12/21/2006

Sub-Zero Art

Ice Sculptors Create Winter Wonderland

Germany may be experiencing unusually warm winter temperatures, but teeth are chattering in the town of Rövershagen, where a sub-zero art festival is showcasing the work of 15 ice sculptors.

Despite unusually warm winter temperatures in Germany, one town is striking a chilly note with an ice sculpture festival.

The "Adventurous World Trip of the Penguins" festival is bringing some seasonal beauty to the town of Rövershagen near Rostock on Germany's Baltic coast.

Fifteen German and foreign artists labored in sub-zero temperatures for a total of 10,000 hours to create sculptures up to 5 meters (16.5 feet) high. Fifteen hundred blocks of ice, weighing a total of 170 tons, were used to carve glittering fish, moose, and even a "Patagonian UFO," as well as the eponymous penguins. To produce the perfectly clear blocks which ice sculptors prefer, the congealing water was kept in constant motion, to prevent air bubbles forming.

The sculptures are on show in a cold storage hall, otherwise home to 1,000 tons of strawberries during the summer, where the temperature is kept at a chilly -8 degrees Celsius (17.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

The ice penguins which give this year's festival its name were created in last year's show, called "Noah's Ark." The frozen birds left Rövershagen in February 2006 to travel the world, according to the festival's organizers. "They visited many continents, countries and cities and experienced exciting, magical and wonderful adventures there," report the organizers in a press release. The conceit of this year's show is that visitors will find out what the peripatetic penguins got up to during their travels.

The show, which runs from December 25 to February 25, is Rövershagen's fourth annual ice festival. Last year's exhibition was visited by around 100,000 blue-lipped art fans.

dgs/dpa

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