Statuesque beauty

The concept of beauty can overpower me, especially when I'm on one of my missions for unusual forms of it. Garden statues are no exception. I am overwhelmed by their perfect, stoic shapes that stand permanently in a garden, especially if wild flowers or vines are engulfing its form.


Neglected, beautiful statues found in nature are what I call statuesque beauty. And while many of these are intended for gardens, it's the unexpected, forgotten ones that end up there I love finding the most. There is something romantic about discovering a beat up old, antique statue sitting next to a well-manicured boxwood shrub or a field of wildflowers. It creates a beautiful living picture that's hard not to appreciate.


Living in D.C. and Baltimore has provided me a good dose of statuesque beauty through places like the Hirshhorn's Sculpture garden, the garden statues at the B.M.A. and many other historic parks in Baltimore. But when I'm not searching these places, I have found Mother Nature's very own backyard be the perfect source for finding the more eclectic samples of this beauty.


For example I have found out of the way, sometimes rural garden centers to carry some very unexpected samples of these. Getting lost can sometimes yield the best surprises. This summer, I was lost on a road near Annapolis with some friends, and we bumped into a garden nursery housing some very odd statuary. At first glimpse all we saw were wildly painted totem poles and gazing balls (of course we stopped). But when we kept on walking down the path, we discovered a section that had endless stone, plaster and wooden statues of all types. There was Poseidon, some pairings of Beefeaters, lots of mermaids (my favorite), scary wooden male faces, Art Nouveau ladies pouring decanters of water and endless Roman inspired women with laurel garlands. They all looked so pretty hanging out in the garden. It was also close to sundown, which gave each statue an amber glow that somehow made them even more lovely. Even the Beefeater twins looked sweet standing next to cages of river rocks by the busy roadside.


After we left we all agreed that garden statues can be kind of cool. We were on a mission to find more, but where we wondered?


As we got lost again on the ride home, it dawned on me where we could go. Cemeteries have lots of statues, especially the ones in downtown Baltimore, so why not? They fit the criterion, they are statues and they are outside and they are beautiful. It was a plan. Lucky for us, Greenmount Cemetery is close by, so we went for a neglected beauty mission and came up with some interesting finds.


From Victorian women carrying bouquets of Easter lilies to children adorned with floral and laurel garlands, the statues there were more than we imagined. And because it was raining, they quickly became haunted neglected beauty. We caught some famous names there as well, including John Wilkes Booth and Aubrey Bodine. When we turned the corner on our way out, we headed up to Baltimore's National Cemetery where we found even more forgotten statuesque beauty. The best part?...they were living in the primary source of all beauty-- Nature.


I continued my quest throughout the summer for more examples of this underrated form of beauty. Stupidly I forgot the mother load of statuary was sitting right in the backyard of some very good friends- Dolores Deluxe and Vince Peranio, two fabulously talented artists. They live in the heart of Baltimore city and have managed to create a paradise where statues, plants and animals live in total harmony. It's something out of the movies and unless you're fortunate enough to visit the "Palace on Dallas", you may not understand my enthusiasm.


Some background on this dynamic couple: Vince is an artistic designer in the television and film industry (credits include the Wire, Homicide, and all of John Waters films,and so much more). He has an incredible eye for detail and design history. Dolores is a designer of flowers (for me-how lucky), and of her insanely decorated home, when she's not serving as Vince's muse. They are an fascinating couple with an awe-inspiring garden that includes some great broken down old statues.


So off to their back yard I went for some great shots of their statuesque beauty which I hope you enjoy as much as I do.
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PICURES:
1) Nude in public garden, Japan
2) Garden statues of female with water pitcher/garden center, Annapolis, MD
3) Garden stature of Poseidon/garden center, Annapolis, MD
4) Beefeater twins by roadside/garden center, Annapolis, MD
5) Mermaid fountain statue at garden center shows off for traffic, Crownsville, MD


6) Woman bearing cross-Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore, MD
7) Broken winged angel, garden center, Annapolis, MD
8) Child with animal cape, Greenmount Cemetery, Baltimore
9) Garden bust at the Palace on Dallas, Baltimore
10)Garden statues covered in ivy at the Palace on Dallas
11) Woodland Cherub with broken instrument at Palace on Dallas
12) Garden statue covered in sweet potato vine-Palace on Dallas
13) Reclining child as gravemarker- Greenmount Cemetery


The French never allow a distinguished son of France to lack a statue.
Edward V. Lucas



ALL PHOTOS BY C.LANGRALL and Balance Photography (except Japanese statue).



Neglected statues in nature being beautiful = Statuesque Beauty.