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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Darth Vader Sculpture on Washington National Cathedral 293

Posted by Hemos from the believe-in-the-force dept.
Michael Breeden writes "Star Wars has apparently taken another step in becoming part of our national history. The Washington National Cathedral, during its expansion, has placed a sculpture of Darth Vader's head into the carvings around one of the exterior arches. This space is normally reserved for grotesques (gargoyles), and ol' Darth seems to have fit the bill. "
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Darth Vader Sculpture on Washington National Cathedral More

Darth Vader Sculpture on Washington National Cathedral

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    • A clear violation!

      Says you!

      A national house of prayer for all people. So even athiests have a place to pray, right?

      Seems like the Jedi faith is making significant headway in the USA, unlike some places. [slashdot.org]

    • Re:This violates the separation of church and stat (Score:5, Informative)

      by howardjp ( 5458 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:25AM (#5825512) Homepage
      This isn't exactly news. This was done at least ten years ago. Darth Vader is a standard depiciton of evil. There is also a grotesque of Adolf Hitler on one of the towers at the National Cathedral (I live about a mile away from it...)

      • Re:This violates the separation of church and stat (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        This is old stale news. I believe their was a contest to come up artwork for one of the gargoyles back in the late 70's/ early 80's, and darth vader was the winner.

        If you visit the cathedral, they have a printed self guided tour of the gargoyles with some history and locations of some of the more interesting ones.
    • I find your lack of faith disturbing...

    • Re:This violates the separation of church and stat (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 28, 2003 @12:03PM (#5825803)
      "Separation of Church and State" is a brief way of referring to the prohibition against the U.S. government endorsing (or suppressing) a religion.

      There is nothing wrong with a Church recognizing a head of state, even a head from an evil empire. A church can also endorse or suppress the U.S. government, within the limits of law.

      The U.S. government can also give money, tanks, cheese, or anything else to churches. But it has to do so without preference to any single church.

      This is one fallacy often used in discussions about government programs which might give money to private or church-operated schools. Most common is a "voucher" system, where parents get a voucher for a child's education, and they can give that voucher to whatever school they want the kid to attend (and the school then gets the specified amount of money for the service). If a parent chooses a Catholic, Jewish, or SubGenius school, that is no more relevant than if the money goes to a public or private school.

      Another oddity recently showed up in news reports: a Catholic church leader urging tax increases for funding of "social programs". Well, a non-profit agency doing lobbying is not allowed. Also, if a church wants to have the State take money from people then that church should stop accepting donations and use only that money from the State which is considered to be so important that it must be taken from people by force rather than being donated. But the U.S. government can not show preference -- so all churches would get such funds. I haven't heard that church leader considering the effects of forcing people give money.


  • Oh they are so dead. Please tell me someone got a copy.

    Distributed Mirrors Project link [man.ac.uk]

  • I'm speechless (Score:3, Insightful)

    by KiahZero ( 610862 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:51AM (#5825182)
    Why? Why?

    I've been to the National Cathedral... it's a beautiful place, even for pagans such as myself. Why would they carve a Darth Vader into the arches?

    I'm sorry, but I just find this amazingly stupid. Maybe someone could enlighten me as to why this was done? The page seems to be /.ed already.

    • Re:I'm speechless (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ultraexactzz ( 546422 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:55AM (#5825218) Journal
      The line I got when I toured the cathedral several years ago is that the architects of future expansions were planning to incorporate icons and images from americana into the design of the cathedral. Darth Vader is distinctly American, I suppose.

      The woman who gave the tour also said that there were other modern images and characters on the exterior of the structure, though I forget what they were.

    • Re: I'm speechless (Score:5, Informative)

      by Servants ( 587312 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:00AM (#5825286)
      There was a competition for children to design a bit of sculpture for the cathedral. Personally, I think this choice is great: I suspect it's high and out-of-the-way enough, and similar enough to other random gargoyles, that you'll miss it unless you look carefully and think, "Hey, wait a minute..."

      I also enjoyed their rationale. Heh. It's even sort of true, if you replace "evil" with "mythical monsters".

      "Centuries ago, on our cathedrals, grotesques were intended to symbolize the evil that existed outside the church. Today, Darth Vader is an excellent example of evil in our times."

      • Re: I'm speechless (Score:3, Insightful)

        by dnoyeb ( 547705 )
        Yes, but gargoyles were meant to protect the church and were not representations of evil.
      • "Centuries ago, on our cathedrals, grotesques were intended to symbolize the evil that existed outside the church. Today, Darth Vader is an excellent example of evil in our times."

        This is incorrect. The gargoyles were designed to scare away evil spirits. Darth Vader was evil, and that is a concept that's completely different, and therefore not consistent with the traditional gargoyles.

        Hmm... if they did it without his helmet, you could perhaps make a case that it is sufficiently grotesque!

      • Re: I'm speechless (Score:4, Informative)

        by ZahrGnosis ( 66741 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @01:13PM (#5826482) Homepage
        This is correct; I lived pretty close to the cathedral for a few years; gorgeous place. The Vader sculpture isn't just out of the way; it's very high on one of the outside walls on the side of the building. Even with small binoculars, it's difficult to find if you haven't seen it before. It's been there for years and, yes, was the result of a grade school competition. During the renovation, there were pamphlets that directed you how to find the sculpture. I don't know if they still pass them out (I've moved) but anyone that works there could probably point it out to you.

    • Re:I'm speechless (Score:5, Informative)

      by Otter ( 3800 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:03AM (#5825321) Journal
      Why would they carve a Darth Vader into the arches?...Maybe someone could enlighten me as to why this was done?

      Despite the writeup, I don't believe this story is remotely new. During the later construction, the designers held a contest for children to design gargoyles. The third-place winner designed a Darth Vader figure. It was probably up when you visited.

      Incidentally, it's perfectly in keeping with the practices of European and older American cathedrals, just much less old.

    • Re:I'm speechless (Score:5, Informative)

      by utahjazz ( 177190 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:04AM (#5825326)
      FTA:

      As Washington National Cathedral approached completion, the west towers rose towards the sky, striking toward heaven. During the building a startling idea was hatched: hold a competition for children to design decorative sculpture for the Cathedral.

      Darth Vader Drawing
      Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J. Plunkett and placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral...

      To see pics, go here Google Image Search [google.com]

      You can also search on 'cathedral kid' in Google Images, the kid that drew it is about half way down.
      • Which immediatly makes me wonder, what got first and second place? And what rounds out the rest of the top ten or however many they did?

    • Re:I'm speechless (Score:5, Funny)

      by reflexreaction ( 526215 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:05AM (#5825335) Homepage
      I've been to the National Cathedral... it's a beautiful place, even for pagans such as myself. Why would they carve a Darth Vader into the arches?

      Though the Darth Vader head is new to me there has been a much scarier human "gargoyle" has been there for many years. This human gargoyle is a LAWYER. For a brief history of gargoyles check this out [geocities.com] Some info about the human "gargoyle" is near the bottom.

    • Re:I'm speechless (Score:5, Interesting)

      by fluppy88 ( 473039 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:11AM (#5825395)
      I actually went to school there and learnt a lot about the Cathedral. Being interested in sculpture, it was a great place to be.

      Darth is definitely on the Cathedral. They have a whole lot of other secrets everywhere in that building. It would make a nice coffee table book.

      From my understanding all cathedrals have small little secrets like this. They are sort of like "Easter Eggs" in programs. Something spiffy and neat if you know where to look for it.

      My favorite story about the National Cathedral (and 100% true)is that the faces for the "Genesis" sculpture on the front center doorway were modeled after strippers and waiters from an old Georgetown strip club.
    • There are all sorts of things carved into real (ie mediaeval) cathedrals. There's at least one in the UK with a person mooning down from top of the outside wall, and a church with a couple shagging in the rafters.

      TWW

    • Film tycoon buys ticket to heaven (Score:5, Funny)

      by jdgeorge ( 18767 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:19AM (#5825464)
      According to a visibly self-impressed George Lucas, "yeah, if I had a nickel for every time someone told me it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, I'd still be filthy rich. But seriously, I figure all you need is an inside man at the church. According to my metaphysical effects team at ILM, a gargoyle at the National Cathedral should let me bypass all those philanthropic hoops John D. Rockefeller had to jump through."

      (Parody? Perhaps....)
    • I saw a piece (Charles Kuralt I think) on the building of the National Cathedral some time ago. One way they pay for the building is by allowing people to design gargoyles, for a fee. One woman had a bunch of gargoyles made that are caricatures of her grandchildren. Unsuprising that a Star Wars fan took advantage of this. The only strange thing is that it didn't happen years ago. Anyway, basing a gargoyle on a fantastic or imaginary creature has a long tradition [creighton.edu].
    • I don't know, but I suspect after this /.ing CmdrTaco will has earned his place high in the arches also.

    • Re:I'm speechless (Score:5, Insightful)

      by User 956 ( 568564 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:36AM (#5825593) Homepage
      I've been to the National Cathedral... it's a beautiful place, even for pagans such as myself. Why would they carve a Darth Vader into the arches?

      "To Find Darth Vader you have to leave the building through the ramp entrance. This is located at the northwest corner of the nave, through the double wooden doors of Lincoln Bay. Go down the ramp, and step into the parking lot. Then, turn around and look back up at the tower closest to you. He is almost impossible to see ithout the assistance of binoculars."

      Something tells me the "addition" isn't exactly an eyesore.

  • hosed. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Dolly_Llama ( 267016 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:52AM (#5825189) Homepage
    I find your lack of server bandwidth disturbing...

  • Luke... (Score:5, Funny)

    by AndroidCat ( 229562 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:53AM (#5825194) Homepage
    I am your holy father!
    • Darth Vader: "The Pope is not as forgiving as I am"

      Obi-Wan: That's no church. It's a space station.

      Han Solo: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.

      Darth Vader: I find your lack of faith disturbing.

      Darth Maul: At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge. -Darth Maul's whole script

  • that's nothing... (Score:5, Funny)

    by carpe_noctem ( 457178 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:53AM (#5825195) Homepage Journal
    I've got Jar-Jar's head on a stake in my front lawn. Much more pleasing to the eye, imo.

  • Mixing of religions? (Score:3, Funny)

    by NetDanzr ( 619387 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:53AM (#5825197)
    So the church isn't shy of putting up a bust of the second in command of another religion. I'm wondering whether (and when) they'll add people like Ayatollah Khomeini to the mix...

  • Slashdot Sin? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Damek ( 515688 ) <adam@@@damek...org> on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:53AM (#5825199) Homepage
    Isn't there something inherently wrong with Slashdotting a webserver of the Church?
    • Isn't there something inherently wrong with Slashdotting a webserver of the Church?

      I'm wondering just what goes on at this church. My employer's proxy is blocking the site!
    • Nah, it's an Episcopal church. It doesn't matter.
      • It is? I was going to ask how the hell the Catholic church let this- and a lot of other weird gargoyle sculptures in this place fly... Having grown up catholic, I'd be the lsat to believe a Darth Vader head was in a catholic church. But it's not! It's episcopalean! Those guys will do anything for some publicity... :P

  • "You are part of the anti-war movement, and traitor!"

  • Luke... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Joe the Lesser ( 533425 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:54AM (#5825203) Homepage Journal
    Join me, and together we'll harness the power of the slashdot, and spread 'cannot find server' errors across the galaxy.
  • Ooops there are good guys now.

    forgot.

    What about a Romulan statue stabbing jesus with a phaser right above the alter?

    Darth could be on the other side with the light saber with angels of long dead jedi coming down...

    Sorry, I digress into blasephemy and damn its fun!

  • Your server.... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:54AM (#5825207)
    has failed me for the last time....'

  • Google Cache (Score:2, Informative)

    by Mr.Intel ( 165870 )
    Link [216.239.57.100]
  • I'm pretty sure the Darth Vader Gargoyle has been there for ~20 years. I've looked for it a few times, but never found it. Now I'll know where it is!

  • Nothing new--it's been there since the 1980s (Score:4, Informative)

    by juanfe ( 466699 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:57AM (#5825244) Homepage
    The Darth gargoyle was carved and placed on the Cathedral in the 1980s--it was carved by master sculptor Palumbo (RIP) by a young lad who received honorable mention in a "Design-a-gargoyle" contest sponsored by World magazine (National Geographic for children).

    The winner was a smiling gargoyle toting an umbrella.
  • There's a Google cache [google.com].

    Incidentally, this isn't new, is it? The cathedral was completed fairly recently, and this gargoyle was added as part of the contruction process. I could swear I heard about this when the original trilogy was still coming out.

  • Mirrors (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:57AM (#5825248)
    Mirros:

    Archive.org mirror:
    http://web.archive.org/web/20020607183738 /http://w ww.cathedral.org/cathedral/discover/darth.shtml

    Google archive:
    http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:1ir xapSYQmgC: www.cathedral.org/cathedral/discover/darth.shtml+& hl=en&ie=UTF-8

    Not much faster, though. Wasn't this posted a long time ago?

  • Commandments #11 & 12 (Score:4, Funny)

    by kmahan ( 80459 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:58AM (#5825258)
    Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's bandwidth.

    Thou shalt not slashdot thy neighbor's server.

  • On a similar note (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Vintermann ( 400722 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:58AM (#5825264) Homepage
    One of the few medieval churches in Norway, nidarosdomen, was restaurated many years ago, and some people have noticed that the figure of the archangel Michael bears an uncanny resemblance to someone...

    And this year the artist admitted it: it IS in fact Dob Dylan.

    (It's true! Pity I don't have a link)

  • News? (Score:3, Informative)

    by blamanj ( 253811 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @10:59AM (#5825274)
    Isn't this about 15 years out of date? The gargoyle was put up in the 80's. (There was a children's competition to design new gargoyles. Darth made it up there along with a raccoon and some other less threatening images.)

  • Stone 'easter eggs' (Score:5, Informative)

    by upstateguy ( 90019 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:00AM (#5825283)
    The national cathedral has many unique gargoyles, that's typical of the medieval style actually. Since many of them could never be seen except (in the pre-binocular/telescope age) the carvers, they could sculpt bosses they hated, cultural figures, politicians, etc. There was an issue of Smithsonian magazine that described some of them (the artists were left to their own will, mostly, on what they could put up there). There's undoubtedly a number more of these little "easter eggs" put in those doing the construction.

    And it's a nice complement to the chunk of moon rock in the 'creation' stained glass window there also.

  • Green Man (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Burb ( 620144 )
    In principle, this is no worse than "the green man", a folk-religion symbol that is often insinuated into the carvings of old English churches. (e.g. Chiseldon, nr. Swindon, Wilts).
    But in a Christian church, a bit silly.

  • Why it's there...(from the Google cache) (Score:5, Informative)

    by tmhsiao ( 47750 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:01AM (#5825294) Homepage Journal
    As Washington National Cathedral approached completion, the west towers rose towards the sky, striking toward heaven. During the building a startling idea was hatched: hold a competition for children to design decorative sculpture for the Cathedral.

    Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J. Plunkett and placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral...

  • St. Anakin (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ilan Volow ( 539597 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:02AM (#5825312) Homepage
    In honor of Lord Vader's contributions to the Washington National Cathedral, he will be remembered as Saint Anakin, who performed the miracle of telepathetically choking sinners.

  • Vader was there long, long ago... (Score:5, Informative)

    by yar ( 170650 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:03AM (#5825313)
    I recall reading about the Darth Vader inclusion back in the 1980s. ^^ It's not something new; he was actually included by a fairly famous sculptor during that time. You can see his bio and a picture of Vader here:
    http://www.stoneguild.com/m_plunkett.htm

  • Not Darth Vader! (Score:5, Funny)

    by joldc ( 217258 ) <jol@jolpa d g e t t .com> on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:03AM (#5825314) Homepage
    I hear from reliable sources that it is not in fact Darth Vader. Instead, it is William Shatner in a Darth Vader mask.

  • Knight Envy (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RobotRunAmok ( 595286 ) * on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:06AM (#5825352)
    Does anyone know if this Star Wars fascination is as big in Europe, specifically the UK, as it is in the US? I really think it fulfills some kind of "missing race memory" or something here, the US missing out on the Dark and Middle Ages and all. Coup Sticks and Dreamcatchers are all very well and good, but they don't hold a cathedral candle to long swords and grail quests.

    If we had our own, *real* King Arthur (or as real as King Arthur was, anyways...) would we be clamoring so much for George Lucas' pre-fab techno Arthuriana?
  • Seems like the Jedi faith is making significant headway in the USA

    The "Jedi faith"...

    (pardon while I recover from my laughing fit)

    ...could probably gain some credibility and new members if they cloned a couple kids. New membership would come, of course, mostly from the cloning, since I doubt "Jedi faith" members reproduce, and not due to "spiritual beliefs".

    On the plus side, we'd also finally have real legislation against cloning, mighty fast!

  • Here's my mirror. Seems that archive.org and google cache don't resolve because the .css and javascript weren't cached, so they tried to open the original sites, which holds up the whole page. I just removed them, and left the article.

    Mirror [martin-studio.net]
  • You have to love that the MOTD under this article is:
    "I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature. - Thomas Jefferson"

    • Re:an appropriate message of the day (Score:4, Insightful)

      by reiggin ( 646111 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:19AM (#5825462)
      Just for those who aren't aware, Thomas Jefferson was a Deist. His objections to Christianity most likely weren't along the same lines as those objections many people today might have. The quote, out of context, may seem to be something it is not.
      • Read Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason [infidels.org]. I think you would be very surprised how the Founding Fathers criticized christianity, and all religions. Their reasons are very contemporary.

        One could EASILY argue that the American Revolution lead to Emerson's transcendantal ideas, which inspired Nietzsche to create the modern criticism of religion as a tool of enslavement.
  • AS i understand it, the main large gargoyles are decided by the designer and higher ups, and in some of the small out of the way not really seen places they kinda let the individual stone carvers have some fun.
  • Given the popularity that Lord of the Rings has had over the years (starting with the books), perhaps they should add the head of Sauron.

    Of course, why stop there? They could add Agent Smith. Or Dr. Evil.

    Or if they're looking for full statues for out front, maybe the Terminatrix. Rrrowr.
  • I imagine if he did, there'd be some sort of huge lawsuit for copyright infringement or intellectual property theft or something along those lines. Pretty soon there'll be royalty fees and you're not allowed to look at it without paying admission... this is a bad idea. :)
    • Does anybody remember the flak when Cathedral sculptor Frederick Hart sued about the Devil's Advocate [benedict.com] using his sculpture Ex Nihilo?

      In the movie the people in the sculpture get a little randy, and "the National Cathedral denounced the film as a grotesque distortion of sacred art."

      I suppose if they have Darth in a choirboy outfit leading the procession, Lucasfilms might have a similar case.

  • Mirror (Score:3, Informative)

    by BuffJoe ( 307408 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:18AM (#5825454) Homepage
    When in doubt, use The Internet archive [archive.org]. It works wonders, and it archives images (unlike Google Cache).

    Darth Vader at National Cathedral Mirror [archive.org].

  • If the Cathedral has Vader... (Score:5, Funny)

    by 10Ghz ( 453478 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:20AM (#5825469)
    ...Does that mean that the Bazaar has Luke Skywalker?

  • Article Text (Score:2, Informative)

    by BuffJoe ( 307408 )
    As Washington National Cathedral approached completion, the west towers rose towards the sky, striking toward heaven. During the building a startling idea was hatched: hold a competition for children to design decorative sculpture for the Cathedral.

    Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J

  • Good work... (Score:2, Funny)

    by jcronen ( 325664 )
    Now look what you've done, you've gone and Slashdotted the National Cathedral.

    God's gonna be pissed...

  • Dear God not news: usenet post from 1994 (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Finni ( 23475 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:25AM (#5825518)
    Click. [google.com]

    Come on - this was a post from 1994, and the poster doesn't even say THEN that this was new.

  • This just in (Score:2, Informative)

    by spakka ( 606417 )
    Satan was Jesus's father

  • My favorite Nat'l Cathedral Gargoyle... (Score:5, Funny)

    by nazgul000 ( 545727 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:44AM (#5825656) Journal
    Heh. This article evokes some memories for me. As a previous poster mentioned, there are hordes of unique gargoyles on the National Cathedral (I had lots of time to check them out as a student on the Cathedral Close in the 90s).

    By far my favorite is a gargoyle facing NCS, the Cathedral-affiliated girl's school. It's carved to resemble a constuction worker lewdly whistling at the nymphets passing by on their way to class...
  • Some crazy russian architect wanted to put a t-800 endoskeleton (about 100 feet tall) holding up a world, in a park in europe.

    I submitted the story to slashdot, but got rejected.

    I wish I could recall the website now (complete with CGI pics of the completed structure) but I don't.

    IMO it was even cooler than this.

  • WayBack machine (Score:5, Informative)

    by mahdi13 ( 660205 ) <icarus.lnx@gmail.com> on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:51AM (#5825704) Journal
    For those that want to read the article but can't due to the slashdotting...

    Darth Vader [archive.org] It's slow, but works,
    Link brought to you by archive.org [archive.org]
    Then here's the text only version...

    About Darth Vader As Washington National Cathedral approached completion, the west towers rose towards the sky, striking toward heaven. During the building a startling idea was hatched: hold a competition for children to design decorative sculpture for the Cathedral.

    Darth Vader Drawing (img.)
    Word of the competition was spread nationwide through National Geographic World Magazine. The third-place winner was Christopher Rader, with his drawing of that fearful villain, Darth Vader. The fierce head was sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, carved by Patrick J. Plunkett and placed high upon the northwest tower of the Cathedral...

    Newspaper Clipping (img.)

    Darth Vader Location (img.)

    To Find Darth Vader you have to leave the building through the ramp entrance. This is located at the northwest corner of the nave, through the double wooden doors of Lincoln Bay. Go down the ramp, and step into the parking lot. Then, turn around and look back up at the tower closest to you. He is almost impossible to see without the assistance of binoculars.

    Way way way up, almost at the top of the tower is a gablet, or small peaked roof, located between the two huge louvered arches. At the bottom of each slope of this gablet is a carved grotesque. Darth Vader is on the north, or right-hand, side. There is a carved skull situated on a gablet much closer to the ground which many people often mistake for Darth Vader. From this skull, Darth Vader is up and to the left.

  • In other related news... (Score:3, Funny)

    by gosand ( 234100 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:52AM (#5825714)
    In other news, George Lucas has sued the Church for unauthorized use of the Darth Vader image.

    He has also reportedly been in quite a lawsuit with Lucifer over his soul, claiming that when he sold it he was promised that the Star Wars prequels would be awesome. Lucifer is countering that they were a slam dunk but Lucas f'd them up by reselling his soul to corporate America.

  • DMCA? Copyright? (Score:3, Funny)

    by duffbeer703 ( 177751 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @11:52AM (#5825715)
    What are the implications of putting Lucasarts intellectual property on a public cathedral?

    If we allow the Star Wars saga to be written in stone, how will George Lucas collect royalties from people 10,000 years in the future who gaze at the carvings?

  • A close up (Score:3, Informative)

    by gripdamage ( 529664 ) on Monday April 28, 2003 @01:23PM (#5826619)
    You can't acutally see the Darth sculpture on the page linked to in the article anyway. It just shows a picture of Darth Vader from Star Wars and a diagram pointing to his location on the Cathedral face. Here [stoneguild.com] is a picture of statue itself before it was put in place.

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