Paper Moon, Leo and Lang
“Paper Moon”, from my Leo and Lang series, is a limited edition linocut print for sale in my studio ( #15 ) on the VIVA Spring Art Studio Tour, May 7-8 and 14-15, 2022. Once upon a time, before cameras were common and digital imagery had replaced film, everyone’s local fair or carnival featured set photography booths where a photo portrait might be taken to document the day, a friendship, or love, paper moons were a standard set. The song Paper Moon was written in 1932 and had already been recorded by many artists when in 1973 Peter Bogdanovich gave it new life by using it as theme music and naming his movie, based on Joe David’s novel Addie Pray and starring Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal and Madeline Kahn, Paper Moon. The film has since become a classic and words to the song indelible. “It is only a paper moon, Sailing over a cardboard sea But it wouldn’t be make-believe if you believed in me.” Given the time and place I’ve imagined my characters Leo and Lang born into, they must have p