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A review by terriep
Self-Portrait with Boy by Rachel Lyon
3.0
This book was a surprise. Recommended by a friend, I had no idea what to expect and isn't that the fun of a new book/author? It appealed to me on several levels - the moral dilemma is intriguing (what would I do if.....?), the lonesome, loner main character was sad but intriguing, and the artistic backdrop and setting was interesting because of my own artistic endeavors.
"You know, I said, since the medium was invented, photography has been undervalued, thought of as a second-rate art form. People tend not to understand the technique involved. We can see the artistry in an excellent painting, can see it in the brushstrokes. In a photograph, the artist's touch is more invisible. Part of is is also that the nature of the photograph is to exist in multiples. The value of a painting or a sculpture is higher because there is just one painting, one sculpture in the world. Dealers can sell it for all this money because it's one-of-a-kind. Because a photograph can be reproduced again and again its value is inherently lower."
"When he (the professor) said, 'an accident is just a change of course', I got it. He meant the grace in making art is being alive to chance. 'When you make a mistake, make it again', he'd say. 'There are only happy accidents'". That is, until the accident that affects the rest of her life occurs......
Well written, smoothly flowing, well developed main characters, a recommended read - could be a good book club story.
"You know, I said, since the medium was invented, photography has been undervalued, thought of as a second-rate art form. People tend not to understand the technique involved. We can see the artistry in an excellent painting, can see it in the brushstrokes. In a photograph, the artist's touch is more invisible. Part of is is also that the nature of the photograph is to exist in multiples. The value of a painting or a sculpture is higher because there is just one painting, one sculpture in the world. Dealers can sell it for all this money because it's one-of-a-kind. Because a photograph can be reproduced again and again its value is inherently lower."
"When he (the professor) said, 'an accident is just a change of course', I got it. He meant the grace in making art is being alive to chance. 'When you make a mistake, make it again', he'd say. 'There are only happy accidents'". That is, until the accident that affects the rest of her life occurs......
Well written, smoothly flowing, well developed main characters, a recommended read - could be a good book club story.