I love Gargoyles. Gargoyles fulfill many functions on a building: the original Gargoyles were simply decorative water spouts that projected water from the roof away from the building to prevent water from seeping into the foundation.
Later Gargoyles were employed to express the intention of the building -for instance, I've seen old dental buildings that had Gargoyles that were people with painful swollen faces denoting toothaches.
On Churches, Gargoyles were rendered as fearsome demonic looking creatures, set to remind the faithful of the perils of the world outside, and the importance of a guiding faith.
The original Gargoyles were made of carved stone, and are definitely Gothic in styling. There's something exciting and eerie about grotesque faces carved in cold stone. Gargoyles are usually positioned overhead, so that the viewer will have the feeling that the creature is looking down upon him/her. Some Gargoyles were made of cast porcelain, but these aren't as striking as the hand carved stones.
I work in a headstone shop and sadly don't see much gothic expression passing through our shop. People look to headstones for comfort, and not as reminders of our mortality anymore. Gargoyles represent a more ornate period in time when people liked to be reminded of the darkness in this world.
