Ice sculpture

Elfenland in Rövershagen (2018)

An ice sculpture (ornamental ice) is a man-made sculpture made of ice and snow. The manufacture is known as ice carving or ice sculpting.

Historical background

Historical sources are, on the one hand, the ice palaces built in Russia in the early 18th century from cut blocks of ice, into which colored glass panes or lenses were incorporated for magical lighting effects, and, on the other hand, the igloo building by the Eskimos.

This tradition was revived in 1950 when Japanese students “carved” six giant sculptures out of ice and snow in the winter resort of Sapporo . In doing so, they founded the Sapporo Snow Festival , which has taken place annually since then. Ice carving achieved its triumphant advance around the world when the organizers of the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo combined the Ice Festival with the supporting program of the Olympic Games and also awarded medals for the best ice figure. This is considered to be the first official world championship in ice carving in this "sport".

Since then this sport has been gaining more and more fans. In February 2002, the first world championship in Europe took place in Graz, Austria .

Sculpture making

Ice sculptures are cut and carved by artists on the basis of template sketches or freehand from given blocks of ice with the help of saws , hammers , files and machetes , or partially melted with warm water. It is also possible to attach additional pieces of ice and “freeze them”. Since ice sculptures are made of frozen water , they are only temporary works of art. They are often used for events as decoration or eye-catchers and set off with suitable lighting.

Terminology

The terms ice sculptor and ice carver are mostly used synonymously. In keeping with the etymology of ice carving, this term is applied to the cutting rather than the striking technique of the ice sculptor. The craftsman who works with chainsaws and knives can therefore be better described as an ice carver. Whereas the ice sculptor, who works with an ax and a small hatchet, would accordingly be described as an ice sculptor. Nevertheless, the ice sculptor as well as the ice carver usually work with both types of tools at the same time and rarely do without the fine carving work.

Raw material

The production of ice sculptures presents a number of difficulties due to the different types of ice, the storage and the environmental conditions. The raw material for the sculpture is made of ice blocks, which consist of clean, clear water with a high degree of transparency and contain as few air bubbles as possible. The surrounding temperature affects the time the artist has to complete the sculpture.

As already mentioned in the introduction, making sculptures out of snow is also part of this cold art. The two types of material are now used for separate art competitions, for example the 15th snow sculpture competition took place in the Ore Mountains in February 2011 .

Ice sculptures in gastronomy

Ice sculptures are also used in some kitchens, especially in the Asian one: at large dinners in restaurants or hotels, the icy works of art ordered serve as table decorations. One of the most popular ice sculptures is the swan couple, which represents the bride and groom at weddings. In order to slow down the melting of these works of art, dry ice is often added. Numerous party services also offer the production of ice sculptures for special occasions.

For several decades, ice hotels have been established in various parts of the world . The manufacture of the equipment and decorative elements is also part of ice carving .

Exhibitions and competitions

Ice sculptures are either set up outdoors on cold winter days or for exhibitions in special cold rooms. A corresponding set of rules has been drawn up for the competitions in the art of ice sculpture production, ice carving. It provides for the formation or participation of teams consisting of 2 to 4 participants. The number of participants is determined at the beginning of the competition.

The categories are: mono bloc , d. H. the sculpture has to be carved out of a single block of ice and differentiated multi-bloc . In addition, a time is specified and a general topic (for example winter , the Arctic or Christmas ) is selected and specified in advance .

Then a jury of artists and representatives of the NICA - National Ice Carving Association decides on the accuracy / recognizability of the representation (proportions), the craftsmanship (technology) and the artistic factor (creativity), whereby a distinction is again made between realistic and abstract representation .

Some internationally important events are the Ice Sculpture World Championship , The Artists Ice Art (since 1999), the Ice World or the World Snow Festival .

Germany

The Ice World was Germany's first ice sculpture festival and took place from December 12, 2003 to February 1, 2004 in Lübeck . However, at the end of Ice World 2006/2007, economic difficulties meant the probable end of this event.

Further examples of events in Germany are the annual commercial ice sculpture exhibitions in the CentrO in Oberhausen and (since the completion of the Alexa in Berlin ) the Alexa on Ice . The ice art is produced and shown in its own cold store. Ice sculptures have also been seen in Dresden .

Austria

An ice crib has been exhibited annually in the Styrian capital Graz since 1996 . Around 50 tons of ice are processed by a team of several people and are ceremoniously unveiled at the beginning of Advent . Before the Finn Kimmo Frosti took over the artistic direction in 2014, this was the responsibility of the Carinthian ice artist Gert J. Hödl. The three-time world champion Hödl also provided the impetus for the staging of the world championships in 2002. This probably largest ice crib in the world regularly generates international attention.

China

The Manchuria in China is an internationally renowned region for ice sculptures where u. a. the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is held in Harbin . It has grown in size, importance and popularity over time. More and more talented artists and techniques find their way into the festival. The climate in Manchuria is very cold and the ice has a long shelf life. Objects of all sizes are exhibited here, sometimes even the size of a building. There is also the festival of the upset ankle in China .

Japan

Japan (2013)

The Japanese city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaidō is known for its snow festival ( Yuki-matsuri ), in which many teams compete against each other and make ice sculptures. Some of these objects are as big as multi-story buildings. As already mentioned above, the ice carving competition started from here.

Sweden

The ice hotel in the municipality of Kiruna , town of Jukkasjärvi in Sweden , is known as one of the first of its kind. Since its construction in 1989, it has been featured in various TV shows, magazines and newspapers around the world. Except for the beds, the hotel is made entirely of blocks of ice, and even the glasses in the hotel bar are made of ice. The ice is obtained from the water of the Torne River . The hotel offers more than 60 rooms and suites. The cost of an overnight stay is around 2,800 Swedish kronor (approx. 390 US dollars ) (as of 2007) . The hotel only exists between November and May each year.

Also in Jukkasjärvi (200 km north of the Arctic Circle) there has been a complete ice theater since 2002/03, which consists of 2,000 tons of ice blocks and is modeled on the Globe Theater in London (based on Shakespeare). The actors appear in warm clothes and play Hamlet or Macbeth in the Sami language. The theater accessories (such as swords, chairs, etc.) are also made of ice. - The hall, which is open in the middle, offers space for 520 spectators, 96 of which are equipped with reindeer skins , the rest are standing places (for which foot cushions are distributed). The stage area is 8 × 12 meters and also completely made of ice. - The building project comes from the Swedish ice architect Ake Larsson , everything was implemented by 26 ice designers . This new attraction is well received by tourists and journalists; Like the hotels, it must of course be rebuilt every year.

In mid-2004, an “ice bar” was set up in a hotel in the Swedish capital, Stockholm , which serves visitors all year round at room temperatures of −5 ° C. They receive a polar poncho and warming fur gloves for the duration of their stay, which is usually between 30 and 60 minutes. Mostly alcoholic drinks are served in original ice glasses.

Finland

In 2001, a whole snow village called Lanio Snowvillage opened in Finland , which the brothers Rami, Tomi and Arto Lanio have built and run. This also includes an ice hotel, built from 6,000 m³ of snow, which consists of a main igloo (with an ice bar and 15 bedrooms) and some auxiliary buildings such as B. a romantic ice chapel and z. T. also offers normal hotel facilities, which enable non-ice stays. In Snowvillage, invited ice artists build ice and snow sculptures on around 1.5 hectares each year.

The Snow Show in Kemi ( Rovaniemi area ) has been attracting interested parties since February 2004: a New Yorker, the curator Lance Fung, invited 60 artists and architects to this event. This was not just about ice carving, but the objects to be designed should consist of ice or snow (80%) and other elements such as video, light, sound, architectural decorations etc. (20%). The exhibit was not allowed to exceed a floor area of ​​80 m² and a height of 8 meters. The organizer determined a pair of actions (artist + architect) as a team, the 17 teams in total created interesting objects that could be viewed at an icy −25 ° C until the end of March 2004. Seppo Mäkinen from Finland was an experienced ice-cream engineer, who builds and operates an ice castle with a bar every year.

Canada

The Canadian Eskimos have long held a comparison once a year in spring to see who can build a real igloo with given dimensions the fastest, the winner receives a natural item.

In Québec , Canada there is an ice sculpture festival every winter. The festival lasts three weeks. Because of its number of objects and visitors, it is one of the largest in the world. Every year around 20 teams are selected to compete against each other. Half of the teams are from Canada, the other half from other countries. The first ice hotel in North America is located 10 km east of the city.

Russia

Annual events are held in Gorky Park of Moscow and in Gorky Park of Perm in Russia ( Ural instead).

Switzerland

The “World Snow Festival” in Grindelwald began in 1983 with a “giant Heidi” sculpted from snow by Japanese ice artists. The event takes place on the natural ice rink in the village center.

Netherlands

There is an ice / snow sculpture festival in Eindhoven , held for the first time in 2003, in which 50 carving teams took part. The works of art were produced in a cold store (−18 ° C) and could be admired there for another 3 weeks.

United States

Another ice sculpture festival in Breckenridge (state of Colorado , USA) was reported: in 2004, scientists designed challenging themes. The 4-meter-high structure by John Sullivan (TU Berlin) received an art prize on the subject of a mathematical theorem of penetrating a sphere with itself by turning the inside out .

Other countries

Due to the great interest in ice carving and ice hotels, there are now such offers in other countries:

• Brazil : In Recife, a grand igloo for 300 guests in the Montmorency Park invites snow people . The igloo is created from 250 tons of ice every year.
• New Zealand : In March 2004, a bar made entirely of ice, the Minus Five , opened in the capital, Auckland ; As in the ice hotels, the entire equipment is made of pure, clear ice; the total of 1,600 drinking glasses are refrozen each week in special shapes. The visitors pay an entrance fee of 10 dollars and receive fur boots, down coats and warm mittens from the staff, who wear ski clothing, fur hats and down gloves at temperatures between −5 and −7 ° C for two hours. The decoration includes small, pretty ice carvings such as swans, horses, etc. This bar, located directly on the harbor, is very popular, although the stay is limited to 30 minutes and drinking is limited to a maximum of three alcoholic drinks. The Minus Five is also available in Queenstown .
  

Web links

Commons : Ice sculptures  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Ice sculpture  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Association of professional ice sculptors and ice carvers
• Ice Team Ismaning
• Icealaska
• Ice cream designer
• National Ice Carving Association (USA)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Delicate ice sculptures created with hatchets and chainsaws . Wetterauer Zeitung , February 28, 2012, accessed on September 27, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Now it's official - the winner is certain! Zollhaus.worldpress.com, February 4, 2011; Retrieved December 28, 2011
3. ↑ Ice Sculpture World Championships for the first time in Lübecke . In: Die Welt , 2004
4. ↑ Homepage "Iceart" ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 10, 2009 
5. ↑ Info from Alexa about the ice sculpture event ( memento of the original from January 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Some ice cultures in Dresden on panoramio.com; accessed on February 22, 2015.
7. ↑ Detailed presentation with image examples from Harbin 2008. accessed on October 10, 2009
8. ↑ Homepage Icebar in Stockholm. ( Memento of the original from November 9th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 10, 2009  
9. ↑ private homepage with pictures from the snow show from 2004. ( Memento of the original from January 20, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 10, 2009 
10. ↑ Ice on time . In: Berliner Zeitung , February 18, 2004
11. ↑ Information about the World Snow Festival 2009 ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Information: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Grindelwald website; Retrieved October 10, 2009  
12. ↑ Turning a Snowball Inside Out (German)
13. ↑ Tourist website from Recife ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Spanish) Retrieved October 10, 2009