ARLENE GOTTFRIED – MIDNIGHT

Posted on 2022-02-07

Midnight became my friend in the summer of 1984. Handsome, friendly, and fun to be with, Midnight invited me to an underground Lower East Side club where he was performing a dance to the beat of drums and the poetry of Miguel Algarín and Miguel Piñero. We went to places like Coney Island and the Staten Island Ferry; I took photographs, and he seemed very comfortable.

Midnight had so many colorful stories to tell for such a young person. Ismael, his real name, had only occasionally seen his father. He and his sister, Margie, were raised by a Black woman they called Mommie Margaret. He ran away from home at the age of thirteen. To survive on his own, he became involved in hustling on the streets. He worked at odd jobs and traveled (mostly by bus) to cities all across the United States. Ismael did time in prison and he may have even robbed a bank.

Exhibition runs through to March 5th, 2022

Daniel Cooney Fine Art
508 – 526 West 26th Street
New York
NY 10001

www.danielcooneyfineart.com

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