Author Talk with Mathew Duman

Author Talk With Mathew Duman: “The Grotesque 10: Amazing Architectural Sculpture From Ten American Colleges & Universities

Armed with only a camera, a sense of humor and a host of frequent flyer miles, Mathew Duman embarked on a “grotesque safari”, traveling to ten universities around the country to photograph the grotesques and gargoyles roosting on their academic buildings. Mathew found that this sculpture makes its home within a style of architecture known as Collegiate Gothic which was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Duman has collected his findings in a new book called: “The Grotesque 10: Amazing Architectural Sculpture from Ten American Colleges and Universities “.

On Thursday, April 25th at 7 p.m. at the Essex Library, Duman will present a selection of them in an illustrated lecture, giving you a taste of the variety of ornament, history and humor these campuses have to offer. The grotesque 10 schools are: * Bryn Mawr College * The City College of New York * Duke University * Northwestern University * Princeton University * Trinity College in Hartford, Ct. * The University of Chicago * The University of Pennsylvania * Washington University in St. Louis * Yale University. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. 

Mathew Duman is a photographer and graphic designer currently employed at the Knights of Columbus in New Haven. He grew up in Bethany, Connecticut and attended the gargoyle-free campus of Central Connecticut State University. While studying abroad, he became fascinated with the grotesque sculptures of the cathedrals of Britain.

This presentation is free and open to the public. For more information or to register, please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560. The Essex Library is located at 33 West Avenue in Essex.