Gargoyle Sculptures In Our Modern Culture
For centuries now, gargoyle sculptures have fascinated the public mind. These hideous carved creatures come in all manner of body mixtures, from human to animal. Gracing a myriad of doorways, graveyards and churches, these abominable statues, traditionally, protected from deterioration, the architecture they inhabited. But, in our modern times, their practical use has transformed into the symbolic, the commercial and the artistic.
Someone gargling water is what one may think of when passing by a traditional gargoyle. Hence, one of the meanings of name, gargoyle, is just that, gargling. It is easy, then, to ascertain that gargoyles were originally for dealing with rainfall and other moisture, as a part of artful drainage systems. Thus, reducing the damage done to buildings by erosive elements.
Superstitions surrounded the statues as a result of their grotesque appearance. Hosts of lion-bodied birds and dragon-bodied, beak-nosed humans, to name a few, were believed to ward off demonic forces. Driving off would-be desecrators and thieves was thought to be a function of these monstrous sculptures as well.
However, decorative uses seem to have mostly supplanted the functional uses of gargoyles in these modern times. Walkways, gardens and home-furnishings are just a few of the purposes in which these statues have been replicated for. Gargoyles have even made it into the production of novel jewelry and graphic shirts. As with regular, mundane use, the more disturbing attributes of these sculptural ornaments have been confined to historical memory.
Gargoyles have, even, been adopted by the modern gothic sub-culture. Since, traditionally, gargoyles have been found in religious and taboo locations, gothic culture has found these sculptures an indispensable symbol of the darker side of the human psyche. As subjects like death and God are a couple of the complex themes the gothic culture is involved with. But, even here, their superstitious ancestry has all but dissipated into the annals of antiquity.
Of course, there are no limits to the juggernaut of capitalization. Entrepreneurs, upon finding a market, will attempt to make a few dollars from it. Coming to no surprise, then, is the fact that gargoyles have not managed to escape this fact. A taste for such three dimensional sculptures happens to exist within the multitudes of the gothic genre.
Thus, even in this day and age, gargoyles can be seen lurking in all manner of places. Serving, nowadays, as subtle accents, they grace our everyday scene and maybe, just maybe, they still scare away a few demons. Here is to hoping. Read more about: Gargoyle Sculptures
Someone gargling water is what one may think of when passing by a traditional gargoyle. Hence, one of the meanings of name, gargoyle, is just that, gargling. It is easy, then, to ascertain that gargoyles were originally for dealing with rainfall and other moisture, as a part of artful drainage systems. Thus, reducing the damage done to buildings by erosive elements.
Superstitions surrounded the statues as a result of their grotesque appearance. Hosts of lion-bodied birds and dragon-bodied, beak-nosed humans, to name a few, were believed to ward off demonic forces. Driving off would-be desecrators and thieves was thought to be a function of these monstrous sculptures as well.
However, decorative uses seem to have mostly supplanted the functional uses of gargoyles in these modern times. Walkways, gardens and home-furnishings are just a few of the purposes in which these statues have been replicated for. Gargoyles have even made it into the production of novel jewelry and graphic shirts. As with regular, mundane use, the more disturbing attributes of these sculptural ornaments have been confined to historical memory.
Gargoyles have, even, been adopted by the modern gothic sub-culture. Since, traditionally, gargoyles have been found in religious and taboo locations, gothic culture has found these sculptures an indispensable symbol of the darker side of the human psyche. As subjects like death and God are a couple of the complex themes the gothic culture is involved with. But, even here, their superstitious ancestry has all but dissipated into the annals of antiquity.
Of course, there are no limits to the juggernaut of capitalization. Entrepreneurs, upon finding a market, will attempt to make a few dollars from it. Coming to no surprise, then, is the fact that gargoyles have not managed to escape this fact. A taste for such three dimensional sculptures happens to exist within the multitudes of the gothic genre.
Thus, even in this day and age, gargoyles can be seen lurking in all manner of places. Serving, nowadays, as subtle accents, they grace our everyday scene and maybe, just maybe, they still scare away a few demons. Here is to hoping. Read more about: Gargoyle Sculptures
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