Reading this about a particular beach art installation made me wonder what we’ve discussed here in the past about “ephemeral art” that’s intrinsically non-permanent. And I can’t find very much on the subject, so here’s a thread for it!
Beach art, ice carving, snow sculpture, butter sculpture, yarnbombing, confectionery, sand mandalas, whatever: what’s your favorite example of artwork(s) laboriously created but designed to be destroyed or decay in a relatively short time? (Media that are exceptionally delicate/fragile but theoretically non-ephemeral, such as super-fine paper cutting and the like, don’t count in this category.)
I’ll start: I think the large-scale mathematical snow designs of Simon Beck are absolutely amazing. Not just the skill but the sheer physical endurance required to create them so precisely, and then the artistry of photographing them! (No, I don’t think the existence of photographs disqualifies them from being “ephemeral”.)
This page bob smith | Flickr has cairns that I have made. Some lasted months, some a year or so, but all the ones pictured have been knocked down. I had over 2 dozen standing at various places around my radius at a time. Some get shot at, some get toppled by raptors landing on the top stone, most get knocked over by wild horses trying to scratch their backs on them.
I stopped taking pictures. I’ve got a bunch out there, some in places no one will ever see. I’ve built one so strong and solid it amazes me it still stands, over 14 feet tall, about 20 stones. Been up almost a year now (Mother’s Day). The horses don’t go up that ridge.