Abandoned Door – A Metaphor for Transition

Abandoned

Someone, and no matter who, inhabits my head like it’s an empty house, he enters, he leaves, he bangs each door behind him, powerless I put up with this ruckus.
Someone, and maybe it’s me, palms my most private thoughts, he crumples them, returns them to dust.
Someone, and it’s much later now, slowly walks across the room and, not seeing me, stops to contemplate the havoc.
Someone, and no matter where, collects the pieces of my shadow.
~ Claude Estaban, translated by Joanie Mackowski

Many photographers have an affinity and passion for capturing doors as a subject in their art.

Doors are a popular subject, their metaphorical power captures our imagination, wonder, and sense of questioning, too.

Locked? Unlocked? Barred? Ajar? Abandoned?

So many questions. Doors symbolize a transition, a passage, entering from light into dark, or the opposite, leaving by way of a door, and entering into light from a dark interior. The bride once was carried across the threshold of her new home by her new husband. There are doors guarded by fierce creatures – temples come to mind, but I have seen many a library graced with twin, growling lions, or even scarier creatures.

I photographed this door on an abandoned farmstead in eastern Pennsylvania a few years ago.

I cataloged and labeled it, but only recently pulled it out for a serious look. I fell in love with the greens and reds, with the combination of the parallel slats and the vertical panels on the door. And I liked the way nature was gradually taking over the man-made structure, adding to the abandoned feeling.

Do you photograph doors, or notice doors, or use doors in your art or writing?

Do you ever focus on other passages or transitions — gates, windows, tunnels, stairways?  Places that lead to other spaces?

Seeing Red and Green – Photography as Metaphor

Red and Green

Seeing Red and Green © 2011 Bo Mackison

The title of this post is a bit of a puzzler.

Sure, the leaf is green with red veins. Seeing red, seeing green.

But the phrase “seeing red” has a common meaning. I checked with an online, viewer-written dictionary, and this was an accurate summary of the word and its derivation:

The etymology of the word refers to bullfighting. It is well-known that a matador uses a red cape to engage with and then infuriate a bull. When the bull gets agitated, it charges the matador, but it tends to aim for the cape and not the man. “Seeing red” refers to this situation of being so angry, your anger controls you and causes you to feel enraged.

This photo is a good visual reminder for me when I am struggling with angry feelings.

I do not want to ignore my anger, but I don’t want anger to control my actions either. I needed a ritual to help me through difficult moments.

This is what I came up with:

When I look at the green leaf, I visualize “seeing green” which I associate with feeling calm and in control. There are lines of red through the green, acknowledging my “seeing red” feelings, but most of the photograph reinforces the “green” calming.

I imagine my anger as that central red spot (hot spot) in the photo.

Then I visualize my anger flowing through the cool green, and the anger becomes cooler and less intense. It flows away from that hot spot and I imagine my anger dropping off the edge of the photo.

I also discovered a quote — one of those “oh, so true” quotes — to help remind me of the good that comes from staying calm when I feel anything but calm.

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape one hundred days of sorrow. ~Chinese proverb

And deep, cleansing breaths are always a great way to relax and shake off too much tension.

I found that the combination of distraction, visualization, using the quote, and deep breathing to be helpful when I want to move from “seeing red” to “feeling green.”

I am discovering that some photographs have a deeper meaning than that which is first seen.

Seeing Red and Green – A Ritual to Defuse Anger

Red and Green

Seeing Red and Green © 2011 Bo Mackison

The title of this post is a bit of a puzzler. Sure, the leaf is green with red veins. Seeing red, seeing green.

But the phrase “seeing red” has a common meaning. I checked with an online, viewer-written dictionary, and this was an accurate summary of the word and its derivation:

The etymology of the word refers to bullfighting. It is well-known that a matador uses a red cape to engage with and then infuriate a bull. When the bull gets agitated, it charges the matador, but it tends to aim for the cape and not the man. “Seeing red” refers to this situation of being so angry, your anger controls you and causes you to feel enraged.

This photo is a good visual reminder for me when I am struggling with angry feelings. I do not want to ignore my anger, but I don’t want anger to control my actions either. I needed a ritual to help me through difficult moments.

This is what I came up with:

When I look at the green leaf, I visualize “seeing green” which I associate with feeling calm and in control.  There are lines of red through the green, acknowledging my “seeing red” feelings, but most of the photograph reinforces the “green” calming.

I imagine my anger as that central red spot (hot spot) in the photo. Then I visualize my anger flowing through the cool green, and the anger becomes cooler and less intense. It flows away from that hot spot and I imagine my anger dropping off the edge of the photo.

I also discovered a quote — one of those “oh, so true” quotes — to help remind me of the good that comes from staying calm when I feel anything but calm.

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape one hundred days of sorrow.  ~Chinese proverb

And deep, cleansing breaths are always a great way to relax and shake off too much tension.

I found that the combination of distraction, visualization, using the quote, and deep breathing to be helpful when I want to move from “seeing red” to “feeling green.”

I am discovering that some photographs have a deeper meaning than that which is first seen.