"Mommy" by N, Chicago, digital photography

Children don’t question technology. It would be as if I questioned the existence of the phonograph or rubber tires in my childhood. They were simply there as they always had been; I had no concept of what life was like before. But N proves us wrong with this snarky image, shot – savor the delicious irony, here – with a digital camera. Taken purposely at eye level, N shows us what she sees, and it’s not pretty. An arm extends into the frame/computer screen holding the faceless child in an utterly loveless pose -- as if it’s being propped up like a hero trout for approval by all those essential new “buddies” on MyFacebooks. Yet by leaving things slightly out of focus, the artist has given each of us just the chemicals needed to bring our own clarity to the story. Will we venture into the darkroom? Or go on drifting in cyberspace. LOL!