I am very curious about Georgia O'Keeffe. I have always been drawn to her colors and her abstract images - and some of her realism as well (think bones). What I liked most about this engaging and, yes, quirky biography was the author's voice. Reading this book felt like I was visiting with two good friends - Georgia and Karen. We were revisiting parts of our lives together and reviewing what avenues and adventures were most memorable and most satisfying. Don't get me wrong. Karbo did not write an autobiography within a biography. It's just that her occasional personal references make me interested in knowing her as well as reading Georgia's story. For example, check this out:
"Sublimation is a powerful thing. ....it'll never let you down. Are most of us not, at least some of the time, frustrated by our jobs, disappointed by our mates, envious of the slim-ass receptionist at the gym? The good news is we needn't fix anything. We need not get another job, a divorce, or strangle the receptionist while she is restocking the towels. We need only start a blog." (pg 78)
Karbo's style is accessible. She is able to bring Georgia into the room with us and we chat about Georgia's family history, her loves, our shared appreciation for art. Karbo covers the different professional and personal paths of Georgia's life. We learn about what Georgia valued as well as what games she had to play in order to be taken seriously as a female artist in the male dominated art world. Georgia knew she needed to shout in order to be heard and her early abstract expressionist work was nothing if not bold. As Karbo tells us, "Georgia's idea was simple: make it big and people will have to look."
One word: Captivating
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| My own homage to Georgia |
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| More homage to Georgia |
