Don't Knock It: Door Knocker Inspiration

Our lives are busy.  We make choices every day, discerning what's worthy of our attention and what gets edited consciously and subconsciously as the endless barrage of distractions keep coming.  Love it, hate it, we live in the time of the 'Information Highway' we are slaves to technology.  Our editorial task crosses all categories of our personal and professional lives.  How can we fight for it NOT to be a shrinking talent, to observe the visceral and tangible 'NOW'?  

As much as I want to be engaged in what is present within 'this moment', I am recently wondering...what experience did I take for granted, what detail did I overlook today?  I dare you, to stick with me to see if these collected images and ideas capture your tactile whim, long enough to give you pause...next time you go calling, in person!

Knock, knock

Who's there?

Nobel

Nobel who?

No bell.  That’s why I knocked!

Very often overlooked, is the element of design in an object that, as it's primary purpose, requires us to engage with it's service.

 How many of you can quickly draw up in your memory, if your next door neighbor has a door bell, a door knocker or both at their front door? 

If so, can you recall the type of metal from which your neighbor's door knocker is made? If it simply has a decorative shape?  Or, if it has any iconic feature, historical reference or symbolic persuasion?  

Regardless of design style, period, religious or mystical motif, the prevalence of door knockers crosses cultures.... I've lost hours, musing over the spectrum of inspired voices adorning their form and function. 

The decorative nature, at times, is hardly secondary, in significance to it's function. 

The first known use of door knockers shows up in ancient Greece. Though, it is believed they date even earlier, possibly as far back as the Mesopotamia era. What's certain, is, that they appear across all cultures and religions and periods in history.

 Many cultures display icons that reference religious beliefs.  The 'Hand and Fruit/Ball' shows up in many areas of the world, as it is an image iconic within parables of Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith stories.

         
         Fatima, Miriam, Eve, Mary? 

Dating even further back, the Arabic Hamsa (hand) is known to symbolize

good fortune, protection from evil and abundance.

  Is the caller announcing oneself or being informed by the one being called upon?

 'Object' AS an experience, simultaneously shared between a guest and their host.

 

 

The first impression of a home and who resides within: 
convergence of exterior and interior...Passage. 

What does a door knocker reveal about the inhabitants who reside within? Is it frequently used and well maintained or seldom knocked upon and sediment laden from environmental agents?

I could go on and on....
Below are more images that have and continue to inspire me:

Door knocker as narrative?

 

Does your door knocker speak of status? Welcome? Hospitality?

 

Humor, and...

...whimsy?

 

or...

BEWARE!, 

Enter with caution. 

 

 

Icon of gracious living? 

 
Magic and mysticism...to ward off evil and protect the home?

Historical allegiance or membership?

Imagery of animals - that define a region or locale, 

that define one’s personal passion or affection.

...and even more musings:

Inside out or outside in?

 Duality and paradox. 

Metaphors for privacy and passage.

Engagement with 3 of the '5 senses.'

 

visual   tactile   auditory

 


Tone of a knock.   Deep throat-ed and forceful or timid and tiny?


Level of force and pattern of tempo between knocks…Does this inform the visited of a difference between social and solicit visitors?

Do you know the secret knock?

Do you have a favorite? See more of my favorite door knockers pinned on my Door Knockers Pinterest Board.