I am haunted by this picture by legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith, "The Walk To Paradise Garden." Taken in 1946, the subjects in the photo are Smith's own children. He took this photo after he was wounded in World War II, where he took compelling pictures on the front lines. He had returned to his family in upstate New York and, in his words, felt he "needed to make a photograph that was the opposite of war."There is so much to say about this photo, which so beautifully conveys the innocence of childhood, our spiritual connection to nature, and the eternity of the moment. For now, let me focus on something simpler, the shoes that the little girl is wearing.
© The Heirs of Eugene W. Smith
I wanted to get some clunky, old-fashioned shoes just like these for my youngest daughter. I wanted red ones, because I think they are the most special. But I had a hard time parting with the money (they're fairly expensive) and kept putting it off. Finally, I decided to take the plunge and took her to the shoe store. I learned that they only went up to a certain size, and that her feet were already too big to fit into them. For me, this photograph reminds me of those shoes, and the evanescence of childhood.
*****
Thinking about your children and your loved ones growing older is enough to cause a grown woman to break down in a dressing room at Macy's when "Toyland" comes on the radio. Yes, I was that woman this past Christmas while visiting my mom. We were in the Houston Galleria, a place more abundant with fashionistas than sentimental train wrecks. My mom, returning to the dressing room with a new outfit for me to try on, was surprised to find me in tears.
With mascara streaming down my face, I laughed as I tried to explain what had caused me to fall apart. "It's the line--`once you pass its borders you can never return again.'"
She just didn't get it. "Do you want to go back to `Toyland?'" she asked me, with a bemused smile.
Posts
That was such a beautiful posting. Lately, I've also been noticing how quickly time happens and yet the memories of what were remain. With my ailing father, we have passed some borders as I never in my wildest imagination thought there would be a time when our roles would reverse. "Once you past its borders you can never return" is so true about so many things be it childhood, heartache, or illness. Cherish the moments and if the tears come, allow them. They are tears of life. :-)
ReplyDeleteStacy Keane
"Walk to Paradise Garden" has long been my favorite Smith photograph--thanks for posting it!
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you were aware of this, but "Paradise Garden" was actually Smith's very first image since shell fragments ended the war for him during coverage of yet another of many allied invasions he photographed in the Pacific, nearly two years before.
He almost lost his eyesight due to those injuries, and wrote that he was "Determined that (this image) would speak of a gentle moment of spirited purity in contrast to the depraved savagery I had raged against with my war photographs".
Ron
I have seen this picture before in passing..and it always reminded me of my cousin who passed away as a child.The little girl looks like his sister who wore a dress just like the one in the picture.Ive never had a chance to read the name untill today.Eugene was also my cousins name.This picture warms my heart.
ReplyDelete