Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Architectural Stone Carving & Sculpture

Architectural Stone Carving & Sculpture
Beautiful works of art. Stone carvings such as this are less and less common as time goes by. There was a time and place for such beauty and it is not today.
Today our culture is run by speed and production. There is just no possible way to produce something like this, the same way you can put up a tin building today. Yes, I am bias. I can't really appreciate the architecture that is being done today. It just doesn't have the charm or sophistication. It feel it is empty and cold. Modern architecture can be sleek and stylish, but I think it loses it's presence after a year or two and simply becomes another glass box. Your eyes kind of glaze over it and there is nothing there to capture you.

A typical turn of the century New York building. I don't remember exactly where this building sits, but it is so charming and elegant. It has such character. Even though it may be hundreds of years old, it still impresses you in every way. But more than that, it comforts you. It's like an old sweater or jacket that you love to put on in the fall breeze even though it's sooo out of style and doesn't match anything else in your closet. I think this old time architecture brings a sense of calm and peace to the environment. Especially in the big city. You feel a human warmth coming from the hand cladded stone.
Architectural details such as this,
are so pleasantly surprising. Look at the texture of the bricks on the wall. They were actually hand carved. You can see how each block of stone has a border chiseled around. The border surrounds the texture and each piece is unique. The carving of the capital is a variation of what was done thousands of years ago in Greece and Rome. It's quite amazing how this art became instilled in the American culture all the way from England and Italy by early settlers and was used even still during the industrialization.

These concepts of design were so sophisticated that it was passed on century to century until today. Unfortunately, today in our individualistic society we no longer feel that we need to depend on the brilliant founders and individuals of the past. Maybe it is time for a change? Of course, there will always be those who are nostalgic for the past, but beauty such as this does not come by so easily. To view more examples of great work go to http://www.dmsstudios.com/New_York_Stone_Carving.htm and view all the images!


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