Tuesday, December 15, 2020 - City facades: Williamsburg’s Havemeyer & South 2nd.

I was sitting inside Blue Collar burger waiting for a veggie burger and french fries; and also waiting for tomorrow’s snowstorm, which I knew was aways away. First would come today’s lunch, followed by tomorrow’s snow. This afternoon in Williamsburg was the calm before the storm; and in this regard, it did not disappoint. Clear blue skies. The temperature n the mid-to-high thirties. And a humidity in the air that –––– despite the cold –––– felt a bit like a July afternoon.

Although tomorrow’s snow wasn’t in sight, it’s approach could be felt all the same. As I was sitting inside Blue Collar for a while, and waiting, the sight of the two red buildings in the first panel of this triptych caught my eye. It wasn’t just that they were boarded up, but even more so, the fresh look of the paint on these two buildings ––– fire engine red and basking in the glow of the mid-afternoon sun. Who knows how long their window frames had been boarded up for? Since November’s election? Since the protests broke out in May? Since Covid’s arrival in March? Or even before?

One thing I learned this year, more than any other, is the fallacy of time. With enough research and investigation ––––– knocking on the right doors, and making a few phone calls here and there –––– eventually, I could find out when, and why, these windows were boarded up. Then from there, I could go down the list: Time. Date. And rationale –––– check. But what would this solve? And who would it serve? The photographs speak of Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 2:02pm. Any added facts would just be that, facts. They wouldn’t take anything away from these photographs; though they wouldn’t add anything either.