Masks for Main Street

Once a week beginning in April 2020 I got into my car and headed out to make portraits. I set up in a small park off of Main St. in Catskill, NY and asked anyone who walked by if they would pose in their face coverings. Masks weren’t yet controversial, what they were was scarce. I soon realized the project was evolving and although I found it fascinating to see the ways people were covering up, I knew I could do more than be a mere witness.

In June, as masks continued to be scarce and were now growing controversial, I hung a selection of the images along with hand painted signs reading “I wear one for you” “will you wear one for me?” in an empty storefront window on Main Street. On the outer glass I placed hooks with bags of free masks that I had been sewing myself.

After nearly two years and over 2,000 masks, the hand painted signs, 5 framed portraits, and a few other bits of ephemera now reside in the archives of the New York State Museum in Albany, NY.