simple photography: Angels in the Architecture: Gargoyles, Graveyard Statuary and Other Hidden Gems

“He looked around, round/ He saw angels in the architecture, spinning in infinity”
--Paul Simon, “You Can Call Me Al”

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I apologize, folks, because I’d inadvertently fibbed to you last week. I’d anticipated today’s post would be about the outdoor decorating swap I’m participating in. But there have been... ahem... technical difficulties... which have pushed things back a bit.

Oh, it’s all resolved now and will be sending the package off today. But this means I’ll have to share the results of it all with you next week. I mean, I COULD tell you now, but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for the dear lady who’s receiving the package. ‘Nuff said.

So instead, I thought I’d share with you one of my weird little hobbies-- taking pictures of the art that surrounds us all the time, whether we discern it or not-- the sculpture found in local architecture and cemeteries.

I guess I started to become interested in architectural statuary about ten years ago during a five-day business trip to New Orleans. Most of the trip involved standing hours on end, manning a tradeshow booth. But in the time I was there, I had one glorious, booth-free day-- so my colleague and I decided to take a bus tour of the city. One of the stops was at one of New Orleans’ famous cemeteries. And there, I was surrounded by the most amazing sculptures of angels, gargoyles and other fantastic faces. There was not enough time to take all the photos I’d wished.

Once back in western PA, I couldn’t quite get the angels out of my system. There seemed to be all this remarkable artwork lurking where so few people saw it, and I became determined to capture a bit of it on film.

I suppose it might seem morbid, to actively wander through old cemeteries and narrow city streets searching for the expressions of history, myth and spirituality carved in rock or honed in metal. But it’s actually a very relaxing quest. It forces you to slow down, and really stop and see what’s around you every day-- to truly notice the eaves of a turn-of-the-century bank... The detail on a steeple.... The nuances in an old heavy door.

It’s why I particularly like that line from Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” I’d posted above. No matter what your belief system, it’s those little normally-overlooked details and surprises, like angels out of rock, that help keep life full of continued wonder.

Many of the photos here come from two cemeteries in the Squirrel Hill/Homewood area in Pittsburgh, though some are also from the rolling hills near Smicksburg, PA.

This is the statue a friend and I refer to as “The Black Angel.” She’s very hard to photograph due to the years of weathered patina.

This poor statue below has seen better days, yet still manages to strike a triumphant pose, even missing part of a limb...

I find it interesting how, depending on the time of day and the amount of sunlight, the statues seem to reflect a different mood. The sunshine of the day reflected an unexpected green and pinkish cast onto the face of this figure...

I’ve always liked how this figure’s placid face appears to look upward for answers. There’s a really nice sense of strength about the pose. He's a handsome fellow..

And the range of expressions among the figures is so broad. We can go from the sweet face of one statue...

To the frightening gaze of another...

And a visage that has been almost entirely worn away by time...

In the old historic banking district-- Second Avenue, in downtown Pittsburgh-- we see other faces peering down upon us. Not unexpectedly we discover the faces of the lion...