I know, I know: “grotesque”

    • ours@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Nah, with modern glass buildings the spirits smack into the windows and break their necks.

      • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
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        8 months ago

        I’m a Stonemason, the actual issue, beyond modern architecture not taking weather into proper regard(I.e. shedding rain as a part of design) and more of minimalist bent to modern buildings, is the lack of skilled stone cutters. It’s a dying trade, and at least where I am (Scotland) schools keep closing down as there’s not enough students to keep the schools open.

        The platform to run on would be to support and encourage trades and keeping the old knowledge alive.

        • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          It’s just another trade being eliminated by cheap manufacturing. Anyone with a 3D printer could download a gargoyle design, create an injection mold, and fill it with a fiber-plastic that resembles stone at a distance. While it requires talent and investment upfront, you could manufacture thousands of gargoyles in the time it takes a stonemason to make one by hand. It could be lighter, more detailed, and cheaper. And if you were to create market demand, you’ll find 100 knockoff manufacturers coming out of countries without labor laws or IP protections.

          • someguy3@lemmy.ca
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            8 months ago

            Imho, do it. We need a little more decorative element in our buildings. Brutalism is not good.

            • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              I’ll buy one, but I’m not going to make them. I barely have time to get the dishes done and keep up with laundry.

          • SturgiesYrFase@lemmy.ml
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            8 months ago

            Those cheap ones are available in cementious materials, they’d be fine for new build stuff, but that wouldn’t fly with historic buildings, where it’s often government mandate that things are replaced like for like. I work in conservation, and when we pull a stone, the replacement is often sourced from the same quarry (if possible the same vein) as the original. Mortar matching is also a thing, where a sample is sent into the lab, and the exact same mixture is used, right down to the bits of shell from the same beach if possible.
            Also those cheap ones really don’t have the lasting power of actual stone.

  • Lemminary@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    It’s true. In my country, we have like 3 gargoyles and we can barely function. We have one as our moral compass, another as a weather forecaster, and the last one as a spooky Halloween decoration. We’re lucky we know the day of the week as it is.

  • something_random_tho@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Fun fact time. They’re basically water drainage pipes, but fancy. They’re named gargoyles because it sounds like they’re gargling when water comes out of them.

    • Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I think it’s actually because the root word for gargoyle (and gargle) translates literally to “throat”.

      They are essentially a decorative throat.

  • Gladaed@feddit.de
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    8 months ago

    This is in part due to modern facades being water resistant. It is no longer necessary to project water away from fountains.

  • HonorableScythe@lemm.ee
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    8 months ago

    Unless you’re in the World of Darkness, in which case the gargoyle index is a measure of Tremere tomfoolery

  • Simon@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    8 months ago

    Well, somewhat the opposite since the use of gargoyles was rooted in fear and superstition and later tradition. As the levels of fear and superstition in society decrease, so too does the use of gargoyles.

    • lugal@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Well, so they were there to protect us, right? Who is protecting us now? The president? Don’t be ridiculous!

  • someguy3@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    Fun fact: They are called gargoyles because they gargle water out of their mouths.

    • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      That is cool! I saw some gargoyles in China and they were so cool! I just called them dragon gutter spouts because I didn’t know this. Actually, I took some pictures, might as well share one.
      Thanks for dropping some knowledge!

    • macrocarpa@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Yes! The etymology for both words is the French word gargouille, meaning throat. Gargouiller in frrench means gargle as we know it in English, and a gargoyle has a spout where rain water exits it’s mouth when it’s raining (via its throat)

      From memory if it doesn’t spout water it’s called a grotesque.

  • redcalcium@lemmy.institute
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    8 months ago

    Back then rich people don’t know what to do with their money, so they spent it on fancy scuppers. Now we have many other avenues to waste money instead, like the stock market.