Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Artists to melt "middle class"
Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese send a chilly message to the delegates during the RNC.
Posted by Megan Voeller on Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 8:09 PM
- Courtesy Ligorano/Reese
- Ice sculpture by Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese
As card-carrying members of the 99%, we can identify with the latest work of artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese. The New York-based duo plans to install a 2,000-pound ice sculpture of the words “middle class” in downtown Tampa’s Lykes Gaslight Square Park on Monday, Aug. 27, the opening day of the Republican National Convention.
You can bet your bottom dollar that their handiwork will melt quickly in Tampa’s late summer heat— and that’s exactly what the artists intend. After unveiling the 4-ft. tall by 15-ft. wide ice sculpture, Ligorano and Reese will stick around to videotape its slow disintegration, letter by letter, which they estimate could take anywhere from six to 24 hours.
“[The sculptures] may disappear even faster than usual,” Ligorano said in a press release. “It’s a tossup whether that’s due to economic or climatic conditions.”
The artists plan to install an identical sculpture at Marshall Park in Charlotte on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.
In 2008, Ligorano and Reese melted the word “democracy” at both the Republican and Democratic conventions. They commemorated the 79th anniversary of the Great Depression by melting an ice sculpture of the word “economy” in front of the New York State Supreme Court building.
Track the progress of their 2012 installations at meltedaway.com. Learn more about the artists at ligoranoreese.net.
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