The Bowdoin Orient

November 17, 2000
Volume CXXXII, Number 10

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: R.S.V.P. The Romance and Revolution of Transportation Through Photography
1860-1980

by ASHLEY EAST - STAFF WRITER

  The Bowdoin College Museum of Art invites you back to a time when train whistles blew and subways were still a novelty in the urban world. Twenty-six college faculty and staff were invited to view a selection of photographs from the Museum's permanent collection, choose one of particular interest, and respond to that image in 100 words or less. Their responses form the wall text throughout the exhibition in the Museum's Halford Gallery.
  How has transportation changed in recent history, as the result of revolutions in politics and the economy, redefining class-consciousness in the modern era? How do these images invoke personal life experiences and perceptions of that recent history? The Bowdoin College Museum challenges the viewer to locate a photograph that inspires a historical or personal memory and quite literally-be moved.
  John Vachon's image of the Railroad Men at Lunch inspired Joe Bandy, Assistant Professor of Sociology/Anthropology, in its social and historical context. He recalls that in1939, the year the photograph was printed, Grapes of Wrath was published and the United States suffered the effects of the Great Depression. Germany invaded Poland in this same year, ushering in WWII and giving new meaning to the phrase "UNION," as it appears in striking white against the dark background of the 832 train.
  The two figures lunching underneath the looming steam train appear diminutive in comparison to the means of transport, also the basis of their economic livelihood. This was a historical moment for the labor movement and the relationship of the men to that formidable machine, and the power of this black and white image, reminds the viewer of the events of that pivotal year. Both personal and historical memories are invoked in Alfred Stieglitz's The Hand of Man. One of the Museum Security Guards, Jaime Reatiraza, recalls his fascination with trains while growing up in the Philippines:
  "As a young boy, I remember when I first saw this machine at a far distance. She was lumbering slowly at the curve looking like a centipede. Passing through the open rice fields where our village was located, I could see it belching gray smoke as it unleashed its eerie whistle. For us young kids we were fascinated and hypnotized by the awesome machine. It became part of our life."
  The black and white train, among the series of tracks with billowing black smoke, elicited a different response from Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Scott Staples:"Bursting forth like an ancient, angry god, blackening the sky it holds all within its sway. Power without grace, without redemption, even the great earth must submit and be imprisoned by the technological titan."
  Is the train a game or a god? A childhood memory invoking intrigue of the great beyond, or a supernatural technological force polluting the natural world? Come decide for yourself.
  The relationship of man to more modern forms of transportation continues to strike a social cord. Rachel Connelly, Associate Professor of Economics and Director of Women's Studies selected Danny Lyon's 1979 print entitled IRT2, South Bronx, NYC, a black and white image of a crowded subway train. The inside shell is covered in graffiti and each one of the sitters appears to be unaware of the presence of the photographer.
  Professor Connelly is interested in the role of the commuter rail in the reduction of worker inequality, understanding the economic importance of fast and inexpensive public transportation for many minority employees. The people on this subway train do not interact with one another, and one man reads a Mexican newspaper.
  Though public transportation should serve as a way of reducing class barriers, the high filter used to create the black and white contrast in this photograph, the white woman staring out the window bathed in light, further highlights the social stratification prevalent in 20th century America.
  The invention of the automobile also changed our perceptions of history and memory. Genevieve LeMoine, Curator of the Perry Mac-Millan Arctic Museum, speaks of photography as an artistic media:
  "A photograph records experiences that happen in the blink of an eye, but comes to stand for much more than the instant it preserves. In this picture I can feel the thrill of speeding along a narrow road at night and the trusting comfort of a small child safe in the warmth of the car…
  In her choice of the blurred Thomas Zetterstrom print entitled Night Drive, the viewer is allowed inside of the vehicle, aware of the fast speed and the dark road filled with trees, cut by the headlights of the car. The hood of the car forms a shadowy diagonal slant, perhaps merely a nighttime ghost or trick of the light. Emphasis is on the power of motion and the sense of invincibility one so often feels when speeding through the night in a steel-framed automobile."
   Kidder Smith, Program Director of Asian Studies, presents a different interpretation of automotive transportation, emphasizing its destructive capabilities. In his selection of Garry Winogrand's Utah, the viewer once again locates himself inside of the vehicle, this time faced with the formidable obstacle of a lumbering animal straight ahead, as seen through the smattered windshield.
  The driver is unable to stop or react, propelled forward by this evil machine. Professor Smith's last line serves as a fleeting after-thought when faced with one's own mortality: "My wife was sleeping in the backseat." This response reflects on the greater power of technology to destroy the innocent- whether the environment or human life.
  R.S.V.P. is a striking exhibition, allowing the audience to see how members of the Bowdoin community interpret art, be it historically or personally, impacted by different time periods and memories throughout the past century.
  The Bowdoin College Museum of Art invites you to experience these works for yourself, choose one that moves you and formulate your own response in 100 words or less. Which of these photographs moves you? Until January 2001, come find out.