seven

Cigarette butts are probably not art. But they are everywhere. Even on a campus that prides itself on sustainability, efficacy, and worldliness, these little pieces of trash are everywhere. But they're more than trash. It's a living, unintentional work of community art that is added to and subtracted from every day. The presence of these things speaks to our own sense of entitlement as well as laziness and a disregard for our own health. There are cigarette disposal bins on the side of literally every building.  So why do they all end up on the ground? And it's not just here. Cigarette butts have become a fixture of the American landscape. If Thomas Cole was alive today, I'm sure they'd be included in his paintings.