Update:

I managed to contact Simon Verity about his involvement in the Portal Project. He stated that he was in charge of a group of young carvers until the money ran out. He stated that he and his team of carvers had a lot of freedom regarding the sculptures. The apocalyptic scene of New York being his idea before he handed it over to a fellow carver who ran with it and made it his own.

I really appreciate him contacting me.

Originally posted by LiveForever8
Update:

I managed to contact Simon Verity about his involvement in the Portal Project. He stated that he was in charge of a group of young carvers until the money ran out. He stated that he and his team of carvers had a lot of freedom regarding the sculptures. The apocalyptic scene of New York being his idea before he handed it over to a fellow carver who ran with it and made it his own.

I really appreciate him contacting me.

Another update:

I would be glad if you can post this on their webpage, as the suggestion that there is some subversive conspiracy in this is offensive.

"Simon Verity is a sculptor who worked on Saint John the Divine Cathedral from 1988-1997 and in response to the above post replied: 'Freedom in these carvings is a relative word.'

At the time the exterior of the central ‘Portal of Paradise’ was unfinished, and as a result of a competition in England, he was chosen to manage a young carving team to complement the building of the South-Western tower, as he had extensive experience of working on English Gothic Cathedrals.

He was given six assistants who had been trained to carve in the Cathedral Stoneyard. In the medieval manner, they started to try to connect the bases below each statue with images appropriate to the figures above. The iconography of the statues above had been confirmed by The Dean of the Cathedral, a priest, and a rabbi, since they were all Old Testament Prophets.

As ‘Above Top Secret’ states, the Prophet who stands on the most dramatic image is Jeremiah, who sees the destruction of Jerusalem. It seemed appropriate to show an apocalyptic vision of Manhattan at the time it was carved, not in 1997 as stated, but in 1989. You don’t mention the shaft of the base, which is shown in your photograph. Here Jeremiah sees the rebuilding of Jerusalem, so the shaft is carved with a vision of the tower of the Cathedral which at the time was being built, complete with stonemasons and their wheelbarrows. All the other bases relate to the statues above . They had to produce passages from the Old Testament to show why they had chosen to carve each base, and were guided in the task by a priest from the Cathedral.

This approach was normal when Cathedrals were built in the Middle Ages. Many Cathedrals had far more violent images, such as the torments of hell, either carved or painted on their walls. Simon Verity could take you through each of these bases and give the Biblical reason why they had been chosen.

Later, he worked alone with Jean-Claude to finish the 32 statues, but the little bases remain as a witness to six men and women who put their hearts into their work.

Incidentally, if you are a stone carver, some of your clients will be rich, as the work is very time-consuming."

Thank you.
Simon Verity

Once again I would like to thank him for his input