(not so) random posts of pretty

Thanks to my recent trip to Barcelona where his work is everywhere, Antoni Gaudi has become my all-time favorite architect. I got a chance to see some of his houses and, of course, the Sagrada Familia, and it all just blew me away. Pictures truly can't do justice to his epic, beautiful, strange designs. And while it was all amazing, my favorite had to be Park Güell.

In 1900, Gaudi was commissioned to build a neighborhood of luxury houses set atop and away from the crime and pollution of the city center. Enough lots were available to build as many as sixty homes, but when the model home was unveiled, the Barcelona aristocracy was shocked and appalled at what Gaudi had created, so only two homes were ever built and only one was sold, making it a massive failure. I suppose it's easy to imagine how folks in 1910 might not have been able to wrap their heads around Gaudi's design, however today the park teems with tourists, the dragon sculpture outside one of the homes has become a symbol of Barcelona, and I can imagine folks would drop some major cash if the houses became available for private sale.

Of course, I loved everything about the place. It's like being in a fairytale dream word created by a mildly mad man...

random posts of pretty: detroit edition

Detroit's Guardian Building is one of my all-time favorite skyscrapers. The interior - lavishly decorated with mosaics created with pewabic tiles - is absolutely stunning, but all my previous efforts to capture it on film have failed.

Until now. Because now, I have the technology.











Easy to see how it earned the nicknamed "The Cathedral of Finance," eh?

random posts of pretty: detroit edition

Until this story ran in last Thursday's Detroit News, I had no idea that Burning Man - the annual desert event that draws a slew of performers, artists and nudists - has become a national civic-minded community, so of course I had no idea that there was a very large and active branch of that community right here in Detroit.  Ordinarily, this news would only be of mild interest to me, but when the article went on to announce that the Michigan Burning Man community had constructed an elaborate, hand-made temple right smack in the middle of one of the most blighted communities in the city, and that they would be unveiling said temple on Summer Solstice, I had to check it out.  There was too much potential for the bizarre to not.

Unfortunately, there were no nudists or fire breathers at the temple's reveal, but seeing the odd, beautiful thing in person was worth the trip. According the those who had a hand in building it, the purpose of the temple is to put art in the center of a community that lacks beauty, serving as a symbol of hope. It's intended to function as a gathering place for the community, particularly for the Motor City Blight Busters' summer youth group.

Pictures really don't do the thing justice - it's really incredible.  Also incredible is how much it detracts from the blight that surrounds it.  Of course, I'm not so naive as to think that things like this are enough to change the atmosphere of a community, but at least it's something.  At least it's a start.  

random posts of pretty

The interior arches of St. Patrick's Cathedral:

Photo Credit: Me