Art: INSIDE-OUT WINDOW

Nearly all of the world’s most beautiful churches are pure Gothic, and many of the least beautiful are latter-day imitation Gothic. Even in the functional-minded mid-20th century, few architects have tried to break the mold, and only a rare few have had any success at it. One of the boldest tries is Joseph D. Murphy’s gymnasium-like St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Normandy, Mo.

Nothing about the church is more functional, or more imaginative, than its 38-ft.-square window, which Emil Frei and Robert Harmon designed. Since the window faces the congregation, they made it only partly transparent—to cut down glare. By day, the opaque areas appear in silhouette; with interior lighting at night, they create a mural effect. The church itself is somewhat stiff in design, and the window’s weaving composition is contrastingly amorphous.

In combination, Frei, Harmon and Murphy have done a difficult job well, and their pioneering will help open the way to freer church designs.