ECO ART: Cold House Ice Furniture
by Moe Beitiks, 02/14/09
Almost all furniture once possessed a life elsewhere before it became an object in your home. It might have been a tree, or a metal, or a fluff of cotton, or any other of the multitude of resources harnessed from nature and then tossed in the cycle of urban living. Artist Hongtao Zhou, in his installation of ice furniture, seeks to re-frame this cycle by creating a simple, temporary, and very cold place to sit on the shores of Lake Mendota, Wisconsin.
Located near the University of Wisconsin-Madison Memorial Union Terrace shoreline, the furniture will exist as long as the weather permits. In the meantime, visitors to the lake will find an unusual setting for an ice cream party, complete with nearby bowls of snow.
Zhou is a graduate student of art at UW who seeks to address issues of sustainability in his work. Melting ice is one of the significant images of our time, and Zhou demonstrates the temporary state of ice through this ephemeral dining set.
via Core 77
Very Nice