November 2010

Basilica of St. Lawrence
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

I guess I’m giving a biased view of Asheville architecture, avoiding all the art deco buildings for some reason. This cathedral is said to be of the Spanish Baroque Revival style and was built entirely without wood or steel, using only masonry and tiles for the floors, ceilings, and pillars. As cathedrals go, it’s not really a huge building, but leaving the “keystone” effect (the apparent angling in of the top of the building) in the photograph helps make it look more imposing.

Point-Counterpoint
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

The neo-gothic Jackson building reflected in another non-art deco but notable building in downtown Asheville. This building was designed by I.M. Pei, designer of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and the Pyramids of the Louvre in Paris. Personally, I don’t see this as being one of Pei’s best efforts.

Gothic Showoff
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

Read any introduction to downtown Asheville and one of the first things mentioned is that it is famous for its large collection of art-deco buildings. So it was surprising to see the neo-gothic Jackson building, complete with gargoyles on each corner, dominating the skyline. Built in the twenties, it was the first skyscraper in North Carolina (if a 14 story building can be considered a skyscraper anymore). It is also notable for being built on a tiny 27 foot by 60 foot lot. It’s diminutive size did not keep it from serving well as the set for the 1939 film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Taking Your Shadow for a Walk
Chimney Rock State Park
2010

Some folks returning to their cars from a hike, as viewed from the top of Chimney Rock.

Plastered
Chimney Rock State Park, North Carolina
2010

Some leaves stuck tight to a nicely textured wet rock wall next to a waterfall.

Umbrella Road
Chimney Rock State Park, North Carolina
2010

I was impressed by the size of the leaves from the Umbrella tree (Magnolia tripetala) in North Carolina. This one was so big it formed its own landscape.

Gridlock #11
Asheville, North Carolina
2011

Asheville isn’t really a big high-rise kind of town, as this bank building suggests (in a round about way anyway). If there were a lot of other tall buildings downtown, the windows in this one would more likely reflect other buildings rather than sky.

Cold Fingers
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

It was a rather chilly day when I took this; chilly enough that sitting on the cold bare concrete didn’t seem that appealing to me much less trying to pick out a song with cold fingers. But these two didn’t seem to mind (the grimace on her face was from belting out the lyrics, not the cold) and the song was actually quite good.

Leaving the Country
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

A woman shoveling a man out of a hole shaped like the United States; a lot of symbolism there but heck if I know what the graffiti artist had in mind.

Masterpiece Theater
Asheville, North Carolina
2010

This guy is just painting a rain spout but his shadow’s pose suggests a master painter at work on a great piece of art. You might have noticed I name a lot of my photos after song lines or common phrases; I guess I’m better at making associations than I am at being truly inventive. This immediately brought Bob Dylan’s song When I Paint My Masterpiece to mind, but I’ve used that one before so I chose the next best thing, or at least it was the next thing that came to mind.