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The
Stonecutter's Art
TE photo, September 2010 |
Sculpted
into the arches of Lovett Hall on the Rice University Campus are the faces of
philosophers, essayists and other wise and noble men.
One repeated figure
is neither wise, nor noble. He is a chubby, bewildered-looking figure seated with
a large book in his lap, holding himself erect by his right arm. |
"Freddy"
after a hard night of "study"
TE
photo, September 2010 |
It is obvious to
anyone that he is a freshman. If Rice were to have a contest to match his overall
look with members of the current freshman class, scores of contestants would be
caught in a huge tie for first place.
To the left of “Freddie” is his dashing
alter ego. A galloping leather-helmeted footballer with quilted pants and a nose
guard resembling a Norman helmet. |
BMOC
AKA Freddy's Alter Ego
TE
photo, September 2010 |
Freddy’s main distraction
appears to his left. His eyes stray from Plato to pulchritude in the form of a
stone-cold figure resembling the yet-to-come Mae West. Mae, replete with purse
and parasol, is wearing the latest fashions (circa 1912).
Only the fashions
have changed. |
A
shapely stone siren.
TE
photo, September 2010 |
A
more alert "Freddy"
TE
photo, September 2010 |
| Lovett
Hall was the first building of the William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement
of Letters, Science and Art. The cornerstone was laid in 1911. |
The
heavily-ornamented breezeway.
TE
photo, September 2010 |
| If one needs additional
proof that the Lovett stonecutters got their inspiration locally, one needs to
look no further than the hedges or live oaks. Grackles outnumber owls on the Rice
campus by numbers that sometimes require pedestrians to carry umbrellas – even
on sunny days. |
Life
imitates Art - a Rice Grackle finds a caterpillar in a hedge.
TE
photo, September 2010 |
A
stone bird resorts to sampling stone.
TE
photo, September 2010
See Texas
Birds | |
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