Representation and objects: lots of stuff going on there, lots of potential for misunderstanding. All paintings are representations of something, whether it's an emotion or just a bowl of pears sitting on a table. In this book, there is a lot of debate about how the world is and how it should be. Asher tries to represent things as he sees them instead of as they really are: he paints his mother on a crucifix and his classmates in the underworld. Naturally, Asher's representations don't exactly go over well with the people who don't share his view of the world.
Questions About Imagination versus Reality
- If Asher is such a gifted artist, why does he struggle so much to accurately "capture" the people he paints?
- Can any work of art represent the world 100% accurately?
- What are the upsides and downsides to trusting your imagination too much? What about clinging too closely to reality?
- Can painting still tell us something about the world, even if all paintings don't necessarily look like the things they represent?
Chew on This
In his paintings, Asher Lev often struggles to distinguish between representing things as they are and representing things as he sees them.
My Name Is Asher Lev shows us that imagination can be a very powerful but also very damaging thing.