Rattlesnake is a poignant meditation on extinction and loss. The combined impact of environmental devastation and the annihilation of indigenous peoples and cultures imbue Nicole Foran’s 2008 collage with a haunting quality, and a tangible sense of guilt, thanks to her personal contribution to environmental destruction – the paper waste inherent to her creation. The artist unites her acknowledged fascination with romanticized old West imagery, her concern for ecological destruction, and her artistic talent to create a chilling depiction of life after ecological death. Shown recently as part of the “Wild Culture: Ecological Perspectives” art exhibit at the Roy C. Moore Gallery in Georgia, Rattlesnake hums with symbolism and a longing for all that is past. Rattlesnake, Nicole Foran’s 2008 collage of aqua print paper and ribbon, exhibited recently as part of the “Wild Culture: Ecological Perspectives” art show at the Roy C. Moore Gallery in Georgia. It is part of the artist’s Recycled Stories project that included works from 2007 through 2010. In Rattlesnake, Foran seeks to “…come to terms with the paper waste involved in art-making” (Foran, 2007). To this end, Foran employs images of environmental destruction, extinction, and indigenous animal and vegetation symbolism to evoke a longing for all that has been lost, and to highlight the implicit guilt of those who have done nothing to arrest its departure, or worse, have hastened it (Foran, 2007). Analysis Rattlesnake is 30 by 44 inches, oblong, with deliberate and careful use of color contrast that pulls the viewer towards the violent, bloody sunset at the center-right of the canvas. In Rattlesnake, color tells a story. That which is dead – the buffalo – is far more splendid and colorful than that which is alive – the rattlesnake and the cactus. In fact, the buffalo and the sunset comprise the only real color in the piece. The moon is a cold, grayish orb that evokes nuclear winter. The pale cactus barely registers as flora. The rattlesnake has completely faded. Foran’s conscious use of color creates a glorious past, contrasted with a jealous present. Similarly, barren, bleached grays, blues, and browns dominate Rattlesnake’s landscape. Color in this way indicates desertification and underscores Foran’s ecological concerns. Balance underpins Foran’s thesis that the present feels bereft, ecologically speaking, and so gazes longingly towards the brilliant past. The five objects – the sun, the buffalo, the sunset, the cactus, and the rattlesnake – are carefully grouped to create the vastest possible distances between each. This spacing creates a narrative, namely, that these distances can never be overcome. The one exception to the otherwise extensive use of space – the proximity of the rattlesnake to the cactus – conveys a different meaning, one that will be covered in depth in the interpretation section. Emphasis and size play a large role in conveying Foran’s message also. She has situated the primary focal point, the sunset, center right, and made it the largest element of the piece. The sunset plays a dual role in the work. First, in its traditional symbolic manifestation, the sunset represents the inevitabil