Kristen Peterson Toronto, ON

Doorway Drawing

Vinyl

Location: First Floor Corridor Wall

In examining the many spaces of Hart House for this project, the two doorways to the main floor chapel stood out. One is a clear point of entry into the sacred space, and the other, identical to the first, is bricked over, concealing what lays behind. Thus, the original intent of the structure is cancelled. I have described the oddity of this doorway by applying to it a drawing of simplified columnar recession. The off-kilter perspective, with its vanishing point embedded in the wall to the left of the doorway, is reminiscent of the many devotional paintings of Northern Renaissance painter Rogier Van Der Weyden where the interiors of cathedrals are partially depicted but largely hidden from view. These structural planes that recede beyond view create desire in the viewer to see more, and the automatic feeling that if one were to find the right viewing spot, in line with the drawing's fugitive vanishing point, the total view would be revealed.

Kristen Peterson studied at McGill University in Montreal and at the Toronto School of Art before receiving her Masters of Visual Studies from the University of Toronto (2004). She has recently exhibited her work in the group exhibition Dimensionality, at YYZ Artist Outlet in Toronto (2005).