Earthquake

16x20 inch Black & White print on Epson Art Cotton Smooth 250 gram paper. From the NYC Village Halloween Parade, 1982–86.

In this striking black-and-white frame from the mid-1980s Village Halloween Parade, two women stagger under the immense architectural weight of a crumbling Greek pediment. Shot on a 35mm Pentax with the classic, textured grain of Tri-X film, the image captures a living ruin, likely representing the Parthenon or a similar temple of antiquity. On the left, the woman's face is etched with a palpable sense of pain and agony as she struggles to balance the massive, ornate column on her head, her expression a testament to the physical toll of New York City street performance. Beside her, a man in a leather jacket leans in, seemingly exhausted himself, as he prepares to rest his head on the shoulder of the second caryatid. The sharp, high-contrast pop of a Norman 200B flash isolates these weary figures against the pitch-black Greenwich Village night, transforming a moment of theatrical costume into a visceral display of endurance and artistic dedication.