Thirty years ago, I was at Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville, Maine- the one before the fire-with my then husband, Jack, when he interrupted my checking-out-the-tickets process by saying"Wait a minute! I know that voice!" He did in fact know that voice, a very French-accented Charles Rotmil was standing behind us in line. They had not seen each other for years and years since their Collaberg School/The Land in Stony Point days, but they immediately knew each other again.
This was how Charles came into my life, when I was still on the farm, his and Jack's pasts being told in stories at the table after magnificent feasts that Charles cooked for us. Many of the people who were talked about were not people I ever knew except in these stories, but that didn't make them any less real. So Charles' show tonight, The Famous and The Cities of Paris and New York, brought me back to that time somewhat, where I actually got to see what Steve Durkee looked like, was reminded that Martin Steingesser rescued my stepdaughter whose plane kept getting snowed under in Portland long ago, and there also was Charles' whole family in collage, giving a poignant cast to a show that could mistakenly be viewed as all "celebrities".
While many of the faces and names on the portraits will be familiar, it is in fact the familiar ways of being that is so stunning in the photographs- these people who we do in fact know as "famous" are behaving here like ordinary folks. This is perhaps Charles' (I can't make myself say Rotmil's) charm, in both life, and photography, that he transcends the need to need to glamorize those who often are, and leaves us with people who become all the more endearing for their obvious humanity. Whether the photos are of Portland locals, or NYC beats, one is inspired to find out more about who these people really are/were.
I titled my blog post by the sense of satisfaction I could feel at the show for Charles as an artist, as well as someone who has overcome great personal loss into creating what is clearly a satisfying life.
The show will be up until November 13, along with Still by Deborah Klotz. I highly recommend the experience.....
http://mainejewishmuseum.org/art-exhibits/currentexhibit/
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