I can’t shake this picture from my mind today. Last night we heard Barack Obama and John McCain squabble over the fate of Joe the Plumber and his American Dream and today I saw this image and felt it said a whole lot more than about what Americans want than either candidate.

Here is the little space we all want to call our own—our own comfortable, clean, and not too extravagant house with our own backyard grill with heavy duty plated steel cooking grate, 18.5 inch diameter grilling area, and limited warranty nestled in the corner of our own 10 x 20 foot cement patio constructed by father and son one sweltering summer Sunday afternoon to the tune of Willy Nelson on the stereo (“LB + DA” carved with a heart in the corner), all planted right in the middle of our own patch of well tended, lush, and fertilized land, which despite the disagreeable climate and a 9-5 job, we’ve managed to keep alive.

Angie Smith’s work is currently on display at the Bond Street Gallery as part of the exhibition Revisiting America.