Contrapposto by Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is a fantastic writer, and I engaged with the story of Rob, nicknamed Cricket, throughout the novel. Cricket is a young boy when we first meet him, and by the end of the book, not only has he grown into an older, wiser man, but he has had an array of art experiences that we readers have had the opportunity to witness and contemplate. As a youngster, Cricket knew he had artistic talent but lacked a supportive family to nurture it. He searched for a parental figure throughout his childhood and young adulthood. He suffered many false starts and setbacks as he learned to navigate honing his artistic skills and employing them in the real world.
I didn’t like the Olympia character, the other protagonist, because of the way she treated Cricket. Still, I enjoyed reading about Cricket’s raw human reactions to her and the life lessons he might have learned from her exploits. Cricket meets Olympia when he is young, and although they have a lifelong relationship, she manipulates him while recognizing his great artistic talent. As her name suggests, Olympia is godlike in Cricket’s eyes, but she falls prey to many of the afflictions of mortal beings. He falls in love with her, but their relationship is on-again, off-again throughout their lives. Each time Cricket faced a crisis or transition in his life, Olympia was there to bluntly help him change course and navigate the world of art. Because Cricket continued to love her, she exercised uncanny control over him.
Although Olympia has access to money and an innate sense of historical and international art, Cricket, in contrast, is often more comfortable sketching and enjoying the process of being an artist without putting too much emphasis on making money. At times, he derives satisfaction from lettering signs and laying tiles in bathrooms, among other work that paid well but was not professional artwork. The effort to sell art in a complicated, sometimes corrupt art world often diminishes his joy in creating it. The complex worldwide art networks and questions regarding what constitutes art are overarching themes in the novel. Through an assortment of characters, Eggers explores the philosophy of classical art and how it compares to modern and abstract art. He also questions the authenticity of some conceptual and minimalist art. The storyline poses many questions about art: enrolling in college art programs, interning at galleries, using volunteer and paid models, attending and hosting ateliers, sponsoring gallery openings, marketing art, forging art, sharing responsibility for art production, shipping art, and so much more. In essence, the novel invites readers to consider art’s place in society as they follow the intertwined lives of Cricket, Olympia, and a diverse cast of characters who act as friends, mentors, clients, and more. Some are peripheral to art; others represent the multifaceted aspects of the commercial art business.
This book’s title is significant in summing up the plot and themes. Contrapposto refers to the human figure standing with most of its weight on one leg, as in Michelangelo’s David. Humans posing for artists play a significant role in this story, as Cricket has his first meaningful art lessons in a studio with human models and then returns to sketching humans at various crossroads in his life. As he ages, the use of models becomes more grounded in his chosen art, and the book’s ending reflects this practice in its treatment of his relationship with Olympia.
