mad things

One week later the pumpkins are starting to show decay.

I was wrong about the jack o’ lantern display in my neighborhood. They actually put the pumpkins out on Halloween and leave them up throughout November.

Check out the Kane Street Pumpkins for yourself.

Did you know that originally, Jack o’ lanterns were were made from turnips and potatoes in Ireland? History.com has a fun section on the history of Jack o’ lanterns and Halloween.

In my neighborhood, every October someone would carve out a ton of baby pumpkins and impale them on their cast iron fence. As the month went on, the grinning or grimacing pumpkins would decay into shrunken heads. I went by there this evening to take some new photos but alas, no pumpkins. However, my friend Steve took a bunch of great photos last year. Here’s some old photos of the pumpkins during the middle of their decomposition:

Some jack o’ lanterns found on the web:

Gourds in Hell

Got the munchies

Crazy intricate Death Star

Some fun jack o’ lantern galleries:

Jack o’ Lanterns
Geeky Jack o’ Lanterns

Tips to carve your own:

Pumpkin-carving.com
Walt’s Pumpkin Carving Secrets
Pumpkin Masters

This weekend hundreds of Brooklyn artists open their studios to general public. Be sure to visit our friend LJ’s studio this weekend at A.G.A.S.T. I love her work and wish I had lots of money and wall space because I would buy her entire Lock Series.