You and your front door
January 9, 2012
During a recent trip to Europe, in particular Barcelona and Florence, I noticed two very distinct uses for entry doors that I felt set the artistic tone for each of these very distinct cities. Barcelona with a multicultural, youthful and lower income population offered a wide array of contemporary artistic expression, one of them being graffiti art on doorways. Florence on the other hand, rich in both history and financial wealth, expressed itself through a more classical, conserved artistic way, one of them being the preservation of their magnificent doorways.
In the Gothic quarter of Barcelona where we stayed, almost every door, doorway and security gate was painted on. Some of which was plain old graffiti, but much of which was highly skilled artistic expression. At street level many of the retail stores had metal roll down security gates that provided security but otherwise would be visually bland. The majority of these gates, whether intentional or not, was graffitied on. It appeared to be that many of these stores commissioned or allowed graffiti artists to paint on their gates. The security gate became a billboard for the store but also a framed canvas within the gallery space that was the street.
The streets acted like a gallery for the street artist. I appreciated this as it portrayed a strong character for the city and its support, and not suppression, of art. As this tone was set visually at street level, it became apparent that the entire city was filled with edgy art and architecture. Click here to see more doors in Barcelona.
In Florence, a small almost resort city, the tone was set by its impressive historical significance and renaissance art/ architecture. Home of Michelangelo’s David, and countless other renaissance masterpieces at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence portrayed a more calm, conservative and established tone. Florence felt more like a polished display case for classical art. At street level, the doors, doorways and security gates were all meticulously maintained and/ or replicated to mimic the surrounding architectural style. Where extra security is needed, intricate wrought iron gates are placed. Virtually no graffiti was seen on buildings or doorways.
Almost every door was unique in size, design and detailing with an array of knockers and handles. To me, the doors represented mysterious passageways to the past, or grand entrances to holy spaces or intimidating, impenetrable gates to some very wealthy residences, it became apparent that Florence was a place of profound preservation. Click here to see more doors in Florence.
This observation of how a doorway can so drastically effect the tone of a city can be used when thinking about the front door of your home. This element of a home can be looked at as an important part of the overall character of the home and can start to describe the personalities behind the front door. What does your front door say about you?
