‘Under The Bridge (Water Cathedral) II’
…another view of the bridge and water scene featured in the previous post, this time a black and white version….
Under The Bridge (Water Cathedral) II
Tag: Cathedral
Under The Bridge (Water Cathedral)
‘Under The Bridge (Water Cathedral)’
…a hidden, almost sacred place just above the sea and far beneath the traffic’s thrum…
God In Segments
The view up to a stunning vaulted ceiling in England’s York Minster.
Justifiably lauded for its architecture, it was the complex symmetry of it all that left me dazzled.
Like this segmented design ,radiating out from the centre of the ceiling like a star, or a flower, then falling down smoothly to enfold the equally beautiful arched windows.
I am a bit of a sucker for symmetry, as some pictures elsewhere on this blog will attest.
As a religious house it is well nigh perfect.
But, there was the nagging thought in my mind that it was a grand, and failed, attempt – it was made by imperfect humans after all ! – to capture a universal spirituality that is at times:
unpredictable,
jagged,
asymmetrical,
not compartmentalised,
indefinable…
Holy Family Fragment
La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
A personal favourite of the photos I took on my recent visit to the cathedral (and I took a shitload, if I can use profanity in proximity to the sacred).
Just one view of a small portion of the Gaudi structure.
So many many fragments to the seamless whole it is mindboggling – true visionary stuff.
(Holy Family is an English translation of Sagrada Familia).
Impossible Gargoyle
Medieval, fantastical – a gurning gargoyle projects outwards from a cathedral wall.
I love the sheer needlessness of gargoyles, and their impossibility.
This gargoyle is also a chimera, a genetic hybrid of two different creatures,in this case something doglike with bird wings.
A chimera also means an idea that is absurd or simply impossible.
I initially thought there was only one gargoyle in this picture. On closer examination I think there might actually be three more smaller ones on the buttress below our winged friend,one upside down.
Maybe I am imagining it.
That would be impossible…
Spine
Still on my travels in Britain.
Yesterday, on a whim ,we took a detour on the way south to the city of Lincoln.
The town is dominated by its breathtaking, ancient cathedral.
This picture of the roof highlights the structural spine of the building.
To me it appears somewhat like the skeleton of a fish.
Regardless of religious persuasion ( if any ), we all need a spiritual backbone – something that holds it all together for us on our meandering life journeys.
A spine, a touchstone, an anchor.
Something firm and certain,no matter the detours we take!
Dubai As She Curves
Looking up in a transit lounge at Dubai Airport. Yesterday’s post had rocks mimicking waves at an Auckland beach.
Here the glass and steel and concrete of windows looking out on the runways is a curving cathedral where travel is worshipped and your chosen destination is a skyward apex.
Dusk: Church and Cathedral
…and in the ongoing series… Number seven, all good people go to heaven(not sure whether that qualifies as a factoid…..the theologians amongst you can debate!).
Anyway ,two for the price of one this time. A tower, a spire, a flag, a weathervane – symbols galore in the fading light.
Ebb Then Flood 