Gargoyles

I took this picture from the bathroom of the 8th floor of the painting deapartment at UARTS in Philadelphia. When gargoyles were first made as water spouts on the cathedrals of Gothic Europe, people rarely saw them. They would not have been able to get the vantage point I was able to get.

It is easy to imagine a craftsman, who has received work building towers on the local cathedral, trying not to be bored carving a simple downspout. To show off his skills he carves them into a creature. He knows nobody will see it high in the air. Did he consider it art? Hobby? Utility? A joke?

At any rate, hundreds of years later, the gargoyle is taken down and displayed in a museum. People are fascinated, they pay to see it, they pay for a replica, they show them off in their gardens and book shelves. You can buy gargoyles for the downspouts of your home.

Is this the case of an object becoming art, or an artwork becoming an object?