Doors of Dublin: On Provoked Inspiration
by Robert Fearon

“Hey,” I thought, “these doors, they’re great.”  That was nearly forty years ago. I was struck by the symmetrical beauty and stateliness of Dublin’s Georgian doorways as I walked back from an afternoon of shooting models in the Botanical Gardens. The balance of doors, fanlights, side columns, steps, and the buildings themselves were fascinating–-the repetitive rhythm of the whole juxtaposed against the individuality of each. And so many, dozens and dozens, as I walked through Merrion and Fitzwilliam Squares and their side streets.

I had been looking for a special photo to enter into the photography section of the biggest outdoor art show in New England.  The concept came to me all at once, a montage of six rows and six columns. This was not about one Georgian door, but the impact of them all. It was late and the light was not bright. Okay, better than sunshine and harsh shadows, a darker background would give a more timeless, solid relief to each “compartment.” In an hour-and-half I shot the thirty-six plus a few extras. This would not be a perfect collection of carefully measured duplicates. “Good,” I thought, much more organic.

At dinner that night, in the home of some friends, I told them about my fascination with the doors and my montage inspiration. I only wished that a cat had been on one to add to the concept of individuality - of life, vis-à-vis the formulaic architectural intent. As luck would have it, their 10-year old son came into the room. Yes, I could borrow him and shoot one last photo in the morning. Happily there was no direct sunlight and the young lad proved to be a natural model. The elements were all in place.

Back home, I made 5x7 prints of the photo-captured doors and laid them on the floor, moving them about until they were rather arbitrarily distributed, the only firm objective being the avoidance of two of the same color next to each other. They were then glued on to a masonite-type fiberboard set on top of, not framed by, a wood frame 2” in depth—the photos bleeding off the edge. Then off it went—entered into the show and titled, “The Doors of Dublin.”  It won first prize, and the owner of a restaurant chain asked if I would make up a half dozen prints for their Irish-fare family restaurants for placement just inside the entrance to the restaurant. We devised a free lottery in the restaurants where over a period of time, diners would get an entry ticket to a drawing for a round-trip flight to Ireland for two. I invited a tour representative from The Irish Tourist Board in New York to come to Connecticut to select the winning ticket from a bucket. The very attractive young lady, replete in her official green uniform, was a smash hit—not the least with the winners whose names have faded with time.

How it became a poster is a story for another time. Or, for those like me, the congenitally impatient, that story is told in brief on the “History” link at www.thedoorsofdublin.com.