The Gentle Doors of Death

On my visit to Rome, to my surprise I took away something of inspiration that was contrary to what others thought would influence my work, even that of my own. Rather than be inspired entirely by the objective and psychological dialects of my work, I was reminded of the intuitive and indescribable subjective feelings I get when I see and make art, that I often loose in the ‘habit of art making.’ The Doors of Death sculpted by contemporary artist Giacomo Manzù, were designed as a set of doors to St. Peter’s Church in the Vatican City and have come to inspire me in more ways than one.

The Doors of Death, which were once used for funeral processions, remind me of how doors in general come to shape and fulfill to our desires. As a devise they control an opening of a space for instance or they call on to perform certain task. But for me, these doors do more than just behave. Manzù has sculpted and expressed the meaning of human suffering and death in ten scenes on the door. The scenes he created show violent and aggressive acts of death, yet the ways in which he has molded the forms are that of the opposite, simple and gentle. Rather than feel agitated by the scenes, I get lost in the contours of the forms, and I feel calm, free from the pain that I am suppose to feel. These feelings one gets when looking at art oftentimes speaks louder than what the art piece is meant to tell.