Light my fire.

21.5 x 27 cm
Found photograph, tape and found paper from a book cover

Note about image: The bluish edge on the right side of the
image is the scanner bed.
The photographic image hangs over the edge of the paper.

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Oh, smoking...

This is one topic that really gets people riled up. As of January 1st, smoking is no longer legal in bars and restaurants in Germany and France. The two last strong holds in Europe who have attempted to refute this law. It has cramped a lot of people's style here in Europe - to say the least. It is true that Europe has been synonymous with a certain sort of smokey appeal - at least for Americans - for a good long while. On the one hand, I am quite relieved that the law has passed and people are more or less abiding ... and I do mean more or less.

But, then there is Marlene Dietrich and her cigar - in one of my favorite movies of all time, A Touch of Evil (1958), by Orson Wells.



All of that said, I found the image for today's collage in a photo album which was dedicated to a wedding reception. This image alone makes me love the smokey allure I mentioned above. There can be a seductive element to smoking, of course, and I do think this image captures that feeling.



Album cover (gotta love it)

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A few years ago I was living with a young Irish lass here in Berlin and one night she was getting ready to go out on the town with her friends. I think she was 23 at the time. Her skirt was as big as a postage stamp - I really felt like her (much) older sister when I asked her if she was comfortable in her outfit (because I wouldn't have been)..."oh yes", she nodded her head coyly and smiled at me. I had to laugh. She then went on to tell me about her favorite part of the evening...when she would go out of the club "to get some fresh air" and have a smoke. I said, "Wait you don't smoke!". She replied, "oh I know, but this is the sure way to meet boys." She went on to say that she would have cigarettes but make sure not to have a lighter. While outside, she would find the most attractive looking boy possible, stand near him, and put a cigarette between her lips and start searching in her (microscopic) hand-bag for a lighter (which of course she knew she didn't have). Invariably, the young man would offer her a light which would also offer her a chance to have a flirt. I loved her unabashed method.
I am sure it all had something to do with the size of her skirt...