The Art of Architectural Photography 2-23-2014

Architecture is structure, design, function, form.  It is also texture.  Down the street from this church window are buildings in which windows are smooth: modern buildings where glass meshes seamlessly with stone and metal details are so flush with structural design that they melt into the whole.  Modern design has texture that is often very subtle.  This window exemplifies an older architectural style wherein textures were separate parts of the visual work.  Newer buildings reflect the ever quickening pace of life.  A need for clean lines and no distractions to arrest the passerby with elaborations on a theme.  The older architecture illustrates time spent creating structures that would give the eye pause and architectural details to appreciate for themselves.  Although this window may not be considered ornamental, as in the other more embellished stained glass and richly carved portals this building displays, it provides much texture and detail that, in and of itself, states not only function but an echo of another age.

St. Thomas Church, NYC: 53rd Steet and 5th Avenue