Machinist
Riverfest 2018, Waltham Massachusetts
Riverfest is an annual event held along the banks of the Charles River in Waltham. Food trucks and amplified music are always part of the scene—but the focus of interest is on the craftspeople who offer their wares for sale, and the "demonstrators" who teach or inform us, or inspire us by their example. Our machinist fell into the latter category. He was demonstrating the use of a 100-year-old, metal-working lathe powered by a treadle.
It was an elegant piece of equipment, I thought, suitable for display as a sculpture in the Museum of Modern Art. It was no doubt of 19th Century design, although it was probably made in the early years of the 20th. I was unable to get a clear shot of this tall lathe because there were so many people milling about. But the machinist was easier to photograph, as I did not have to stand back so far, and he readily posed for me. He certainly cut a figure of historical authenticity.
Incidentally, this machinist was assigned a space next to a painter in oils, another demonstrator I photographed, and whose images can be viewed at Artist.
