Comments on: Dysfunctionalism

By: pgepps

pgepps — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 19:37:01 +0000

The more I look at these, the more I have to say it: “Sauron was here” — http://www.realclearreligion.org/lists/the_ugliest_churches_in_the_world/metropolitan_cathedral_of_christ_the_king.html?state=stop

By: pgepps

pgepps — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 15:37:11 +0000

…also, even very humble spaces can be beautiful and dignified: http://www.holyinnocentsokc.org/god-s-gifts beats http://www.realclearreligion.org/lists/the_ugliest_churches_in_the_world/solid_rock_church.html?state=stop
or
http://www.realclearreligion.org/lists/the_ugliest_churches_in_the_world/metropolitan_cathedral_of_christ_the_king.html?state=stop
or especially
http://www.realclearreligion.org/lists/the_ugliest_churches_in_the_world/iglesia_de_la_consolacion.html?state=stop
…it’s not about absolute cost, though in some sense it *is* about costliness.

By: pgepps

pgepps — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 15:26:49 +0000

“beautiful communities can lead to beautiful architecture more often than beautiful architecture will lead to beautiful communities”–Well said.

I will only make one supplementary suggestion: that communities tend to build as befits their understanding of the dignity of their gods/God, and that the relative level of devotional art/architecture to decorative/entertainment art/architecture tells us a great deal about the community’s relationship to the True, Good, and Beautiful. Christians do not need to build Gothic cathedrals to be sure their sacred art/architecture are more precious, dignified, and declarative of God’s presence than, say, their courthouses and stadiums.

By: literaryworkshop

literaryworkshop — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 18:36:07 +0000

I have an inkling that beautiful communities can lead to beautiful architecture more often than beautiful architecture will lead to beautiful communities. But it can take a while. If my memory of history serves me, I think that the Church existed for quite a while before it developed beautiful buildings in which to worship. When Auden wrote in his sonnet “Petition” about “New styles of architecture, a change of heart,” he got it backwards, and he later acknowledged his mistake.

-Steve S.