Hearts on Our Sleeves

"Diane Keaton on Photography," a lovely little essay written by novelist Larry McMurtry about his friend and her photo book projects, for the New York Review of Books.

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Mike (Thanks to David E.)

Comments

[Stan B.]

Shame he didn't mention her own photo monograph- Reservations. A little gem of a sleeper that when looking back seems to have set quite the trend for countless imitations (albeit in color).

[John Roberts]

I once flipped through Diane Keaton's photo book, "Reservations", at the library. The book contained photos of old hotels in the Miami area. I remember thinking as I looked through the book that the only reason it got published was because the photographer was the famous actress Diane Keaton. If the same photos had been made by Mary Smith, a housewife from Tampa, they would have been written off as snapshots, and never made it past the publisher's receptionist. But because they were made by a famous actress, they automatically attained the status of "Art", and were published in a book.

[John DM]

Yes, others take photos the equal of Keaton's, but that's not the point. Keaton's snapshots have greater meaning than Mary Smith's of Tampa because we're more interested in what she chooses to express. Art is communication that requires 'listening', and we listen first and best to those we've elevated above the throng.