Skull Couple

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

Captured during the NYC Village Halloween Parade between 1982 and 1986, this black-and-white 35mm frame features a pair of revelers in elegant, do-it-yourself skeleton attire. The figure on the left is adorned with a skull mask crowned by a lush bouquet of roses, while delicate skeleton earrings dangle prominently from their ears, matching the skeletal motif on their sweater. Their companion, dressed in a sharp suit and tie, wears a coordinating mask and a classic hat, holding a small book that continues the macabre theme. A powerful professional strobe light pierces the night, casting a crisp glow on the subjects and revealing a man at the far right edge of the frame, his face partially cut by the composition as he stares directly at the lens. This high-contrast shot freezes a moment of artistic, street-level creativity that defined the Greenwich Village festivities of the mid-eighties.