The Spire of Notre Dame

Check out the former "Crystal Cathedral" in Garden Grove, CA.

I live in Orange County myself and have seen it several times. One interesting thing about it is they had one of the few number of full pipe organs in the U.S., and it was supposedly of top flight quality.

Aren't malls just churches for consumers anyway? :)

 

I'd love to see someone design a mall that looked like a cathedral (or a church that looked like an Apple store). The day may come ...

In another take on that, where I grew up, the area Catholic Church was converted from an old Sunquist Fruit Orange packing plant and the locals used to call it "St. Sunquist".

'What's a Chinese earn?'

About a million dollars, apparently.

Sorry, couldn't resist that. It was asking for it.

Now here's my two-penn'orth on Notre Dame:

My home city of Coventry had its 400 year old cathedral destroyed by incendiary bombing during WWII. The ruins have been left as a memorial of that horrific era, and a new cathedral was, eventually, about 20 years later, erected adjacent to those ruins.

The new building was quite impressive, if somewhat angular and unornamented on the outside. Its interior was more impressive, but simply lacked the 'feeling' of veneration and history that somehow imbues ancient structures of any sort. Be they dedicated to religion or otherwise.

The 'new' cathedral has now stood for just under 60 years, and I was appalled to recently see that the concrete-built chapter house has sections of 'blown' concrete. Where the reinforcing steel has expanded and cracked the encasing concrete.

Unlike ancient sandstone blocks, a section of concrete can't be simply taken out and replaced. Meaning the chapter house may well have to be completely demolished and re-built. It's this lack of craftsmanship and attention to detail that concerns me about modern architecture. No matter what the design, it should be well-crafted and use materials that weather and last well. More than 50 or 60 years in any event.

Many of Britain's churches have undergone acts of governmental and administrative vandalism over the centuries. Ranging from the dissolution of the monasteries, through extremist protestant whitewashing of frescoes and defacing of sculptures, to Victorian 'rip it out and replace it' restoration. Making those few examples that have survived a few centuries intact precious and few.

So just put back Notre Dame the way you found it! For future generations to enjoy, or at least experience in whatever way they want. Of course, use modern materials where they'll be more durable - no reinforced concrete please! - but don't destroy a skyline that's pleasured people's eyes for generations.... just because you can. And for some masturbatory intellectual satisfaction done in the name of 'art'.

Ha! Masturbatory satisfactions run the gamut from redesigning cathedral spires to playing with spectrum color charts all the live long day. Never would I judge another’s masturbatory fantasy, since I’ve had a few doozies of my own. Besides, most masturbation fantasy (obviously not all) is done in private and doesn’t come to fruition (thankfully for most high school kids), so they’re harmless, except for maybe the poor confessors who have to hear them behind closed doors.

However, art as masturbation can’t really be taken seriously and is, instead, a mere rant laden with a sense and sensibility deprivation.

Ha! Masturbatory satisfactions run the gamut from redesigning cathedral spires to playing with spectrum color charts all the live long day.

The difference being that I don't inflict my 'masturbatory fantasies' - which they're neither BTW - on the public at large and literally written in stone to stand for decades.

Why not pick on somebody else to prove to yourself that you have half a brain? (Another intellectual masturbation) I'm getting sick of being stalked around the fora.

Disagreement is one thing, but the above attack is just vindictive and personal. You want it to get personal?

However, art as masturbation can’t really be taken seriously and is, instead, a mere rant laden with a sense and sensibility deprivation.

Meaningless tosh!

I'm getting sick of being stalked around the fora.

This is not being stalked around the fora forums. It's eliciting a response ... in kind. I should know. I have strong opinions, as you do, and I'm not surprised by strong reactions.

The difference being that I don't inflict my 'masturbatory fantasies' - which they're neither BTW - on the public at large

Just a select portion of the public.

In another take on that, where I grew up, the area Catholic Church was converted from an old Sunquist Fruit Orange packing plant and the locals used to call it "St. Sunquist".

I wonder if The Orange Juice Princess herself, Ms. Gays Can’t Be Teachers Anita Bryant (those were the days, weren’t they?), brokered the deal ... for a hefty percentage, of course? Fruity! :)

Update. No comment by me, anyhow

Notre Dame repair is metaphor for France pulling together, says Macron

I’d say the spire is more of a symbol than the repair is a metaphor. But, either way, it’s not a bad interpretation except he, like so many ambitious writers, stretches it a bit far.

...

I’d go own but this post will probably be deleted

Why? There were a lot of anti-Trump posts here, and I don't recall those being deleted. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I wonder if The Orange Juice Princess herself, Ms. Gays Can’t Be Teachers Anita Bryant (those were the days, weren’t they?), brokered the deal ... for a hefty percentage, of course? Fruity! :)

Hah! Well this was in the early 60's before Ms. Bryant and her gay bashing ways. This was the day of John Schmitz and the John Birch Society another bastion of enlightened thought.

just when you thought.....

https://www.theblaze.com/notre-dame-woke-revamp-one-world?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

just when you thought.....

'This WILL bring darkness': Glenn Beck warns 'new global religion' being formed right NOW

Why post this? I.e. please don't.

Where are the photos?

Notre-Dame de Paris : la cathédrale retrouvera une flèche identique à l'originale

This will make some people happy here if they understand French

Here is a picture of the spire of Notre Dame.

This was designed in the reign of Louis Phillippe - that is to say, French Victorian Gothic.

 

It is not and was not an actual Gothic (12th - 16th c) part of the cathedral.

 

 

Still worse, replacing it with some sort of "Cirque du Soleil" modern structure would be intrusive in the worst sense.

[ATTACH=full]1292159[/ATTACH]

 

IMHO

In a recent article in the Guardian, you can practically see contemporary architects drooling over the opportunity to immortalize themselves. Few seem to be concerned with historical integrity.

Notre-Dame de Paris : les premiers arbres qui serviront à la reconstruction de la flèche viennent d'être sélectionnés | Connaissance des Arts

Why post this?

It would probably help if you would actually read Back's reasoning.

Beck's reasoning

oxymoron

It would probably help if you would actually read Back's reasoning.

There's not a single word in the text of the article you linked to about or related to photography. There was a visual aspect to the original post here about Notre Dame and I don't care as much as some others about the specific relationship between photography and PN posts, but what in the world are you talking about, JDM? Nothing in the article has anything to do with photography. Glenn Beck is a dangerous clown show whose ideas shouldn't be given oxygen by any normal-thinking human being. Why you linked to these hallucinogenic wanderings of a depraved mind is beyond understanding.