[ePub] Eight Girls Taking Pictures: A Novel by Whitney Otto at Arts-Photography

Review

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful. "Nothing is any one thing really. and isnt that the beauty of it all?"By Amelia GremelspacherAbove all this book is about the world of women in the arts. Otto introduces the reader to the world of photography and its inherent ambiguities. As a printed reflection of a moment in time. it would seem superficially to be more representative than other art forms. Yet we learn tha tphotography. as all art. is never just one thing.So it is with women divided between the traditional roles of helpmate. parent . and homemaker competing with the often selfish role of artist. The girls in the book are born into worlds from the early 1900s to the present. The cameras they use vary. The settings range from the farm to pre war Berlin. They are the proverbial free woman or wife and mother. But each must master the contradictions in their worlds. Reactions to photography can be extreme. given that the nudes are demonstrably real people. Otto does a good job of leaving some judgements for us to desolate for ourselves.Otto describes the worlds of these women in such a way that one can taste the internal conflict inherent in each. The first story presents a young mother. left to care for two children and a farm. while her narcissistic husband travels for his work. Her own photography is often caught in the bind despite her own superior credentials. I sighed. thinking here is the classic womans story. But Otto takes it quickly into her interior world and brought me in. Cymbeline. trained in Berlin. is the first cameo. and her views reappear through this book. I think that the vignettes set in pre WWII Berlin were most bewitching to me. The frisson between the exquisite glowing world of the growth of the arts and the looming of the Nazi end of it all. plays out in the world of the girls taking pictures.Otto notes that this is not biographical. but she did draw heavily on her researched stories of some prominent women photographers. The aesthetics she expresses read true and brought me to a new view of this art form. An interesting book to experience.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. AmbivalentBy Doug EarleReaders who dont know much about famous early photographers may find this a better read than I did. Though she used 8 women photographers as a starting place. the author made a decision to change their names. and some of their stories. as well as some. but not all. of the names of supporting characters. That was a mistake. in my opinion. one that detracted from enhancing the story and causing my to try to discern who it was that she was actually talking about and whether events actually happened. All in all. I had to work to finish it and was disappointed in the end that it wasnt a richer depiction of either history or character.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Mixed thoughts about this bookBy S. L. WatersShortly after reading a couple chapters I wanted to look for a biography and figure out where Whitney Otto was taking the story. The first two chapters. for me seemed to end abruptly leading to another unrelated story; or so I thought. Whitney however has done her homework and did thread these separate women in their chapter as the book moved pass the half-way point. There was one chapter that had me feel uncomfortable and I am not quite able to pinpoint why. Having been a stay at home mom and using my artistic endeavors. one being b/w photography. there was a connection I could relate to. Ms Otto did put into words. close to the end. much of how I felt during those years of what it was like to finding a balance of wife. mother and an individual with needs of my own.I jumped at a chance to read this book for Whitney Ottos "How to Make an American Quilt" has been one of my favorite reads about women of different ages and the support they give and receive from one another. It is about their stories of which are rich. dark or secret. but ultimately unique and have helped to create the woman they are at the time of the story. In stating this. Eight Girls Taking Pictures" has been woven in the same manner. I did recommend the book to a girlfriend and she was not crazy about it.