Linda Brovsky
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Concept:
I've always been intrigued by doors, researching them in my career and
photographing them in my travels. The vast variation of doorways that exists
is a tribute to creativity, ingenuity and function: from the Japanese Samurai
openings where one must stoop to enter to the vaulted entryways of French
Gothic cathedrals; from the sleek revolving doors of businesses to the
comforting wooden doors of homes. Doors can reveal so much about the
individual or institution they represent. Philosophies, attitudes and
cultures are expressed through size, shape, color, materials, ornamentation
and craftsmanship. Yet all have a common purpose. A door is an entrance as
well as an exit. It is where perceptions are formed, altered, reflected or
discarded. They call us to the future even as they serve as a reminder of the
past.
I want my door to challenge the perceptions of all who visit--to create questions about life and death so that each visitor might reflect upon their own journey. In keeping with this idea of self-reflection, my door will be constructed out of polished stainless steel so as to endure time and exposure to the elements. It will be designed so that it will open or close from either side. Its simple lines will become the surface on which visitors can project their own hopes and fears around mortality and see them reflected back to them. It will be their choice to see Death as an exit from Life, or an entrance into a new reality. Hopefully, they will choose to open the door and walk through it rather than avoid it all together.... I wonder what they will think? More accurately, I wonder if they will think.
"Death is like loving,
Love is like dying,
Each calling us to face who we are."
from The Midnight Angel
Bio:
As a director of opera, musical theatre and plays, Ms. Brovsky has received critical acclaim for her productions on stages throughout the United States and Canada, including the Seattle Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, the San Francisco Opera, Florentine Opera, Chicago's Court Theatre and the Troika Organization. She has served as librettist for a children's opera, Love, Death and High Notes, as well as dramaturg for several new works including The Midnight Angel and The House of the Seven Gables. An accomplished writer and lecturer, Ms. Brovsky has been a guest speaker for the Guggenheim Museum's "Works in Progress" series and the American Opera Project's "New Works" series.