My post about facadism last week generated a bunch of comments and this one in particular, by AJ Kandy, was echoed by many readers:
“We need beauty. Dare I say it, decoration, a word that is taboo to the Modernist credo. A building that is not art but craft, a high level of craft, which is honourable work…”
For me, it brought to mind an image of the Cathedral of St-John the Divine, one of New York City’s great and unique treasures.
Construction of the Cathedral began in 1892, but was suspended during WWII and did not recommence until 1979. In order to preserve the craft of stone-masonry, while helping neighborhood youths gain job skills, the Reverend began a program in which local youngsters were apprenticed as stonemasons. (As AJ put it, “hey! Job creation!”)
The dense detail that adorns the front of the church gives it an authentic Gothic feel, yet the designs by master stone-crafters Simon Verity and Jean-Claude Marchionni are startlingly contemporary. Modern visions of the apocalypse, completed in 1997, include a tidal wave crashing down on the New York City skyline, and a bus plummeting from a crumbling bridge.
Cathedral of St-John the Divine: 112th st and Amsterdam Ave, NYC
The cathedral itself is a collage of building styles and revivals that would delight (or perhaps perplex) an student of architectural history. I think its best viewed from the South side, and preferably in the company of the church’s familiar peacock (which is free to wander the Upper West Side but, a parkinglot attendant assured me, always comes back at the end of the day). A whole lot more info on the architecture of this building is available from NYC Architecture.
Unsurprisingly, Cathedral-building has fallen on hard times. In the 1990s, the Church ran out of money and abandoned construction of the towers. This year, the scaffolding that had surrounded the church for over 30 years was finally taken down. The towers jut up towards the sky, still unfinished.
All photos taken December 25th, 2007. Cross-posted from Indyish.com
2 comments
That’s fantastic — those scenes of destruction, carved in stone, speaking to a contemporary visual mindset — they seem borderline kitsch, but perhaps less so after 9/11 and Katrina (noting the Twin Towers in one of them). But yes — jobs! And maybe they can apply for some grants under the new administration’s ‘rebuilding America’ stimulus to finish the spires…
I don’t know what to say except – spectacular! Thank you for sharing. Note to other readers – go to the original Flickr page and look at the photos at highest resolution – well worth it.