Harry N. Abrams, 2007
When a Heart Like a Stone is a Good Thing
Just in time for all the sweethearts you want to wish a Happy Valentine’s Day, Heart Stones is hot off the press. Here, her images — created with a flatbed scanner and computer — portray a fascinating array of classically, and not-so-classically, heart-shaped stones. Her text is minimal; single words dot the pages, hinting at what meaning or attribute the accompanying stone might have. While iconographic symbols — as in still lifes and religious art — make strict connections between images and meaning, Iselin suggests there can be personal interpretations. It feels a little like magnetic poetry; the words seem movable. You might think something like, “That word, `Comfort’ — or maybe `Sustenance’ — could also be paired with another rock — like this one…”. The images invite our own poetic response. How do you describe love?
As with Iselin’s other books, many of her objects come from Maine beaches. (She spends time on Vinalhaven). As much a tribute to the scavenging in nature that unearths gems like these, her book also subtly challenges us. What about when a “heart” doesn’t match our stereotypical expectations of what it should look like? What if it is less than perfect, untraditional? Some of Iselin’s stones are lopsided, holey, jagged. They could represent the reality of what love looks like; any relationship can have some rough edges, unorthodox shape, unevenness and flaws, as well as possessing durability, strength, longevity and unique beauty.
Share this book with a lover, friend, parent, sibling, child; it’s an invitation to improvise on the theme of love as many-splendored and, always, individually defined.