Art has Power

           Throughout her work, Bechdel continually alludes the role of art in her and her family’s lives. Art plays an exceptional role Bechdel’s life, and in each member of her family’s lives as well. Her mother is an actress and a musician. Her father loves to repurpose furniture and decorate. Even though she doesn’t directly state it, her illustrations on page 138 allude to her brother’s respective loves for music and model airplanes. Bechdel, throughout her memoir, stresses the importance and the dangers of art in one’s life and draws the reader’s attention toward the power that art can play in shaping who somebody becomes. 

            Primarily, Bechdel discusses how art led to the distancing and isolation of her family. She writes, “It’s childish, perhaps, to grudge them the sustenance of their creative solitude. But it was all that sustained them, and was thus all-consuming. From their example I learned quickly to feed myself. It was a vicious circle, though. The more gratification we found in our own geniuses, the more isolated we grew” (137-138). Bechdel’s family becomes so lost in their respective creative escapes that they inadvertently become very isolated from one another. It seems that while Bechdel greatly appreciated her ability to be artistic as a child, she also saw the ways in which art took a toll on her family unit. She goes on to say, “our home was like an artists’ colony. We ate together, but otherwise were absorbed in our separate pursuits” (138). Art served a very important role in the lives of the Bechdels. However, it also became a way for them to isolate themselves. Alison Bechdel warns her readers of the dangers that becoming too isolated can have in these art related scenes, prompting her readers to think critically about how and why they participate in art the way they do. 

            Later, however, Bechdel seems to indicate that art can also be very unifying. Towards the end of her memoir she discusses how she and her father bonded over the books they read. When she was in his English class during high school, she recalls that “sometimes it was as if dad and I were the only ones in the room. The sensation of intimacy was novel. I think we were both starved for attention” (203). While in this instance, Bechdel and her father are not creating art, they are bonding over their consumption of it. This continues throughout her college career and even leads to them sharing books with one another that greatly impact how they see the other person (209). Earlier, Bechdel warned against the isolating dangers that art can have, but here, she draws the reader’s attention to the power that art possesses in bringing people together. Without their respective love for books, Bechdel and her father may never have had the relationship that they did. Bechdel clearly shows her readers the power that art can have, for better or for worse, encouraging critical thinking about the role of art in one’s life.

            While reading this book and writing this blog post, I couldn’t help but think about the role that art played in my service-learning experience last week. Xavier and I had been proofreading a Spanish essay and creating citations for the better part of forty-five minutes, and I could tell he was ready to be done. I quickly asked him what his other assignments were for the week and he told that all he had left to do was his art project. I was intrigued, considering the kids are learning remotely right now, about what his art project entailed, so I asked. We then talked for fifteen minutes about Xavier’s love for art class as he showed me all the projects he had done so far this year. My favorite was a drawing of a hand, holding up a peace sign, surrounded by a big blue and green globe. Though it was only a small interaction, it brought a smile to my face to see how passionate he was about art. In that moment, art brought us together. Despite the technological, socio-economic, and age divide between us, we bonded over his drawings and the power of art in his life.