John Burridge: dragons

Showing posts with label dragons. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 07, 2021

Lepec Dragon

One of the advantages of having a mobile device is that one can use it to research cool items in the MET (like dragons) and save which galleries they are located in into a list for later visits. This dragon is a boxwood carving by Charles Lepec, from 1886/7.

Technically, this is might be a wyvern; the hind legs aren't evident, although they could be hidden behind the portrait. I like how the dragon's head is a cross between a boxer's and a cat's. The wings are not natural, but they read that way; and the intricate carving on them excuses their artificiality. I like the baroque feel of the carving, which still manages to have robust and aerodynamic qualities. The heraldic pose of the dragon doesn't feel antique -- it looks like an animal one would more likely find on a carousel than on a knight's shield.

Okay, and the tiny Eros on the dragon's sphere is just enough over-the-top Art Nouveau to enchant.

If I had the means, I would expand the frame, get rid of Eros, take this dragon, twin and mirror it, and then place a mirror in the free claws and tails. If I was feeling particularly Victorian / allegorical, I would name one dragon, "Vanity," and the other "Validation" and carve their names into their crowns. Or possibly have miniature, exchangeable banners that read, "I'm Beautiful, Damn It!", "Beautiful Like Me," or simply, "Behold!"

Sunday, September 02, 2018

Grand Central Terminal Dragons

I'm not sure why these dragons are along the hallway of Grand Central Terminal. I suspect biting their own tails makes them a ouroboros symbol. Perhaps the building designer wanted to remind train passengers of eternity, or it's a joke about "eternity's halls."

The dragons are also intertwined with each other, so maybe it's a statement about how all things are connected... maybe a pun on making train connections?

I like the way their teeth look like zippers opening. I like the use of circles in the composition, and how the neck arc balanced out the arc of the wings.

I'm not sure why the designer added a man and horse. It looks like he might be saddling the horse, but on closer inspection, he appears to be grooming the horse's mane.

If I were going to take these pictures again, I'd want a light source about twenty degrees forward in the plane of the carving and at about the four-thirty position. I suppose there's lamps on selfie-sticks out there...

Now that I've been back home for forty-eight hours, I have the usual post-vacation travel observations:

The air (pollen? ash? mold?) in the Willamette Valley gives me congestion and bothers my eyes. This makes me tired.
Something makes my skin itch (see above, plus stress?); I suspect I've developed a nervous habit of scratching my forearms between bouts of typing.
Ergonomics at workstations are important, and also hourly stretch breaks.
I need to look at my tea habit, because I should probably replace one of the giant mugs of tea with something like a serving of carrots. Or hot water.
Chocolate makes me fart. Probably early-morning rationing would help me not bolt so much when I snack.
I should replace the grazing on almonds, craisins, chocolate, and tea at work with a more regular snack lunch of a tuna-lettuce wrap -- because I think this would improve my alertness.

Thursday NYC Gargoyle Photo Safari

Thursday I woke up at LGL's. The previous night, after he'd returned from work and the gym, I'd taken LGL out for Chinese food and general hanging out. I was conscous enough to have a short conversation with him before he went off to work (he starts work very early), and then I caught about another hour of sleep.

Since I didn't have to catch an airport bus until noon, I spent a few hours on another gargoyle photo safari. This time around I stayed on the west side of Central Park, and slowly wound my way to the American Museum of Natural History. The outside has cool bas relief and sculptures... and, wow, is it White Euro-Centric Male.

That didn't stop me from photographing it; I think if I'd had the time I would have hung around until the sun could swing around 30 degrees further along the ecliptic, because then its rays would have made the bas relief bears and bison and moose really pop. As it was, the mountain lions were the only frieze properly lit. I suppose if I were hardcore, I would have had an assistant with a mylar reflector bring out details. But it was just me, and already the morning temperature pushed toward 90F. More Museum of Natural History photos are here.

After the museum, I wound my way back to LGL's apartment. I probably could have stayed out another hour, but the anxieties of getting to Newark Airport from downtown NYC prompted otherwise.

As I was walking west along 81st Street, I saw some folate heads and intricately carved balusters. I'm not sure if I'd call it Gothic Revival -- but when I looked up at the brownstone, there were dragons! OMG! It was like someone had taken an old bestiary and turned it into a sculpture.

The dragons flanked a roundel. At first I thought this was Adam and Eve. Later, when I was looking at the photo from home, I noticed these figures look like women. And there's no Tree of Life or Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil behind them. And they're sharing an open book between them. I can only conclude this is some sort of Lesbian Library Heaven that I haven't heard about and it's Guarded by Dragons.

The whole building was covered with faces and lions and twining vines. More Photos Here. I felt like finding the building was a reward and the final hurrah before I'd have to pack the camera in its special pack and pack the pack into my soft cary-on luggage and get into the travel stream. I'd leave the magical Upper West Side, Upper East Side, and the other gilded boroughs with their djinni of granite and steel. I'd say goodby to the totem animals and spirit helpers of sandstone and brass. I'd get on a bus to the airport, wind through TSI security, eat airport food, file onto a plane, and fly for five hours back home, where the cats were waiting.