A gritty portrayal of the 1980s Lower East Side
- Text by Shelley Jones
- Photography by Ken Schles
Long before Taylor was the ambassador of the big apple and she welcomed us all to New York to reinvent ourselves, America’s premier city was a bit of a mad land (don’t believe me? Just check out these testimonials on Quora).
Poverty, drugs and crime were kinda big and the streets were kind of gnarly. But New York was photographer Ken Schles’ muse. Born in Brooklyn in 1960, Ken moved into an apartment on Avenue B in the East Village in 1983 and began shooting his surroundings.
“His windows were boarded up because his landlord said that junkies could steal the gates with a crowbar. This worked to Schles’s advantage – he set up a darkroom,” says the Howard Greenberg Gallery, who are presenting his current exhibition Night Walk. “Life moved at a tumultuous pace. Downstairs, a woman with three kids was a heroin addict and dealers used her apartment as a shooting gallery. The city shut down the boiler in the building, which was spewing carbon monoxide. With scenes like this playing out daily right outside his doorstep, Schles found gripping subject matter in and around the neighbourhood.”
In 1988 Ken published what would become a cult classic book of photography called Invisible City. Now, twenty-five years later, that book is being reissued with a brand new companion book Night Walk, culled from work in his archive and described as “a narrative of lost youth: a delirious, peripatetic walk in the evening air of an irretrievable downtown New York as he saw and experienced it”.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
Is the UK ready for a Kabaddi boom?
Kabaddi, Kabaddi, Kabaddi — Watched by over 280 million in India, the breathless contact sport has repeatedly tried to grip British viewers. Ahead of the Kabaddi World Cup being held in Wolverhampton this month, Kyle MacNeill speaks to the gamechangers laying the groundwork for a grassroots scene.
Written by: Kyle MacNeill
One photographer’s search for her long lost father
Decades apart — Moving to Southern California as a young child, Diana Markosian’s family was torn apart. Finding him years later, her new photobook explores grief, loss and connection.
Written by: Miss Rosen
As DOGE stutters, all that remains is cringe
Department of Gargantuan Egos — With tensions splintering the American right and contemporary rap’s biggest feud continuing to make headlines, newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains how fragile male egos stand at the core of it all.
Written by: Emma Garland
Photo essay special: Despite pre-Carnival anxiety, Mardi Gras 2025 was a joyous release for New Orleans
A city celebrates — Following a horrific New Year’s Day terror attack and forecasts for extreme weather, the Louisiana city’s marquee celebration was pre-marked with doubt. But the festival found a city in a jubilant mood, with TBow Bowden there to capture it.
Written by: Isaac Muk
From his skating past to sculpting present, Arran Gregory revels in the organic
Sensing Earth Space — Having risen to prominence as an affiliate of Wayward Gallery and Slam City Skates, the shredder turned artist creates unique, temporal pieces out of earthly materials. Dorrell Merritt caught up with him to find out more about his creative process.
Written by: Dorrell Merritt
In Bristol, pub singers are keeping an age-old tradition alive
Ballads, backing tracks, beers — Bar closures, karaoke and jukeboxes have eroded a form of live music that was once an evening staple, but on the fringes of the southwest’s biggest city, a committed circuit remains.
Written by: Fred Dodgson