Jeanne Widmer’s Ode to a Town’s Village

Belmont resident Jeanne Widmer had two photography exhibitions featuring the Cushing Square development scheduled for this spring. The first, at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second, scheduled at Belmont’s Beech Street Center, was cancelled outright.

Artist’s Statement

Ode to a Town’s Village was inspired almost three years ago when I first started taking pictures of a sprawling three- and four-story development in a relatively small, mostly single-story village in Belmont. While the demolished area was in serious need of upgrading, the massive scale, snail-like progress, and disruption of the construction over four years, still unfinished, has seriously hurt many small businesses struggling to stay afloat in the area.

The series was more difficult than I had originally anticipated. The construction is across the street from the stores, making the angle of contrasting sizes and architectural styles nearly impossible to capture without an aerial view. Finding the right lighting was another issue: the compelling photographic details of the small businesses were more visible in the evening, while the construction at the same hour was too hidden and appeared almost romantic, especially since it sat in near darkness. I settled on a single black-and-white photo of one of the three buildings taken at slightly after midday to capture the vivid lighting that revealed the details of the building. I made this photo significantly larger in size than the others in an effort to show how it overpowers the stores.

While development and change have been going on since the beginning of time, there is no question that some are steps forward and others less so. What I hope viewers can appreciate in this series is the simple dignity, warmth, and beauty that such small businesses bring to a community even while relentless “progress”—sometimes harsh and colorless—continues its resolute push forward despite the consequences.