Art Talk

Photo by
Beth Yoon

Usually, as the art director of IF, I answer the question, why did I choose this photograph for the cover of this issue. This cover however, was shot by my own photographic eye, on a sunny day spent outside with my four year old son. As I watched him playing with his superman figure my mind traveled to the different characters that I played with as a child. I thought of how much they were a part of my life. I enjoyed watching my son learn some of life’s lessons from these little cartoon role models and then laughed as he raced around pretending to be his favorite “lightning McQueen”

When I am photographing my son, it always makes me think of how I am capturing that moment of his life in time. Part of that idea saddens me because this time is so fleeting and short and I am very aware that soon this little boy will only exist in these photos. That little boy will be gone and a man will take his place. The other part of me cannot wait to meet the man that he will become and see if I can spot a little “Superman” in his actions or even a bit of “Lightning McQueen” in the way he handles life.

We all collect bits and pieces from each of our role models and mentors that help us shape who we are and get us through the waves that life throws our way.