One of the more interesting books I finished lately is De Kooning's Bicycle about the group of artists (and writers) who made the East Hamptons their home. I really don't know much about art - I have no idea how or why I ended up this brain dead on the subject, but I'm sure I can blame my parents! I don't come from an art background, if that makes any sense. Most of the stuff on the walls in my house growing up was related to being Catholic (the Sacred Heart, Last Supper and Crucifixes aplenty), the Montreal Canadians (only hockey team that matters) or family pictures in cheap plastic frames. I can't remember the first time I realized that there was any kind of art other than the stuff you bought in Kmart. I don't think I'm unusual in this respect - when you don't have a lot of money and you live in small town Florida, there aren't a lot of opportunities to appreciate "Great Art". It seems like there should be though - there should be some way for kids to learn about this stuff or at least get a chance to see pictures of famous artworks or read about famous artists. It's not that I think this is a subject that is more important than any other, I just think it is one that is underrepresented in public schools. In my elementary art classes (which were once a week), we learned to draw cats and dogs. Yeah - it was a real life changing hour.

So, I don't know beans about Bill De Kooning or Jackson Pollock or anyone else mentioned in the book (Jean Stafford, Frank O'Hara, etc.) De Kooning's Bicycle is interesting as it is written primarily as fiction - the author climbs inside the heads of real people and tries to convey what they think about their lives and work. It might be uncomfortable reading for people who are familiar with these folks, but I found it to be fascinating. More importantly, it made me want to learn more about them, something that I would not have even know how to do before I read it. In fact, when we were in Powells the other day I saw a children's books about Pollock, Action Jackson. I picked it up out of my own curiousity, but also so I could read it to my son. I already have an amazing kids' book about Frida Kahlo, and it seems that this one will fit right in with a slowly growing collection.

I'd just like him to know what is out there - the kind of work that these artists have done. He might not like it all, but at least he will know it is there. I'm 30 years behind him on that score, but I want to learn too - I want to know what I've missed.

I'll be reviewing De Kooning in the next month or so. Lots of new reviews coming out in Bookslut and Eclectica in January - I'm very jazzed about Unembedded - photos from the Iraq War. It's a hard one to look at, but amazing work. We should all celebrate amazing work more, don't you think? We should try to appreciate what talented people have been able to do.