book | Animals in stone : architectural sculpture in New York City

Animals in stone : architectural sculpture in New York City / Robert Arthur King ; introduction by Andrew S. Dolkart ; maps by Jeffery Ward.
New York [etc.] : W. W. Norton, 2009.
144 p. : il. bl. y n.
ISBN 9780393732863*Materias:
Decoración y ornamentación arquitectónicas – Estados Unidos.
Nueva York (N.Y.)
Biblioteca A-72.04 ANI

A delightful collection of creatures that adorn New York City buildings. Companion to “Faces in Stone”, this is a gift-sized and attractively priced book for architecture buffs. It features more than one hundred imaginative sculptural details, from the domestic to the fantastic, with a brief introduction and contextual photos to show the building on which each ornament appears, the addresses, and transportation information.

Reviews

“Implicitly, King makes a case against the rigid application of modernist dogma to architecture. That the carvings he photographed added depth, visual interest and beauty to their structures was sufficient justification for their existence. Form doesn’t necessarily have to follow function.” — Dave Luhrssen, Milwaukee Express

“[E]xcellent books, giving you another way to enjoy the sights, and great presents for architectural students or lovers of New York City.” — Pam Robinson, Examiner.com

Similar books could be produced in any older city with many buildings that have survived the ravages of “urban renewal.” But photographer Robert Arthur King, a professor at the New York School of Interior Design, didn’t have to wander far from home to find his subject in the decorative stone carvings on the facades of buildings. King focused on black and white photographs of animal figures—Art Deco eagles, sinister goats, roaring lions, glowering owls—mostly carved by anonymous artisans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Implicitly, King makes a case against the rigid application of modernist dogma to architecture. That the carvings he photographed added depth, visual interest and beauty to their structures was sufficient justification for their existence. Form doesn’t necessarily have to follow function. (David Luhrssen)

eta gainera | y también…

Faces in stone : architectural sculpture in New York City / Robert Arthur King ; foreword by Allison Silver ; maps by Alice Thiede.
New York [etc.] : W. W. Norton, 2008.
144 p. : il.
ISBN 9780393732344*
Materias:
Decoración y ornamentación arquitectónicas – Estados Unidos
Nueva York (N.Y.)
A-72.04 FAC