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 Read Chapter One of Flying Colors
Buy Flying Colors at Amazon.com
Flying Colors ÷ A New Book by A·R·T Founder
and Director, Tim Lefens, is drawing rave reviews from all quarters.
Subtitled The Story of a Remarkable Group of Artists and the Transcendent
Power of Art, and published by Beacon Press, it arrives in bookstores
nation-wide in September and is available through internet booksellers.
The book has already been called "a riveting narrative," "deeply moving,"
and "unsparing and inspiring." It has been selected by Reader's Digest
for both a magazine excerpt and a condensed book offering. Click on
the "next page" link below to learn more about the book, about Tim
Lefens, and to view work by all seven of the artists featured in the
book.
Reviews
"This is a story of courage and possibilities--and of the power of art to transform the lives of its creators. . . . a riveting narrative . . . Students soon expressed their own styles freely--as inviduals and as artists--and Lefens invites the reader to become acquainted with each. The results of his efforts were far-reaching...Most important, they ignited a passion for art that gave new meaning to the lives of each students as well as to their teacher, who eventually revealed his own personal affliction of deteriorating eyesight. This is a unique look at not only the power of art but also the triumph of the human spirit despite intense obstacles."
Library Journal, August Issue
"Lefens weaves his own story--his initial struggles to develop his own abstract style, his own degenerative visual condition--into the narrative, and although the transitions are often abrupt and the voice sometimes harsh and posturing, the vivid detail, sharp insights, and fierce, unsentimental enthusiasm balance the story. A deeply moving account of overcoming limitations and of the redemptive power of skilled creative expression."
Booklist 8/1/2002
"Thanks to Tim Lefens for capturing the amazing spirit of a group of youth the world thought could not succeed, and for illuminating, as well, the power art still has in a world where healing is all too often impersonal and reductive. This book is a keeper."
Lauren Slater
"In the early '90s, Lefens, a painter, goes to the Matheny School for students with cerebral palsy and other disabilities to show slides of his work. As this intensely moving memoir shows, he becomes obsessed with finding ways to help students, who are in wheelchairs and have no use of their arms or hands, learning to express themselves, devising methods that allow them the freedom to paint. . . His students thrive: some begin speaking more frequently; others experience improvements in their physical well-being. . . . There are obstacles along the way: it is a struggle to get A·R·T funded; dismissive sentimentalism
(and even resentment) is often shown by teachers, administrators, social workers and therapists confronting the work and students. Lefens writes simply and clearly throughout, remaining focused on the students and the task at hand. 'The idea,' he tells them, 'is not to struggle to dot things the way that able-bodied people do. The idea is to make art."
Publishers Weekly, June 24, 2002
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