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SOUS LE CAPOT: A COLLECTION OF
MECHANICAL STILL LIFES
Pastels by Ray Pontin
On View at The Bread Box Café in Waterville, Maine
Through May 2003
Reviewed by Laurie Meunier Graves
Outside my office stands a large pine tree, and I have a perfect view of it
through the window by my desk. One day not long ago, as I struggled with
collective nouns and typographical errors, I noticed a gray squirrel running
up the tree. It had a huge mouthful of leaves, and the squirrel soon passed
from my field of vision, only to come back down and then return with another
mouthful of leaves.
Because it was spring, I decided the squirrel must have been making a nest
to get ready for new babies. I started thinking about the squirrel and the
babies and how, for the most part, their lives were hidden from me. Then, I
reflected on how much of the world escaped my notice, on how much I didn’t
see. It made me a little dizzy when I considered all that I was unaware of.
Ray Pontin, an artist from Waterville, Maine, has turned his attention to
things that are normally hidden from view, things that are heard but not
usually seen, and, unless something goes wrong, they are disregarded by most
of us. Yet, our society is completely dependent on them, even if their
workings are as mysterious as a magical incantation. I am referring, of
course, to the engines of cars. However, Mr. Pontin has chosen to study and
draw not just any engines. Instead, he has focused on old Citroën cars and
what’s “sous le capot” (under the hood). There is an exhibit of his drawings
at The Bread Box Café in Waterville, and these fascinating pictures capture
the allure of what lies beneath the surface.
On a small sign that goes with the exhibit, Mr. Pontin has written, “These
larger than life depictions of old Citroën car engines may possibly serve as
a bridge between representational and abstract art. But, of course, that
would depend on your point of view.”
From my point of view, these drawings are an inscrutable, almost
unrecognizable, collection of hoses, tubes, clamps, little wheels, belts,
and bulbous cylinders. Many are done in pale beige, but there are the
occasional red orange hose and black rod. The pastels soften the hard
contours of the engines and give them a dreamy look that only heightens the
mystery of these drawings. Normally, I am unconcerned with what is “sous le
capot,” but I found I could not stop looking at these pictures. Even an
excellent sausage and white bean soup did not hold my attention for long.
By each drawing hang placards that have a little picture and a description
of the car whose engine is featured. I learned that the Citroën D series was
nicknamed “The Goddess [and was] a marvel of automotive
engineering….launched in 1955 with radical aerodynamic styling, power
steering…and the new air / filled hydro pneumatic self-leveling suspension.”
As I read, I shook my head in wonder. The description was every bit as
inscrutable as the drawing.
At the same time, it is good to have attention drawn to things that are not
usually seen. An awareness of what is hidden but vital piques the curiosity
and expands the consciousness. Mr. Pontin has brought mindfulness and a kind
of beauty to car engines, a subject that does not usually lend itself to
this sort of representation. Yet, one of the jobs of the artist is to call
attention to things that are hidden, and Mr. Pontin has certainly done an
admirable job of this with Sous le Capot.
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2008 Wolf Moon Desk Calendar
We are pleased to announce that we have put together another snappy desk calendar
featuring work by Maine photographer Clif Graves.
5 1/2" x 5"
2008 Wolf Moon Calendar just
$10.00 each
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Some of the fine
stores
where you can find
Wolf Moon JOURNAL
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Wolf Moon
Photo Note Cards
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