The Door Into..

In Sebastopol, California, there lies a grassy berm -- in front of the fire station, at the corner of two main streets, and just across from a Christian church. This is the location chosen by four sculptors for their 1999 'Sculpture Jam' piece. Sculpture Jam itself is a workshop given by local artists, to teach local kids about art. There are already eleven other Jam pieces on permanent display in Sonoma County.

In 2000, world-renowned sculptor Ron Rodgers designed and funded The Door, to represent that year's topic, "Portals in Time". Rodgers and three other artists, David Hamilton, Ralph Carlson and Tom Montan, built the door and set it into a concrete surround. The door lies partly ajar, as if inviting someone in or heralding the exit of someone on the other side.

Hardly a controversial topic, one would think. Hamilton and Rodgers' original idea was to make the door an audience participation project, with kids contributing their own objects and ideas. This happened, but not in the way they envisioned. Instead, the 'door' artists have become media stars, interviewed on television shows and the nightly news, all the way to San Francisco. They have no objections to the publicity, but are a little puzzled at the source of the controversy.

Rodgers explains. "When I first drove by to see the door after it was installed, I was thinking it was a rather low berm that housed the sculpture. My fear was that people would drive by and not even notice it. But it got so much attention and interaction that some of the people from the Sebastopol Arts Centre had to become the 'door police', removing strange objects from the site. The other day someone had drawn a NO sign on the door in baby powder, and placed burnt underwear around it! I still wonder what THAT was all about...

"It certainly wasn't meant to alarm people so much. We wanted to offer another take on the placement of art, rather than lying it flat or placing it up against a wall. The site was approved by the city before it was even built, and it became a question of first amendment rights."

First amendment rights? Over a door? This one seemingly innocent sculpture released a firestorm of controversy, and Sebastopol City Manager Dave Brennan announced he would have the sculpture removed; but after the formation of a group calling themselves 'Friends of the Door' and a City Council meeting in which both sides in the debate tried to shout down the other, it became clear he would be infringing on the division of church and state.

The opponents of The Door claim they don't like it being placed across the street from a church. Somehow they managed to make a questionable leap of logic -- because the door was across from a church, it must represent the door to Hell. This came a surprise to most people, who never imagined a doorway to Hell, if such a thing existed, would be such close proximity to a church. It makes you wonder if they watched too many episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". A Sonoma County woman who spoke at the City Council meeting insisted that if the door was left in place it would represent a violation of church and state. Why? Because it was clearly the door to hell. Clear to her, anyway.

Art became a controversial subject in 2000, and some art is patently designed to be offensive. Cows' heads covered in maggots, a crucifix in urine, a Madonna covered in feces...these images make most people cringe, and were designed to do so. But they are meant to be controversial, and no one would think them appropriate for a public place.

It was finally determined the door would remain for the three-year tenure of all Sculpture Jam pieces. It has, indeed, become the interactive art piece Ron Rodgers wished for. His comment on the hoopla? "The City Council finally decided they couldn't flout the constitution for a couple of people with an irrational fear of doors."

Tamara Mayer, wife of a volunteer fireman, feels the critics have been wrongly accused of religious intolerance. She complains, "It's not really about the piece, it's about the placement. They picked a really bad place and it does offend a lot of people."

It entertains more than it offends, though...a necessary component of art. Among the more whimsical additions include a mailbox, a for-sale sign, a doormat, a sign that looks like a cross and reads, "Fear No Art", with an arrow pointing to the door, and the best of all...a bag of frozen peas and a sign reading, "Peas on Earth and goodwill toward men and doors". That last one had the church-goers frothing at the mouth...

But Bob Canning of Petaluma, who visited the door and wrote a letter to the local newspaper regarding the controversy, probably summed it up for most people..."It's only public art. It's just a door into the ground. Nothing more, nothing less. Either you like it or you don't, but you don't holy-roll it into some Stephen King horror story."

Art is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder. And we all have the right to behold...a door.