Iron Gate

Iron Gate, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I passed this iron gate on my way to a concert. I love wrought iron. I once spent considerable time at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London just admiring the many uses and artifacts of wrought iron. Now so many fences are just utilitarian steel. They keep people out, but do not have visual appeal. This gate is in front of an art gallery which itself is in an old building in Old Montreal. This part of the city has cobblestone streets (much nicer to look at than to walk or drive on) and the oldest buildings in the city. Like many other cities, Montreal had its share of fires, so the buildings do date from a variety of eras. It is nice to see this gate enhance the building while providing security.

Come on in

Come on in, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I originally took this photograph because I liked all the lines, but a few things have got me thinking about gates. I like the fact that this one is open. A new building project has been approved on land that previously housed a junior college. This will be a gated community in the centre of the city. For Americans this may seem normal; it is unusual here in Montreal and it is a precedent I don't like.

There is too much of an attitude of self-protection, of closing off others instead of an attitude of inclusiveness and sharing. I am not advocating leaving doors unlocked, but there is a point when barriers become self-imposed prisons where trust has vanished and is replaced by suspicion. This open gate does not say enter, but it does not give the feeling of exclusion, of "me vs the others." It is too easy to depersonalize "others" when you give yourself no opportunity to interact and put a face to who they might be. We need to open the metaphorical gates, reach out and learn from each other.