In my freshman year of college, I was an
art major for one quarter before I realized that I wasn’t so much an art major
as I was a non-artist.
Cologne Cathedral in Germany
I did take one course that included architectural
sketching. I really liked the class but, being the thinker that I am, I changed
my major from Art to Psychology.
Thus I successfully side-stepped the potentially lucrative career as an architect, in favor of a major that qualified me to stock goods in a retail store.
Forbidden City in Beijing, China
Thus I successfully side-stepped the potentially lucrative career as an architect, in favor of a major that qualified me to stock goods in a retail store.
St. Nicholas Church in Germany
Had I known that Gargoyle design
was an option, I may have stuck it out.
University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia
Utilizing internet connection, opposable
thumbs and Google (the receptacle of all knowledge), well . . . you my friend are in for
an architectural treat!
Nidaros Cathedral – Trondheim, Norway
Prior to the inception of Home Depot,
moving water off the roof had to happen without polycarbonate rain gutters.
Cologne Cathedral in Germany
Some water spouts were a little nastier than others.
Freiburg Minister in Germany
Stone-carved
figures are called grotesques. If they include a water-moving conduit, then they
are gargoyles. (Who knew such a thing? Not me.)
Château d’Amboise in France
The populous at the time of Gothic
architecture noticed that buildings with grotesques kept the dwellers
safe from the evil eye. Buildings without grotesques probably also prevented
the evil eye, but that wasn’t as noticeable.
Plummer Building in Rochester, Minnesota
Grotesque carving became a
valuable skill.
Notre Dame Cathedral – Paris, France
Since Gothic buildings are pretty old,
falling gargoyles became a hazard.
Winchester Cathedral in England
Faced with the options of replacing them
with period reproductions or something a bit cheeky . . . well, there
was some tomfoolery.
Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
New architecture also got in on the shenanigans.
The Washington National Cathedral, in Washington D.C., held a contest for grotesque suggestions. The winner was Darth Vader.
The Crooked Politician
on Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
The High Tech Pair
on Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
The Pacifist and his Gas Mask
on Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C.
The Astronaut
on the Salamanca Cathedral in Spain
San Juan de los Reyes Monastery in Spain
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