Old Paneled Door: Outside Door to Monastery c. 1936

Curator: The quiet austerity of Geoffrey Holt’s “Old Paneled Door: Outside Door to Monastery” immediately strikes me. The tones are muted, almost melancholic, rendered simply in pencil on paper. Editor: Indeed, a rather hushed depiction. We see a precisely rendered drawing of a wooden door, circa 1936, delineated with some technical notes concerning dimensions along its borders. Holt's meticulous technique almost elevates a functional object to the level of a studied subject. Curator: The door, or what seems like the suggestion of it, implies transition and, perhaps, restricted access. We're faced with this barrier, composed of eight rectangular panels, equally proportioned. I see something of the eight-fold path towards enlightenment reflected in that configuration... Or perhaps that is reaching too far? Editor: Not necessarily! The formal organization could very well inspire reflective states, in part, by understanding the relationship between the material culture within a monastic context, in relationship to ideas and doctrines espoused within them. In any case, let’s look at what comprises the door itself. Its apparent aged character likely speaks to time and labor--consider the milling of the timber to create it. We only see one side here; one can't but wonder about what evidence the reverse bears? Curator: What echoes through time, yes. Though sketched so plainly in graphite, you feel a sense of reverence in this work; one is drawn to imagine those who might have passed through the portals this doorway represents. The door is presented to us directly, but what secrets lie on the other side? What experiences and untold histories do these panels contain? Editor: Its flatly lit surface betrays no narrative, though… Still, let's note its composition: an ordinary door's elevation and section--are presented plainly. It does beg to question the level to which Holt elevated his labor, both by making it visually appealing but functional as an elevation with notes. The artistic merit lies not only in how to create it from nothing or of thin air, but understanding what comprises of one already materially existent and common in everyday life. Curator: An ordinary door becomes something more by contemplating its significance. This exercise is compelling; its formal execution invites repeated observation as we reconsider monastic symbols and themes and imagine thresholds we can no longer approach or cross. Editor: Precisely--material and symbol woven together through careful artistic intention. A potent combination.