Fifth Floor of the Adams Building and in the Cathedral's Crypt

Today I woke up early in order to go read the Library of Congress. Stepping into the crisp D.C. air I joined the throng of suits, yuppies and aspiring politicians on the train inbound. Even the subways are utilitarian, built with nothing but reinforced concrete.

After registering and becoming an "official researcher" I traveled through the underground tunnel to the Adams building to read in the Science and Technology room. The reading room lay on the fifth floor. With vaulted ceilings held up by pillars of concrete and marble, the room was spacious enough to give the feel of a library; however, if you took away the cherry reading tables and the shelves holding the encyclopedias, the room might easily pass for a common room in a prison, except for the fact that they tend to put windows in prisons.

For quite a few hours today I indulged myself in The Contemporary Blacksmith by Dona Z. Meilach. As I read I came upon her description of a certain blacksmith by the name of Albert Paley whose work actually resides in the lower level of the National Cathedral. Pictures and descriptions are all fine and good but to lay hand and eye upon a piece is an irreplaceable experience. I packed my belongings, put my books on hold for another day and made my way through subway and over streets.

Prof. Beatty at Holy Cross mentioned Paley before. At the moment Paley might be one the of preeminent metal sculptors in the United States. The way that the metal in his gate wraps and weaves makes for a piece that is at once in discord and harmoniously in sync. Your eye is drawn to the vacant space in the middle of the sun and the aptly placed bronze and then your eye follows the rays of light as they play and undulate throughout. My pictures don't do it justice; however, you can see his process on his web page.

Across from Paley's piece was another intricate gate. The sheer detail in these pieces is amazing.

I was surprised by the gate that you see above. For the most part gates are one static fixture. What the artist did with this piece was to make the inside sections fluid. The artist joined the pieces in such a way that they were hinged off one another.

According to Dona Meilach, there is one more Paley piece I need to see tomorrow at the Renwick gallery...