A WARM SHOW IN A COLD SEASON

CACC PHOTO EXPOSITION 2009

On view at Joyce’s Restaurant in Hallowell, Maine

From January 11 to February 8, 2009

By Laurie Meunier Graves

If Hallowell isn’t the smallest city in Maine and perhaps even in the nation, then it must come close. With its 2,467 residents and 5.9 square miles of land, Hallowell is perched precariously on a steep hill that rushes headlong down to the Kennebec River. The main street, with its old brick buildings, runs along the river, a shimmering corridor of water that occasionally gives the businesses a sharp reminder of its presence by flooding in the spring. Most of the time, the flooding is just a warning, filling the back parking lots, but once in a while the Kennebec cuts loose, and Hallowell’s main street is underwater. However, the businesses remain undeterred, and if they close, it is for it is not for fear of the flooding river.

Photograph by Dawna-Marie Leavitt

Joyce’s, a new wine bar and restaurant, is on the river side of the street. In January, the Kennebec is kept in check by snow and ice as deep winter settles over central Maine. Cold crackles around the edges of everything—people, buildings, landscapes, and rivers. This January has been particularly brisk. Joyce’s, with its soothing Mediterranean colors, is anything but cold and is a welcoming pocket of warmth on a winter’s day when the sun starts setting at 4:30 P.M.

On January 11^th, the second Sunday of the month, the night of the full moon (which just happened to be the wolf moon), Joyce’s was particularly inviting as it hosted the Capital Area Camera Club’s (CACC) winter show. Joyce’s provided tasty appetizers (I ate far too many of the crispy, succulent phyllo triangles), and with a rum and Coke to provide further warmth, I nibbled and sipped as I looked at some very good work.

There were a fair number of black-and-white photographs, which are a favorite of mine. I love color, of course, and wouldn’t want to be without it, but it seems to me that black- and-white photography is the visual equivalent of poetry, distilling images rather than words. Roxanne Rollins’s Abandoned features a bicycle on the ground, and a spoked wheel, off-center, looms large. Devin Watson’s Out of the Blue takes something unloved and often persecuted—the lowly dandelion—and, by focusing intently on the flower after it has gone by, makes it look as though it’s an ethereal creature rather than a pesky weed. Not a new concept, I know, but very well done. My favorite of the black and whites was again by Roxanne Rollins. Her Winter Woods shows a stark line of tree trunks in snow, and to me it seemed to capture the essence of winter—lonely, linear, and cold.

William A. Haley, who organized the event, had a large, colorful photograph—A Capital Autumn, Augusta, Maine—of the capitol dome, a vibrant reminder of state government, the linchpin of the Augusta economy and a huge visual presence in central Maine. We take it for granted, but we shouldn’t. Reed W. Markley’s Penobscot Narrows Bridge, illuminated from behind, gave this new bridge with its soaring, sail-like trusses, an abstract look, a style that is sometimes overlooked in rural shows. Conversely, Snowy Owl by Becky Pepper and Snow Geese by Phil Downes, capture what we love about rural areas, the wildlife, especially birds. I was particularly taken with Snow Geese, which looks as though it was shot high above the flying birds and the blazing trees.

One of my absolute favorites was the snappy, even cheeky, “To be or not to be…” As much graphic art as it is photography, Jane Davis’s piece takes nine lobsters, some red and some green, puts them in circles, and arranges them tic-tac-toe style. Mainers will immediately understand the reference, and even those from away should be able to figure it out.

Full disclosure time: Dawna Leavitt (president of the camera club) and her husband, Jim Leavitt, who goes by the nom de photo Jacques-Loren L, are close friends of mine. Yet, despite the risk of cronyism, I do want to call attention to two of their pieces. Jim’s Les Bateau de Couleurs depicts a vivid, colorful line of boats, resting on rocks, and a sandy beach with a lone walker. A striking image. Dawna’s Summertime in Downtown Hallowell, ME, with its focus on cobbled sidewalks and dark green foliage climbing up deep red trim, gives this kicky, little city an old-world look.

All in all, this is a terrific show, and the reception turned out to be a real event, with a satisfyingly big crowd stopping by to see what the local camera club had done. As Dawna graciously put it, all credit should go to William Haley, who chose the participants and hung their photographs “salon style” upstairs and downstairs at Joyce’s. Haley also provided a numbered list with the names of the photographs, who took them, and the sale prices, which range from $50 to $300. A woman I know bought one (Snow Geese) for a relative’s birthday present. What a wonderful gift! Not only is she giving something unique, but she is also supporting artists in central Maine, where she lives.

So, central Mainers, if you are reading this, go to Joyce’s and take a look at this show. If you can, buy a photograph for yourself or for someone else. And keep an eye on the camera club. Their plans include having a summer show at Joyce’s when the deck is open, and diners can watch the Kennebec, which is lovely any time of year. For more information about the Capital Area Capitol Club go to http://www.capitalareacameraclub.com/