[lbo-talk] Imperial Chickens Come Home to Roost

[Chuck Grimes]

Just remembered what I spent a lot of time looking at in books. Notre 
Dame.Take
the portals for example, they are are carved Christian cosmology. The arches 
form
a bower like dome of heaven made of saintly figures. In the center making up
some of the horizonal support is a vertical column with the queen  Mary and 
baby Jesus.Above the first row of the choir, is the resurrection. Above the 
ressurection (hard to tell) is Mary and Jesus on their throne in heaven, the 
highest level of hierarchical society.. etc So it is a merge of religious 
and secular authority.Another portal has Jesus on a throne passing judgement 
with the Cheron below guiding the damned away...

Above the portal arches is a long row of figures, the row of kings... It 
goes on
and on. The cosmological symbolism of ND is pretty phenomenal....The 
structure and lay out of the interior is just as complex. It is in effect 
what Victor Hugo called
a universe: theology-philosophy in stone. These deep linkages have not gone 
away, We still build our monumental buildings with a blend of design, 
religion, philosophy: Chyrsler building, Empire State, or Johnson's AT&T 
neoliberal dementia whatever.

CG