Intriguing Architecture

         Sometimes architecture is one of the ways that the world tickles my imagination and draws me to curiosity and wonder.  Today I’ve got a few relief block prints that depict magical architecture in various forms.  First is a wood engraving by Kouki Tsuritani that depicts a strange spiral building.  There’s nothing about this that would require magic, but it certainly is not an ordinary building.  Not only is the spiral shape mysterious, but the perspective lends ambiguity to the height, as well as to the form.  Is it an enclosed building with tall windows, or is it more of an arcade or colonnade?  Like many wood engravings, this is quite small and the lines are very fine, so that it looks very precise and detailed, but when you try to look at the little person in the doorway, you discover that it’s really very simple.  Still, with that conical hat in that mysterious building, it must be a wizard!

        Next are two linoleum block prints by Brian Reedy.  These are both much more explicitly fantastical, and both are cities in the sky.  Even so, they are quite different.  The castle on the cloud has a pleasing array of turrets and towers in the European style, and is a very satisfying  example of a classic idea.  Who wouldn’t want to explore this magical castle?  The castle on the moon, on the other hand, is Moroccan in style, and includes some interesting twists.  For one thing, the fact that the crescent is the solid shape of the moon, and not simply an illusion of shadow, leaving no doubt that this is created by magic.  Then the different scales of the moon, the buildings, and the lamps leave me wondering how a human would fit into the scheme.  There are also a few palm trees, which are sure to make living there much more pleasant.  I particularly like the windows poking out of the other side of the crescent, implying that the whole moon has rooms or at least passages inside.

        I’m also throwing in a wood engraving by Hilary Paynter, which is not really fantasy, although I can't believe that it's a real place, either.  Either way, it definitely tickles my sense of adventure and desire to explore.  This one is quite large and extremely detailed.  It’s possible that it’s a real place, but if so it certainly includes more than its fair share of cool stuff!  There’s that enormous ammonite fossil above the beach, and the stone staircase leading up over the boulders.  As you follow the path up, there’s the tunnel door, and the ancient arches, and the array of enticing architecture, including the building on the right that’s cantilevered out over the edge of the cliff.  I’d love to explore this island, but I’m glad I don’t have to make this hike every day if I lived there!

        Which of these magical places would you most like to explore?

[Pictures: Spiral, wood engraving by Kouki Tsuritani, c. 2022 (Image from Society of Wood Engravers);

Castle on a Cloud, linocut by Brian Reedy (Image from Brian Reedy’s web site);

Moroccan Moon, linocut by Reedy, (Image from Brian Reedy’s web site); 

Seal Island, wood engraving by Hilary Paynter, c. 2022 (Image from Society of Wood Engravers).]