Stephen Perloff There is a grittiness to some of the essays in black and white I mentioned elsewhere. Here that grittiness is maintained and enhanced by a lurid and vibrant color that brings these miners' bodies to life while maintaining the sense of their difficult and dangerous labor. There is hard work, routine, strain, comradery, and an elemental humanity in their work.
Push the trolley into the pit, push the trolley full of carbon to the miners, strengthen the safety of the tunnel, repair the coal mining equipment, and then rest. Although the coal miners worked hard, they always wear a resolute smile. A day for a coal miner is the epitome of our ordinary lives.
