New Height Books

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Art and Choice

Posted by cappy on October 21st, 2007

The plot of Crosspoints is a love affair between an artist and an archaeologist. The archaeologist, our heroine, is enthralled by the sense of life of the ancient Greek culture, with the hero worship and the pedastool upon which they placed Man. The artist, Leon, once held to those same ideals, but is now an abstract, cynical money-maker.

The book follows the two as each person's chosen art form directly affects their relationships and actions, and how art is a consequence of philosophy. The novel serves as an excellent case study of the importance of art in Man's life, and how, much like in romantic relationships, the art you love is a direct reflection of your love (or lack) of yourself. I would recommend it, firstly, to any Objectivist or art lover with a head on his shoulders, and secondly to any one else. The first group would thoroughly enjoy it, and everyone else would learn a great deal from it.

Besides the broader issues of love and art in general, the novel also delves into the rebirth of Romantic Realism, the contemporary art scene and its corrupt and malleable nature, Greek art history, etc. But above all, as the subtitle suggests, it is a novel of choice. It is a novel based on the concept that individuals have choices to make that affect the rest of their lives, and only they can claim responsibility for their actions, and only they can undo the damage of irrational choices.

I did find a few faults in the book. Not philosophical flaws, no, but rather little things that bothered me. First was the author's tendency to switch point-of-views quickly and many times within a single section or chapter. Early on we bounce back and forth between five individuals several times, each POV beginning with each new paragraph. But this only happened a few times, and was hard, but not impossible to follow.

Secondly was the constant harping on "commercialism" and how the art world is corrupted by the desire to satisfy the market demands rather than create what they really love. Commercialism itself comes across as the enemy from time to time, though I don't really think the author meant this. If we integrate these instances with the theme of the novel, one would realize that she is criticizing artists for not choosing, but rather allowing the market to choose for them.

Besides those minor annoyances, the book was excellent and tough to put down. Despite my recently hectic schedule and the fact that I'm reading two other books, I finished Crosspoints in just two weeks.