Girl with Pumpkin, Louisiana, 2004
Photograph by Ken Kochey
In New Orleans, a young girl in a Halloween dress struggles to lift a large pumpkin. The tradition of carving pumpkins during Halloween began in the United Kingdom, where for centuries people cut scary faces into potatoes, turnips, and even large beets to dissuade evil spirits from entering their homes. Early European immigrants to America made these so-called jack-o'-lanterns from pumpkins, which are indigenous to North America and make an ideal canvas for such carved art.
