Newton OutDoors - upcycling old doors

Creating in Nature, Howie Green, detail.

Our city has a Community Pride organization which supports arts and culture activities throughout the town.  There's more art than ever outside this year, in part due to the pandemic.  Through a juried process 25 artists - including several high school students - were selected to repurpose old doors as public art. There are several locations throughout town; I visited all of them in a sort of  "Tour de Doors".  All of the panels are thoughtful and thought-provoking; below are images of some of the doors which particularly spoke to me.

Let Me In, Grey and Leslie Held.

Let Me In, verso.

Inside and Outside of the Virus, Sophy Tuttle.

The doors were installed on park land, including in my neighborhood. A historic wooden mill building, recently restored, is the back drop for a door imagining a Fig Newton festival. The cookie was named after our city and  it would delightful to have a real Fig Newton festival!

Fig Newton Festival Poster, Harun Zankel.

Doors and gates are powerful symbols of travel between worlds, or to new iterations of self; they can lead to adventure and danger or refuge -  think of the doors of a magical wardrobe,  the doors  Alice opens in Wonderland, or the doors concealing the lady and the tiger.  Can you think of other literary doors or openings?

A newcomer to Newton made her door a memory of her special place in the image below.

Mi Isla De Encanta, Yenny Hdz.

One door had to be moved from its location after vandalism, sadly. Our city is not immune to anti-Asian American sentiment and after the door below was defaced it was moved to City Hall for better monitoring.  The door presents a moving portrait of the artists' grandmother, called Por Por in Cantonese, who raised six children in nearby Brookline after immigrating from China.

Por Por, Amanda Beard Garcia, now in front of City Hall.

 

Another  portrait door co-exists among the blooms of a city-sponsored demonstration garden, another Community Pride project.

Garin and Nyle, Scott Debus.

Cheery fruits, flowers and birds figure on several doors, exploding with intense color, below.

Blooming, Julia Smithing.

Discovering Paradise, Grace Julian-Murthy.

Colorful Crows, Sepi Golestani.

A more restrained palette can be eye-catching too, and the door below, in white and blue tones, was one of my favorites. If you look closely you can see, in white outline, a pattern which looks like the leaves of a locust tree. This is an homage to an ancient locust tree, long a sentinel at our local historical museum, which sadly toppled during a storm in 2020.  Look also for the occasional bird silhouette.

Welcoming Committee, Kit Collins.

Welcoming Committee, detail, with locust leaves pattern.

 

Two of the most striking doors were made by students from our two high schools.

Corner Vending Machine, Abby Zheng (high school).

Ms. Zheng's comments, from the Community Pride website:

There were multiple vending machines scattered throughout my school, and I would catch a reflection of myself as I walked by them every morning just as the bell signals the beginning of the school day. These vending machines would attract a group of friends during lunch who are in search of a snack. I came to associate vending machines as something that brought strangers and classmates together. It became these sockets of shared moments where quarters would be given to the person who doesn’t have enough change. It was a place where friendly conversations would occur. I have walked by these vending machines so often that I can almost hear the conversation: “What chips should I get?” “I hope the chocolate bar doesn’t get stuck” or “Here, you can have this bar—two fell down”. I wanted to recreate these moments of interaction. I want my audience to have their eyes scan over the wide variety of snacks that the vending machine offers, standing there for 5 seconds, 10 seconds, or even a minute. In that brief moment of time, I hope strangers or acquaintances will approach each other and create a bond, even if it’s over a door. For me, the vending machine is a door to new friendships and relationships.

I assume she added cats as kitties are everywhere now, yes? I hope to more of the work of these two talented young people in the future.

 

Gaea, Chengyue (Sara) Wang (high school).

Gaea, detail.