As promised, here is a better view of that mysterious "ladder and barrier" installation at the side of the Nuffield Theatre yesterday. As was suggested in the comments, this is clearly a ceremonial assemblage: the ladder goes nowhere, and the barriers bar no-one, although their unmistakably apotropaic colour and configuration clearly relate to various folk-beliefs concerning the avoidance of scalar subambulation. "Mysterious Barricades" indeed (Couperin).
Meanwhile, across University Road, the empty Faraday Building -- home of the Peregrine Falcon, Vodafone masts, and precious little else -- was bathed in a crepuscular glow.
9 comments:
I like your Couperin reference, Mike - now how about a photograph to illustrate "le tic-toc-choc"?
"avoidance of scalar subambulation"
So I shouldn't walk under the piano when someone is practicing scales?
You could probably work 'pareidolia' or 'apophenia' into that artiste's statement somewhere. The fairies have been at work on that door to the right in the original pic too.
I like the plam tree.
The scalar metaphor works splendidly for the second image. I see scaffold after scaffold reaching out from the roofs. Shadows of scaffolding cast on the red brick tower, amongst the velux glazing/solar panels and onwards to the middle building, finally stretching up and out from the Faraday monster.
The ginkgo is really an "under cover" ladder. The branches spaced precisely to support the stretch of the average on-campus alpiniste.
The second image is a parkour set while the first might be the early preparations of a circus troupe - barriers mature to ladders, shedding their red coats as the adult, vertical attitude is achieved.
All,
I thought there *had* to be a fancy word for "fear of walking under ladders", but apparently not, which is odd, given the number of preposterous words there are for much more minor phobias. I should probably ask Will Self...
Mike
I gather the Faraday monstrosity is still there. Looks like it's going to last longer than your term of employment, Mike. I hope you'll return to show it's demise.
Didn't you learn nuffink at Oxford, Mike? "Subambulation" is Latin, while "phobia" is Greek! Universitates canibus iunt. As your comment suggests, this post is what is popularly known as a Selfie.
Zouk,
Uh, right...
Care to coin an etymologically-correct word for "fear of walking under ladders"? Or would that be Etymological Correctness gone mad?
Mike
Sorry, but as you know I didn't do Greek either. Maybe one of your old Oxonian chums could help?
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