when collage becomes architecture...

image from the book chapelle du rosaire des dominicaines de vence par henri matisse, 1958.

of course matisse's work for this chapel is well known, but i really love this door to the confessional. it seems a perfect translation from a collage of paper cut outs into physical form - particularly before computer/laser cutting made such things possible without the need of human hands. here one is confronted with a rigid plane that retains much of the original qualities of a thin membrane of shapes with tiny openings for for shared air, small streams of light, and quiet voices.