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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Three: When doors, arches and gates express ideas > Chamber, State Capitol Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, 2009
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11-JUN-2009

Chamber, State Capitol Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, 2009

A morning sun warms the walls and doors that line the former House of Representatives chamber in Arizona’s old state capitol building, now a museum. This door leads to the room where committees once met and clerks once worked in the early years of the 20th century. The diagonal play of light and shadow embraces it, painting it in warm, nostalgic colors. It helps yesterday become today.

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Phil Douglis31-Jul-2009 02:43
The door itself was not the subject of the picture, Vera. It was the play of light and shadow on the wall that drew my eye. The pattern of light and shadow worked best in the horizontal format. To take off the top of the door was no loss. A vertical composition would have forced me to zoom back and include more of the door and surrounding distractions (chairs, etc) as well.
Guest 29-Jul-2009 01:47
I am wondering why you would take the photo horizontal rather than vertical to show the full door. I am sure there is a reason.
Phil Douglis28-Jun-2009 07:04
Light can define texture, Alina. The two often go together.
Alina15-Jun-2009 00:41
Nice texture on the wall and beautiful light
Phil Douglis13-Jun-2009 03:03
Or how about the light from the loyal opposition? A dissenting voice, perhaps? Thanks, Tim, for making us look beyond the beauty of the image itself, and into its potential meanings.
Tim May13-Jun-2009 02:54
I see the bright diagonal on the right as the Press shining light on the shadows of governing.
Phil Douglis13-Jun-2009 02:47
I gasped when I entered this room and saw this light, Carol. It had Edward Hopper written all over it. Yes, a door itself is a simple subject. But the light, color, and shadow here are extremely complex, creating expressive shapes, textures, and colors that animate an otherwise inanimate object. I would have liked to have been able to work with the entire door and its surroundings, but the museum had placed a table in front of it, as well as folding chairs. As a result, I had to abstract the upper part of the door in the frame, and work with whatever was left to me.
Carol E Sandgren13-Jun-2009 02:17
Exquisite lines and light make this image of a simple door sing!
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