Sand and Ice Sculpture

[Merlion]

I'd like to make use of this Art Lounge Forum to ask around. What do you think about doing sand sculpture or ice sculpture? Both of them are not intended to last.

Somehow, the idea is never attractive to me. Perhaps I take sculpture too seriously and consider them a waste of time and effort. And because of this, I have never done any.

[fused]

Ephemeral art has it's place regardless of the materials at hand
and I don't think that any art you enjoy making is wasted time.

[Julianna]

I find ice sculpture to be facinating, and I certainly hope the sculptors don't feel it's a waste of time! Personally, I wouldn't want to work in an environment which is cold enough for the ice to stay frozen!

[Merlion]

I am sure some sculptors enjoy making ice sculptures and sand sculptures. There is no doubt about this.

But I was talking about my own feeling when I said I consider it a waste of time and effort doing something that soon would be wiped out or gone. Somehow, I feel my emotion drains down into my sculpture when I am making it.

[Landseer]

I don't like the idea of temporary sculpture, all that work and effort and then it all goes away.
They make butter cow sculptures too

[G. Murdoch]

Greetings,

Interesting thread, I've occasionally been tempted to try ice sculpture simply because I could produce monumental work in a weekend. However, I can't get over the loss of such work. I admire those who do so. While living in Victoria in the '90s I had a chance to go visit a gallery on Moss St. where 4-5 monks were engaged in the making of a sand mandala. So beautiful, and intricate, the power of geometry. It took these men about a month to do the creation, perhaps 10-12 feet in diameter, using many different colors of sand "piped" through paper cones (similar to what pastry chefs use to decorate cakes). When the work was complete, the Dalai Lama visited, inspected the work, and then smiled and brushed his hand through the creation. This was the original intent of course, to demonstrate the temporary nature of temporal phenomena, to provide a lesson in non-attachment. While I understand this, it still broke my heart.

Graham

[fused]

Besides welding and other pursuits I have always made ephemeral works using eggs, stones, sticks, physical tension, gravity and a variety of other materials. The majority of these only exist in memory, photographs and slides.

There is a seventy three acre site in Allen, Texas called Connemara (http://www.connemaraconservancy.org/), that used to invite ten artists annually from across the country to create site specific art on the land. Some people brought materials while others worked with what they found on location. There was a ranchhouse a mile away where all the artists stayed for the two weeks or so of installation, allowing everyone to work from dawn to dusk. It was great and over the years some excellent art and ideas were executed there, with few exceptions, the work was only in place from March to June each year.

I did it in 1988 and six years ago to celebrate their 20th Anniversary Connemara invited back five pairs of artists to "collaboratively generate new sculptures." I worked with a friend who was also familiar with the grounds and we decided to do something different (http://www.dallasartsrevue.com/art-crit/HungRocks/hungrox.shtml). At the lower end of an open field is a pecan grove and we spent fifteen days suspending five acres of white Colorado river rocks twelve feet above the ground. Because pecan trees grow in a 'V' most of the rocks were attached to branches twenty eight feet above the ground. This turned out to be one of the most physically demanding things I have ever done in my life, but the resulting installation is one of my favorite efforts ever.

It was difficult to document, like so many events in life, you just had to be there.

[grommet]

Loved the installation. And in this case, the lifespan brings comfort. Otherwise, the fear of falling rocks would be too great.
I enjoy the idea of the limited lifespan of pieces. The sense of persistence of nature is calming, and as with the rocks, makes new things possible.
The area where I live hosts an ice sculpture festival, which is fantastic. However, the hardest part as a viewer is when the municipal workers come & knock the ice sculptures down. Nothing natural about that. I understand why, but....

[Merlion]

I sometimes do ephemeral 3D artwork to try out new creative ideas. What last longer would be my impressions and memory of such attempts, as well as some photographs of course.

But back to sand and ice sculpture, if I were younger, I might take on this challange. I'll go somewhere with near zero rainfall to make a large sand sculpture, and go somewhere that is always below zero degree to make a large ice sculpture.

[anne (bxl)]

the idea was never attractive to me, as you said merlion, until I discover at the FIAC (paris main contemporary art exhibition) the maquets of a ice sculpture show somewhere in scandinavia with invited artists such as anish kapoor, karsten holler, kiki smith...
those gifted artists had made such a terrific use of the material that I changed my mind from then.
here is a reference of a a book about the show
http://bookstorming.com/fiche.asp?idlivre=2147473156&page=liste.asp?np=1&nbr=1&ttcl=

as for temporary works of art, I would say that the experience of creation is much more important than the work himself...