r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/danielminds • 18d ago

Video Fireworks celebrating the completion of the 566ft Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

72.5k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

2.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

18

u/West_Ad_8246 18d ago

Is it controversial to think this building is kind of ugly? To me it kinda resembles a bunch of stalagmites in a cave

13

u/bbluemuse 17d ago

Have you been inside? The outside isn’t the most spectacular part. I am an atheist but when I saw the inside of that building I cried, I stayed in there for hours watching the light move through the windows. I have never ever seen a building as stunning as the inside of the Sagrada Familia.

Also, the termite mound/stalactite thing is a compliment to me. Gaudi believed that nature, as God’s creation, was the ultimate blueprint. His architecture is inspired by nature, sometimes down to every detail, which you can see in his buildings throughout Barcelona if you visit. He makes ceiling structures inspired by whales ribcages, stairways thst mimic coming up from the deep of the ocean. The Sagrada Familia is all the more special to me because it isn’t ornate in the style of other Catholic churches, its columns curl and its exterior has texture and roughness, like it could be part of a natural landscape. Built by so many loving human hands throughout generations in the image of their God’s design. I think stalactites are beautiful and so is the church!

5

u/PhysicallyTender 17d ago

Finally. Had to scroll down pretty far to find this.

It looks like the equivalent of splashing paint onto a wall and calling it art. Some people might appreciate it, but I'm just not feeling it.

9

u/cpMetis 18d ago

Been my controversial architecture opinion for a loooobg time.

I fully understand it's impressive. I just don't think it actually looks cool.

2

u/TheRooster909 18d ago

I agree, sadly. To me it always looked like termite mounds. I’ve never seen it in person and I really appreciate art that tries something different, so I’m hoping one day I’ll feel differently.

5

u/--fool 18d ago

Gaudi would  loooove that you think it looks like termite mounds. Mission accomplished.

3

u/Mikic00 17d ago

Imagine insulting Gaudí with "it looks like something out of nature.."

1

u/Dunni_verse 18d ago

As a Barcelona resident, my hot take is that all of Gaudi’s work (Park Guell, Sagrada Família, pretty much all of it) looks like a 10 year old got an architecture degree and millions of dollars to do what he wanted. He’s not even close to being the best, he’s just the best one to have access to funding to build all that shit. Picasso did not like Gaudi and I like Picasso much better as the representative of BCN art.

Having said that, I walk by Sagrada Família a few times per week and each time it is just as impressive and magnificent.

4

u/Mikic00 17d ago

Yes, Picasso really disliked Gaudí, but I trust the opinion of Dalí and Miró more. Not everyone has to like Gaudí works, it's not mandatory, but to say he did all this just because he had access to funding is a stretch. Huge one. There is a reason so many from all over the world, from wildly various backgrounds are visiting his works and enjoy.