Pagoda architecture (_) c. 1900

Fritz Hauck created this sketch of pagoda architecture with graphite on paper. Pagodas, with their tiered towers, are visual manifestations of Buddhist cosmology, each level representing a step towards enlightenment. Consider the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia, towering structures built to bring humans closer to the divine. Like the pagoda, they reach towards the heavens, embodying humanity's spiritual aspirations. This reaching motif surfaces again and again. Think of the Tower of Babel, a testament to humanity’s ambition and a symbol of the divine's inaccessibility. Such images connect us to the fundamental human desire to transcend our earthly limitations. These structures tap into something primal within us, a collective memory of seeking higher knowledge, or a subconscious fear of the unknown that resides in the heavens.