AA-2026-FE9819
On the image
A clear plastic bag with printed text snared on a branch of a birch tree stands as an accidental monument to the moment when convenient disposability became an unintended permanent feature of the landscape. The tree, bare except for lichen and thin winter twigs, frames the bag like a specimen under glass—something caught and displayed without ceremony or choice. This is what the 1970s promised: packaging so light it could go anywhere, so cheap it could be abandoned anywhere, so durable it would never rot. The photographer has aimed upward into hard blue sky and caught the exact moment when the public realized that 'away' was not a place but a feature of every forest, every intersection, every piece of open ground. The bag will outlive the tree. No one placed it there as art or criticism; it simply blew there while someone did not think about it.
Visually related — by likeness
Plastic Bag in Tree, circa 1970s-1980s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-FE9819. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/plastic-bag-in-tree-circa-1970s-1980s.
@misc{aaAA2026FE9819,
title = {Plastic Bag in Tree, circa 1970s-1980s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-FE9819},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/plastic-bag-in-tree-circa-1970s-1980s}
}TY - ART TI - Plastic Bag in Tree, circa 1970s-1980s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-FE9819 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/plastic-bag-in-tree-circa-1970s-1980s ER -
From the community
Identifications, corrections, and discussion from readers — reviewed by a librarian before appearing here.
Sign in to add an identification, correction, or comment.
No notes yet — be the first to add what you know about this image.