Photographer Jeffry Boerger of Mason wants people to think more about doors.
He's recently published a book of the images he’s taken of doorways around the United States and Canada. It’s called "The Perception of Doors: An Eclectic and Whimsical View of Doors, Gates, and Passages."
About 30 photos from the book are on display at the MICA Gallery in Old Town Lansing through September 18.
This week, WKAR’s Scott Pohl goes Inside The Arts to talk with Jeff Boerger about the book.
Interview Highlights
On why doors are an interesting subject
I think my fascination with doors probably began as a result of my passion for street photography, which is something that I've been engaged in for quite a number of years which is basically the capturing of candid photographs of people out in public spaces. Where there are people, there are going to be buildings, and where there are buildings, you need to have a way to get in and out, so we have doors.
On how he organized the book
It's a potpourri, kind of a composite of what I had in the files. But, I specifically went at it with the intention of pairing each page, ok? So, your left and right across the gutter, they have to relate somehow. They have to welcome each other. So, there's clues in there as you page through the book.
An excerpt from his writing in the book
I found it impossible to walk neighborhoods in New Mexico without being dazzled by the profusion of blue doors. They appear like broken shards of sky strewn over the harsh but sun-blessed landscape, dominated by the dusty palette of browns and sandy earth tones, echoed in much of the region's architecture
Interview Transcript
Scott Pohl: Photographer Jeffry Boerger of Mason wants people to think more about doors.
He has recently published a book of the images he’s taken of doorways around the United States and Canada. It’s called "The Perception of Doors: An Eclectic and Whimsical View of Doors, Gates, and Passages."
This week, we go Inside The Arts to talk with Jeff Boerger about the book.
I think a basic first question is to ask you to explain this interest or fascination you might have with doors. What's going on here?
Jeff Boerger: I think my fascination with doors probably began as a result of my passion for street photography, which is something that I've been engaged in for quite a number of years which is basically the capturing of candid photographs of people out in public spaces. Where there are people, there are going to be buildings, and where there are buildings, you need to have a way to get in and out, so we have doors.
Pohl: And yet there aren't any people in these photos.
Boerger: One or two. There may be somebody might have snuck in there, not intentionally.
Pohl: Did you just one day find yourself going through a million photos and notice that a lot of them were only of doors?
Boerger: Exactly. That's exactly what happened.
Pohl: I might ask you who your target audience would be, or what you're expecting or hoping that people who seek this book out would get out of it.
Boerger: I think the topic of doors has been sort of an alluring topic for a lot of people. There are many door books out there, but typically they will be focused on a specific architecture, like the colored doors of Ireland for example, or the beautiful Painted Ladies, the Victorian homes in San Francisco and Cape May, places like that. And, gothic doors, I mean, that's a popular one.
My book is totally different in that it does not address any specific architecture or style, but rather, it's a potpourri, kind of a composite of what I had in the files. But, I specifically went at it with the intention of pairing each page, ok? So, your left and right across the gutter, they have to relate somehow. They have to welcome each other. So, there's clues in there as you page through the book.
Pohl: When there's a thematic linkage between side-by-side photos, some of them may be sort of obvious. You've pointed out one example where there's a bicycle in each photo. That might be something of a challenge for the reader to figure out, almost like a word search puzzle or something. What do these two photos have in common? Does that add to the fun for the reader?
Boerger: And not just fun, but it does happen. That's what I've noticed. People, when they do go through the book, it's like a light goes on and say, "This is kind of fun."
Pohl: We're talking with Jeff Berger about "The Perception of Doors," his new book of photographs of doors he's taken all over the United States and in Canada. Now, there is some text in the book, and I'd like you to maybe give us a taste for what you've written in the book that accompanies these photographs.
Boerger: Let me read this one paragraph and give your readers an idea of a little of what the book is about here.
Pohl: Sure. Let's hear a sample.
Boerger: "I found it impossible to walk neighborhoods in New Mexico without being dazzled by the profusion of blue doors. They appear like broken shards of sky strewn over the harsh but sun-blessed landscape, dominated by the dusty palette of browns and sandy earth tones, echoed in much of the region's architecture."
That's the approach that I've taken with each of these little topics. So, rustic doors, old barn doors is another one of the topics in there.
Pohl: The book is "The Perception of Doors: An Eclectic and Whimsical View of Doors, Gates and Passages." Jeffry Boerger, thank you. Jeff, always good to see you. Good luck with the book.
Boerger: Thank you very much, Scott. It's been a pleasure.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
