Pac Man

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

A massive Pac-Man costume glides through the darkness of the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, its wide-open mouth and singular eye serving as a bold, geometric centerpiece for this black-and-white composition. Shot between 1982 and 1986 with a 35mm Pentax, the image utilizes the distinctive texture of Tri-X film to capture the contrast between the stark white costume and the shadowy, bustling New York City streets. A portable commercial flash cuts through the night, illuminating the participant's arms and the smooth surface of the oversized puppet while creating soft, blurred circles of light in the background. This high-contrast black-and-white frame documents the early intersection of video game culture and street theater, reflecting the playful and inventive spirit that the parade encouraged during the mid-eighties.