Gothic architecture and subculture

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GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE AND SUBCULTURE


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t a h W ? h t o G Is

the first thing that comes in our mind when we hear the word goth is a subculture that associated to everything “dark” like haunted houses or people who wear dark makeup and look scary and rebellious nevertheless the original goth style was actually developed to bring sunshine into people’s lives and especially into their churches. The Goths were also known as the Barbaric tribe who held power in many countries in Europe during the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire from the fifth to the eighth century. The gothic style emerged from the Romanesque style in Europe from 1140-1400.During the Romanesque period, the churches became a status and began to attract a lot of money as religion became a crucial part of everyone’s life.Catholicism was an integral part of the European life which led to the creation of Gothic style.It was first defined as an architectural style and architectural motifs appear throughout gothic painting, sculpture and decorative arts.the centuries between 1000 to 1400 is the time during which a number of gothic styled cathedrals were built in Europe.the style was first developed in France and the earliest buildings were from Île-de-France also known as the “Parisian Region”. During the Gothic period which lasted roughly from about 11th to the 16th century, buildings became larger and higher.Windows and doors increased in size and height for immense light to enter the churches and cathedrals. (1)


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GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

the most important part and of gothic style of architecture is the pointed arch which was taken from the Islamic architecture.It is a key element which differentiates the gothic style from the others. Along with the pointed arch, there were other key features such as the rib vault which was stone ribs that supported thin stone panels, flying buttresses, and stained glass windows. Flying buttresses were developed in France to provide support between the chapels on the exterior of the buildings. There were certain number of influences which led to the rise of this architecture style such as geographical - by the end of the 12th century there was a new territorial distribution of the map of Europe.The people who were under the dominion of Rome formed into separate nations known as goths. Germany was the center of the Holy Roman Empire. • Geological- Geological conditions vary a lot in Europe which affects the architectural style in the countries.The French Cathedrals had high vaults, Italy had white and colored marbles. France and England have course grained stones. all these factors determine the character of architecture in these countries. • Climatic- the climatic conditions in Europe vary a lot from north to south and east to west. Climate has been a key feature in influencing the architectural style in Europe since the very beginning. Thus the northern Gothic churches are surrounded by vertical features such as flying buttresses and pinnacles to cast the shadows of the slanting rays of the sun.Heavy snowfalls made it necessary for the cathedrals to have steep slopes which adds to the gothic feature.


• Social & Economic- there was a rapid growth in the development of commercial activities in the European countries which led to the creation of many cathedrals and churches and an overall development in architecture. • Religious - During the Romanesque period the churches became a status and began to attract a lot of money as religion became a crucial part of everyone’s life.Catholicism was an integral part of the European life which led to the creation of Gothic style. (2)

ENGLISH GOTH VS FRENCH GOTH ARCHITECTURE Gothic Cathedrals in Europe vary a lot due to regional variations. The originator of the gothic style was France and England was the first country in Europe to Adopt this style. The main difference between French and English goth architecture was the spatial architectural difference and difference between their height and length. The French cathedrals are usually very tall, the focus is mainly on the height. e.g. - Notre-Dame, the vaults rise 115 feet off the ground, Beauvais Cathedral is the tallest gothic cathedral at 160 feet. By contrast, English cathedrals focus more on their width e.g. Salisbury in England 473 feet in length. Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey were the two most important buildings where royal coronations took place. The explanation behind this trademark contrast between the French and the English Gothic styles is that the majority of the English church buildings were religious communities (minsters), as were within the monastic grounds. For a similar reason there is generally a house, and frequently other monastic structures, connected to the English church. Usually there was a section house for gatherings, and in the church appropriate choir screens to isolate the piece of the building planned essentially for the priests from those areas in which the people regularly worshiped.


This tends to provide for the English chapels a less sensational, maybe less open character than the French houses of God. Canterbury appears to be practically private, even cozy, in contrast with the magnificence of Chartres or of Notre Dame. (3)

GOTH RE U T L U C B U S

The Goth subculture began in England in 1979. the emergence of the gothic art takes us back to the 11th century where the gothic style started.It started in Europe from about 1140-1400 and was first defined in architecture.Gothic art is a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France in the late 11th century and soon spread to all of Western Europe. Architectural Motifs appear throughout gothic paints, sculpture and art. The original gothic style was actually developed to bring sunshine into people’s lives and especially into the churches which are very contacting to the goth subculture we are aware of today.The gothic subculture has nothing common with the gothic tribes but it imitates gothic art. Gothic art is a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France in the late 11th century and soon spread to all of Western Europe. It is subculture where a group of people who feel comfortable within each other’s company. They are Identified mainly by black colour or dark colour clothing.


It was developed from the gothic rock scene post-punk genre. the goth subculture is all about dark elements such as dyed hair, black clothes, piercings and tattoos, dark fingernails, dark eyeliner etc. the subculture associated with music, aesthetics,fashion, and literature. There is a major stereotype about the goths that they are evil, saddest or Satanists. However, there is nothing as such. Goths are people just like everyone else and have emotions and feelings just like everyone else. There is no specific thing that defines a person to be in this subculture except obviously the dark colours. People who are in the goth subculture can have different musical tastes, follow different religions, have different occupations, hobbies and fashion sense. (4)

Gothic Influence on Fashion Gothic attire was born out of Punk, Victorian and Renaissance dressing styles and blended with the contemporary apparel styles. Generally, it gives the impression of breaking the traditional feeling of social association . Utilization of dim hues, particularly dark is normal for Gothic sub-culture and fashion. European men and women are a part of this sub-culture, colour their hair dark, wear dark nail polish and lipstick and wear dull or dark garments to make a Gothic subcultural fashion statement. Many designers and labels including Kanye West-YEEZY , Alexander McQueen ,Issey Miyake , Rei Kawakubo of Comme Des Garรงons , Givenchy , yohji yamamoto and many more have a prominent use of goth element in their designs. (5)


Alexander McQueen -

Like the best-known pixie stories, there was a dull and a dark side to his life, which led to him committing suicide in 2010. Gothicism was absolutely implanted in his innovative vision of design and fashion similarly as the Gothic impacted the stories of the German Brothers Grimm, who together gathered and distributed people stories in the Nineteenth Century, among them, was Cinderella, Rapunzel, the Frog Prince, Snow White and Hansel and Gretel..McQueen has shown his obsession with gothic over the years in his designs.” He also uses the “aesthetic of disgust”.He has included haunted elements and showcases “the past as Gothic trauma” in his shows. (6)


Goth photography-

goth photography has turned into an exclusive term.Goth photography can be very hard to explain as it is drenched in pop and modern cultures and appearing to always rethink itself. However gothic pictures are generally recognized in a split second. When you see an extremely dark photograph of a dim graveyard, you can in a flash mark it “goth”.The soul of goth photography is the mood.The main thing to choose when shooting gothic pictures is the idea you need to portray or feelings that u need to convey. Many famous photographers like Mario Testino, Nick Knight , Steven Klien and many others have used this photography in their work. (7)

Gothic Literature-

In literature as well, the desire for medievalism was always indulged, and particularly its relationship with the unusual, the peculiar and the colorful. It is set in medieval circumstances in an abnormal, bleak and frequented palace in Italy. ‘Gothic horror’ novel The Castle of Otranto, in Britain by Horace Walpole unashamedly makes fantastical and innovative utilization of the supernatural, which was to end up noticeably a component of Gothic books. This was in itself a response to the worry late seventeenth to mid-eighteenth century composing on the significance of reason. The castle of Otranto is filled with dim vaults, underground sections, trap-entryways, sinkholes – and phantoms. (8)


Goth music-

Gothic rock rose up out of post-punk in the late 1970s. The genre was characterized as a different development from post-punk because of its dark music joined by intense and sentimental lyrics. Gothic rock expanded to a more extensive subculture that included clubs, fashion, and art in the 1980s. (9)

GOTHIC INFLUENCE ON INDIAN ARCHITECTURERajabai Clock Tower Rajabai Clock Tower is one of the most beautiful and a big tourist attraction of South Mumbai.Two architectural styles are seen on this tower namely the Venetian and Gothic. (d’source of gallery and design) St. Stephen’s Church, Delhi The Church is ordinary Gothic style design, the Church is impacted by the Romanesque architecture Apart from walls and roofs the Church has a special element which is the stained glass rose window. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station The station has been planned by Frederick William Stevens as per the idea of Victorian Italian Gothic Revival architecture and intended to be a comparative restoration of Indian Goth design. The station was built in 1887 in the Bori Bunder territory of Mumbai to honour the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. (10)


Referencing(1)- When Gothic Was Born,About the Season ,BBC , http://www.bbc. co.uk/programmes/articles/1DHZFB726CfZ29KDh4sDvnC/aboutthe-season (2)-Gothic architecture ,Encyclopedia Britannica ,https://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-architecture (3) English vs French ,Salisbury.art.virginia.edu , http://salisbury.art. virginia.edu/uva10312602956714 (4)What is the Goth Subculture? | Study.com,Study.com ,http://study. com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-goth-subculture.htm (5) The Influence Of Gothic Culture On Fashion - Fashion Africa 254 Fashion Africa 254 ,http://fa254.com/uncategorized/the-influence-ofgothic-culture-on-fashion/ (6) Lindsay Baker, Alexander McQueen: Fashion’s dark fairytale, Bbc. com ,http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150313-fashions-dark-fairytale (7) Goth Photography: An Overview of Gothic Photography & What It Takes to Become a Goth Photographer,Bright Hub ,http://www. brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/71119.aspx (8)Gothic style and influence on literature from Crossref-it.info: Crossref-it.info , http://crossref-it.info/articles/324/gothic-and-the-medieval-revival (9) Gothic music? | Gothic Literature | LibraryThing: ,Librarything.com, https://www.librarything.com/topic/123430 (10) View B.,Indo-Gothic,On Art and Aesthetics ,https://onartandaesthetics.com/2016/04/23/indo-gothic



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