Environmental art in winter, print version


Environmental art in winter Snow and ice sculpture as art forms are based on Far Eastern tradition. The Japanese Zen Shinto village rituals, celebrated with works of snow and based on respect for moments of transition in winter, and Korean-Chinese celebrations, with their ice sculptures, have been transformed into the snow and ice festivals we see today and have spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Winter events have contributed to making winter art well known but, by the same token, have channelled snow and ice sculpture into standardized competitions. On the one hand, decorativeness and demonstration of technical skill, on the other, a formalistic language of shape have become recurrent features. The events have become detached from their original closeness to nature and community spirit. At their dullest, snow and ice sculpture competitions produce winter Disneylands or modernist sculpture parks that repeat the same motifs in Japan, Canada, Russia and Finland irrespective of the culture or venue. At their best, the events are open and innovative occasions characterized by a search for new forms of expression, new content and means of interaction for winter art. Winter art can be examined in the framework of environmental art rather than sculpting. Here, the environment has to be understood as a “stream” which goes through us in the form of substances, sensations, observations, experiences, meanings and values. The environment does not flow merely in individuals but in the entire community associated with the environment at any given time. Every place – a village, marketplace, school, neighborhood, and even a landscape as an experience of the actors involved – is at once an environment and a community. Environmental art is thus not a question of sculptures located outdoors but of recognition of the physically and culturally bound character of the environment as the point of departure for and content of a work. In other words, environmental art takes its site into account, first in terms of objective proportions, substances, materials and their lifespans, second as subjective multisensory experiences, and third as an intertextual place told and understood in the culture. Environmental artists have used the “flow” of winter elements such as the lifecycle of ice, snow and cold in their works. In the site-specific works of Andy Goldsworthy, snow and ice retain their own character as part of the cycle of nature and are not forced to mimic marble or other material used in sculpting or architecture and its traditions with regard to language of form. The works receive their expressiveness and existence from falling snow, ice piled up by a river, icicles frozen together or snow that melts as one looks at the work. Goldsworthy's environmental art represents site-specific art that takes the processes of nature into account. My own artistic activities in nature are based on work with the materials of the site and the inspiration and content these provide. I enter the winter landscape, with the relation between the corporeal and the aesthetic becoming a central factor in my art. Winter also includes experience of the world of sound and of time, not to mention the touch of the cold and the icy wind. The dimensions associated with the experience of time and place are important to me as an artist who mainly works with the winter. I do not stand before the landscape examining it visually nor do I frame what I see; I experience the landscape with all of my senses. Here I follow the phenomenological existential ideas of the philosopher Merleau-Ponty, in which a corporeal being in the landscape is the cradle of all thought and thus art. The building of snow and ice installations, which requires physical labor, becomes a form of meditation, with the action of the body opening the way for sensory experiences and for the flow of the environment into one's consciousness. In this stopping, in this winter effort, the understanding of light is crucial. It is precisely the changes in light that cause the landscape itself and the mood of the person in it to appear in a new and different fashion. One of the principal forms of expression in my winter works is to capture the light of the landscape. Light and shadow are in a constant state of change: the midday sun of January illuminates the landscape from below the horizon; the first rays of February cast halos around ice crystals suspended in the air until a snow squall comes along, softens the landscape and destroys the contrast between light and shadow. When May comes, the snow-covered land glows in the Midnight Sun. A successful snow sculpture captures the essential beauty of the landscape by framing the light to make the landscape easier for the viewer to observe and understand. Snow and ice installations as environmental art are not associated exclusively with the aesthetics of nature. Like art in general, they can touch and enliven the everyday lives of communities. In my own art I strive to examine winter in the North, my own experiential world, as an intertextual narrative. The story is an interweaving of Western art and science and the narratives, meanings and truths of local people. In my winter art, I have sought to create bonds with people living in northern villages, their tradition and even that which they themselves have perhaps forgotten. I hope that my works help the people in the region in recognizing the values in their own lives and environment and in building a northern identity. The formal motifs of my sculptures in fact often draw on local history, such as the initials of families and houses that were used to mark everyday objects; these are symbols of the identity of older generations. In using these marks in snow and ice sculptures, I create contemporary art in which the aesthetics of winter nature and dimensions of local culture combine. Successful art opens up new views on experiencing, understanding and developing both. Often, my winter art is a process or project to which I get people in the area to commit. A work begins with an analysis of the environment in which I survey the opportunities available at the site where I intend to work. The point of departure might be the socio-cultural situation of the site, for instance. Most often, I begin by developing an understanding of the cultural tradition and history of the site. What is most important, however, is communication with the site, its history, the place names and the stories of the local people. In other words, I compile an intertextual account of the site and the community as a basis for my works. This process of collection often prompts active involvement of the local community. In fact, making large snow and ice installations requires a great deal of cooperation with different people and organizations. Winter environmental art will certainly have a future in the cities as well. The environmental art approach makes winter, snow and ice a permanent part of the winter city mentality and increases the enjoyment of residents of cities and towns. The event- and performance-oriented approach makes it possible to relate winter art to contemporary phenomenon in the critical but at the same time celebratory manner of carnival art. In the opinion of many, winter environmental art may be “impure” art in which artistic creativity clashes with the demands of functional and social usability. I believe that winter art is a good means to develop a new type of socially, culturally and ecologically active art. This means the creation of an art that adheres to the new paradigm, which Suzanne Lacy, Suzi Gablik and Lucy Lippard, for example, have called for in their work. Timo Jokela
© University of Lapland and Kemi-Tornio Polytechnic, Culture Unit

Environmental art in winter

Snow and ice sculpture as art forms are based on Far Eastern tradition. The Japanese Zen Shinto village rituals, celebrated with works of snow and based on respect for moments of transition in winter, and Korean-Chinese celebrations, with their ice sculptures, have been transformed into the snow and ice festivals we see today and have spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Winter events have contributed to making winter art well known but, by the same token, have channelled snow and ice sculpture into standardized competitions. On the one hand, decorativeness and demonstration of technical skill, on the other, a formalistic language of shape have become recurrent features. The events have become detached from their original closeness to nature and community spirit. At their dullest, snow and ice sculpture competitions produce winter Disneylands or modernist sculpture parks that repeat the same motifs in Japan, Canada, Russia and Finland irrespective of the culture or venue. At their best, the events are open and innovative occasions characterized by a search for new forms of expression, new content and means of interaction for winter art.

Winter art can be examined in the framework of environmental art rather than sculpting. Here, the environment has to be understood as a “stream” which goes through us in the form of substances, sensations, observations, experiences, meanings and values. The environment does not flow merely in individuals but in the entire community associated with the environment at any given time. Every place – a village, marketplace, school, neighborhood, and even a landscape as an experience of the actors involved – is at once an environment and a community. Environmental art is thus not a question of sculptures located outdoors but of recognition of the physically and culturally bound character of the environment as the point of departure for and content of a work. In other words, environmental art takes its site into account, first in terms of objective proportions, substances, materials and their lifespans, second as subjective multisensory experiences, and third as an intertextual place told and understood in the culture.

Environmental artists have used the “flow” of winter elements such as the lifecycle of ice, snow and cold in their works. In the site-specific works of Andy Goldsworthy, snow and ice retain their own character as part of the cycle of nature and are not forced to mimic marble or other material used in sculpting or architecture and its traditions with regard to language of form. The works receive their expressiveness and existence from falling snow, ice piled up by a river, icicles frozen together or snow that melts as one looks at the work. Goldsworthy's environmental art represents site-specific art that takes the processes of nature into account.

My own artistic activities in nature are based on work with the materials of the site and the inspiration and content these provide. I enter the winter landscape, with the relation between the corporeal and the aesthetic becoming a central factor in my art. Winter also includes experience of the world of sound and of time, not to mention the touch of the cold and the icy wind. The dimensions associated with the experience of time and place are important to me as an artist who mainly works with the winter. I do not stand before the landscape examining it visually nor do I frame what I see; I experience the landscape with all of my senses. Here I follow the phenomenological existential ideas of the philosopher Merleau-Ponty, in which a corporeal being in the landscape is the cradle of all thought and thus art.

The building of snow and ice installations, which requires physical labor, becomes a form of meditation, with the action of the body opening the way for sensory experiences and for the flow of the environment into one's consciousness. In this stopping, in this winter effort, the understanding of light is crucial. It is precisely the changes in light that cause the landscape itself and the mood of the person in it to appear in a new and different fashion. One of the principal forms of expression in my winter works is to capture the light of the landscape. Light and shadow are in a constant state of change: the midday sun of January illuminates the landscape from below the horizon; the first rays of February cast halos around ice crystals suspended in the air until a snow squall comes along, softens the landscape and destroys the contrast between light and shadow. When May comes, the snow-covered land glows in the Midnight Sun. A successful snow sculpture captures the essential beauty of the landscape by framing the light to make the landscape easier for the viewer to observe and understand.

Snow and ice installations as environmental art are not associated exclusively with the aesthetics of nature. Like art in general, they can touch and enliven the everyday lives of communities. In my own art I strive to examine winter in the North, my own experiential world, as an intertextual narrative. The story is an interweaving of Western art and science and the narratives, meanings and truths of local people.

In my winter art, I have sought to create bonds with people living in northern villages, their tradition and even that which they themselves have perhaps forgotten. I hope that my works help the people in the region in recognizing the values in their own lives and environment and in building a northern identity. The formal motifs of my sculptures in fact often draw on local history, such as the initials of families and houses that were used to mark everyday objects; these are symbols of the identity of older generations. In using these marks in snow and ice sculptures, I create contemporary art in which the aesthetics of winter nature and dimensions of local culture combine. Successful art opens up new views on experiencing, understanding and developing both.

Often, my winter art is a process or project to which I get people in the area to commit. A work begins with an analysis of the environment in which I survey the opportunities available at the site where I intend to work. The point of departure might be the socio-cultural situation of the site, for instance. Most often, I begin by developing an understanding of the cultural tradition and history of the site. What is most important, however, is communication with the site, its history, the place names and the stories of the local people. In other words, I compile an intertextual account of the site and the community as a basis for my works. This process of collection often prompts active involvement of the local community. In fact, making large snow and ice installations requires a great deal of cooperation with different people and organizations.

Winter environmental art will certainly have a future in the cities as well. The environmental art approach makes winter, snow and ice a permanent part of the winter city mentality and increases the enjoyment of residents of cities and towns. The event- and performance-oriented approach makes it possible to relate winter art to contemporary phenomenon in the critical but at the same time celebratory manner of carnival art. In the opinion of many, winter environmental art may be “impure” art in which artistic creativity clashes with the demands of functional and social usability. I believe that winter art is a good means to develop a new type of socially, culturally and ecologically active art. This means the creation of an art that adheres to the new paradigm, which Suzanne Lacy, Suzi Gablik and Lucy Lippard, for example, have called for in their work.