The Capture of Our Young

Gloucester Township, NJ

I used this image this past winter. It was of a birch tree in the snow (see image 2/12/07). Today I wondered how it would look as one of my abstract bark series. I began to rework it from one of the original images I had saved on the computer. I cropped to a more square shape. Brightened it, darkened it, took all color out until I began to see black lines and white swatches. You can still see the birch, but now I began to think of three tall cigarettes. The one on the right keeps staring toward the viewer. Way below the dark ring at the top I see an eye with a dark slash of a brow. A side profile. The cigarette standing tall, challenging me. To the left is a second one here the eye is not as prominent as the one on the right but its still there. In the middle is a third one and if you look real careful a bunny trapped in its grasp. This is our young trapped and caught by cigarettes.

Thirty-four years ago I quit smoking. It was the best thing I ever did. A few days ago I watched as two teenage girls walked down the street. One had a cigarette in her hand and wondered why? It came to me that whether it was thirty years ago or yesterday, somehow society has made it seen cool to smoke.