The Restoration | Crocker Art Museum
The Restoration, 2006.
Lewis deSoto (Cahuilla, born 1954)
Duratrans transparency and lightbox, 25 3/4 x 35 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. Crocker Art Museum purchase, Forrest and Shirley Plant Fund with contributions from The Anorcase Foundation, 2011.66.

In The Restoration Lewis deSoto creates a photographic tableau vivant — a staged scene — in the style of Dutch 17th-century artists like Johannes Vermeer. Set in a contemporary automobile garage and complete with a mechanic working on a Pontiac Grand Prix, this lightbox makes an ironic nod to history. The car model alludes to Pontiac, the Odawa war chief who laid siege to Fort Detroit, while the setting suggests a mash-up that blends car culture with a religious setting.

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