The images within this piece were purposely chosen to convey a specific environmental message. The moth juxtaposing the smokestacks illustrates the divergence between the natural world and man’s synthetic world. Man is constantly attempting to control and mold the planet to fit his own selfish desires instead of establishing a balance between natural and industrial entities. Consequently, future generations—represented by the silhouette of a sitting child—will be left to deal with the aftermath of their ancestors. This conflict is further stressed by the position of the images of the sitting child. These silhouettes are intentionally placed between the moth and the smokestack to suggest that it is the children who will pay most for the burden resulting from this mistreatment of the environment. Finally, the stature of most of the childlike silhouettes is considerably smaller than that of the moth and smokestack in order to demonstrate the immensity of this problem and its potential affect on future generations.
Overall, the orientation of the dominant, subordinate, and accentual shapes, and the inclusion of large positive and negative elements create a composition full of movement. The dominant shape within this piece is one of the moth silhouettes located asymmetrically in the upper portion of the page. It first pulls the viewer’s eye within the piece. Once drawn in, the eye naturally flows from the wings of the moth to the children tumbling off into the distance. Ultimately, the viewer is taken fully around the page by the curve of the moth’s antenna and the angles formed by the smokestacks. Although not similar in size, the negative and positive spaces balance well within the piece, while still causing the eye to move freely throughout this rectilinearly framed space.