is decorated with tiny doll’s purses surrounding a tiny toy revolver. The purses contain little messages.
What’s this about? The maker had recently had her purse taken at gunpoint. Liz Chifari describes the incident and the block she had made in this paragraph:
“I needed to make ‘Paradise Stolen’ for therapeutic reasons, as I was mugged downtown several years ago. … The block shows that one criminal with a gun has his choice of easy targets who are powerless to stop him. It also points out the incongruity of the ugliness of crime and the beauty of the tropical backdrop against which it is played out. … “
Lift the flap at the bottom of the block, and there’s a larger message.
“Under the flap at the bottom of the block is a clear message that we must begin saying no to those who would take our paradise away. Inside some of the little purses are further messages of protest against crime …”
The Crime in Miami exhibition presented curatorial staff with a variety of challenges, one being having too many artifacts to fit into the gallery. Once again, this bittersweet quilt block was left out. Nevertheless, it conveys a victim’s perspective on a crime in Miami.
-- Rebecca A. Smith, Head, Special Collections
Crime in Miami. It’s been quite a ride already and it’s not even done yet. The latest temporary exhibition at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida went up on February 19th. I have to admit, I think we here at the museum misjudged its popularity while we were planning. I don’t have any attendance figures, but there’s no question that our temporary gallery is much busier than it usually is, even after the incredibly successful run of Black Crossroads. I’m well aware of the fact that this is a good problem to have. If you have come to see the exhibition, I thank you.
The picture above shows one problem that “high attendance” has wrought. At the end of the exhibition, guests are invited to leave their fingerprint. Unfortunately, the wall designated for this purpose is basically full, so we’re trying to figure out how to add space for new visitors to leave their print, while also preserving the prints that have already been left. If you have any suggestions, or other comments about Crime in Miami, please leave them below.
-- Robert Harkins, Assistant Curator
