CMU School of Drama


Friday, January 29, 2016

This Company Creates Ice Castles As A Winter Entertainment Attraction

CONTEMPORIST: Ice Castles, an entertainment company who builds…well, ice castles, has added their own spin to subzero adventures.

19 comments:

Vanessa Ramon said...

Wow! These are incredible! I would love to go and visit one of these! Not only is it amazing that they take the time to make it out of real ice, but they also make each ice castle unique. It is beautiful how we now have the ability to mimic nature in such a realistic way. Just like theatre, it provides people with an experience they wouldn't get otherwise.The added element of lights glowing from within the structure adds to the majestic experience. I would love to learn more about the process that they have to go to to create one of these castles. The author mentions the icicles that seem to add an extra feature of excitement which also makes me wonder what exact emotions being in one of these castles would provoke. Overall, these pictures are beautiful and certainly make me want to come visit.

Scott MacDonald said...

I love these immersive ice sculptures! Being from Massachusetts, I loved building snow forts growing up, and even attempted some ice sculptures of my own. I think ice is such a fascinating “medium” to work in because it’s so common and tangible for the viewer, yet can create such unfamiliar and magical work. It’s also fantastic for adding lighting. In Boston, New Years Eve celebrations have traditionally included several ice sculptures throughout the city, which are carved throughout the day. While it’s very cool to see the artisans carving the ice with chainsaws, nothing beats seeing the ice transformed when lighting is added after the sun goes down. Ice catches light in a very beautiful way which is unique to the material and which allows for some great experimentation with color. It’s also interesting to consider what will happen to these sculptures at the end of the season; as they slowly melt away, the sculptures will get smaller. It’s cool to consider how the natural environment is able to facilitate these ice sculptures, and then reclaim them when the temperature becomes warmer.

Julian Goldman said...

Seeing one of these in person is now officially on my bucket list. As amazing as they look in the photos, my guess is that the photos don’t even begin to do justice to what seeing one in person would be like. They look like an imaginary fantasy world that has become real, and being made out of so many icicles makes it look like the whole thing just naturally grew. They also do really amazing things when it comes to the nighttime lighting effects, especially when paired with the coloring of the sky. It is a really great idea that has been executed very well, and the result is amazing. I took a look at their website, which have even more photos, some of which of these curls of light in them that I can’t identify the source of. I took a look at the dates and locations, and none of them look like options for me for this year, but hopefully one day I’ll be able to see one in person, or even better, maybe one day I will get the opportunity to work on one.

Unknown said...

This is a prime example of discovering a niche market and running with it. Upon further research of the company, I found out some interesting things. First, they have four locations this year, which is intriguing to me mainly because I’m wondering how large the staff is for a company that can only operate for so long throughout the year and must have an interesting demand. Second, they are only charging around $10 per person for a session that can last as long as the customer wants. They must have very high immediate costs and my guess is that the company’s running costs are fairly low. Also, the materials that they are using are fairly affordable compared to brick or stone, now that I think about it. This company has an interesting model that probably a lot of seasonal business have to use, where they have to keep prices down in order to increase demand for the short time that they are open.

Unknown said...

Wow this looks incredible! I would love to visit one of these ice castles one day. They seem so cool (literally) and interesting. It is hard to see these types of things in our kind of climate because as we have seen this winter, some days it is really cold and then the next is very warm. Ice castles like this would start to melt and could be very dangerous if something fell down or collapsed especially if there were people inside. It is really cool that these castles are relatively close compared to Alaska or the Arctic Circle. I really like how they use different colored lights to highlight different parts of the ice and create different settings. I think ice and how it forms is very interesting and I even made my white box last year for Susan an ice mountain, which looked similar (well at least I tried) to some of these pictures.

Natalia Kian said...

What this company is doing for the medium of ice sculpting is awe-inspiring on its own. Additionally, considering how this medium could be applied to theatrical productions, events, and designs, so much is possible. I think in theatre design, we tend to get so comfortable with the materials we know that we allow ourselves to forget that there are other options. Not only is ice sculpture possible in a practical application - these beautiful examples prove that it is plausible. Sure, it might be a few years before we're scheduling ice sculpture construction into load in - but consideration is a start. This is an opportunity for scenic designers to expand their imaginations in ways they never knew they could, a chance to deepen the mysticism of the worlds we create which must not be cast aside. With any luck, it won't be long till audiences are wearing extra layers to the Saturday matinee.

Megan Jones said...

Exploring these ice castles is something that I'd love to do one day. I can't imagine how long it would take to create these masterpieces, and how hard it must be to work in these cold conditions. It's also really odd to think these sculptures could be destroyed at any time by the weather, and it only makes me want to visit even more. I especially love the way that the purple light shines through the ice in the last photo. It reminds me of the projection show that happens on the Cinderella castle at Disney World. I'd love to see one of those kind of shows in this space, or even just a movie. Working there also must be a completely different experience than any conventional space, as you have to account for the possibility of melting. Although it probably wont happen this year I hope that eventually get to see these ice castle.

Noah Hull said...

I’m with Julian in thinking that as amazing as the pictures make these structures look getting to see them in person and interact with them would be even better, especially if you got to see them at night. The pictures of them at night all light up are even more stunning than the daytime ones. As cool as seeing them would be I want to help make one of them. I’ve always been drawn to large scale building projects like this and ice seems like it would be a fun challenge to work with. It seems like something that should be fragile, after all its pretty easy to snap an icicle with your bare hands. But none of these look like they’re in danger of falling down any time soon, and yet they somehow manage to keep that ethereal sense delicacy and beauty that ice has.

Unknown said...

This is such a brilliant idea. I've personally visited an ice hotel in Alaska myself, but I never really thought about the possibility of taking that concept and turn it into something less functional and purely artistic. Of course, an entire hotel made from ice is a work of art, but for some reason the focus is really more on the utilitarian idea of it being a "hotel" not necessarily just for the art itself. This entirely changes my perception of that. I'm very curious as to what goes into a project like this, logistically. In theatre, we tend to look to others, or past seasons, or ideas that we've played with previously when we try something new. In this situation, where do you even start? How much ice do you need? How do you even calculate that in the first place? Truely a work of art, both in spectacle and in sheer "how did they even do that?".

Lauren Miller said...

This seems absolutely stunning. The size and natural forms must be overwhelming in person.It reminds me strongly of an ice and snow festival in Harbin, China. It's an industrial city north of Beijing. Really, it sits almost on the Russian border. Anyways, the area is subject to cold, terrifying winters. Nine months of the year, you can't really go outside, but for a few weeks every winter, the city comes alive with these lit sculptures. People recreate significant buildings, such as the Eiffel Tower, form old stories, or simply create art out of ice and snow. It really is stunning and impressive to see something so graceful and gorgeous made out of such a dangerous material in an unforgiving climate. It has been quite awhile since I've been there, but I hope to return one day. It is just nice to be reminded of the beauty that can be found in the darkness of winter, especially now, when the spring seems almost unattainable.

Claire Farrokh said...

These look incredibly gorgeous. This must be absolutely extraordinary to explore, especially at night. Part of what makes this so beautiful is the level of intricacy and detail that must have gone into its creation. I've is obviously not an easy material to work with, but the creators of this were able to make entire castles out of it. It's interesting to examine the practicality, or lack thereof, of the structure as well. This obviously isn't somewhere that someone could live, but it is stunning to look at. The way the lighting is used in each photo adds another layer of beauty and detail to the project. The lights emphasize different parts of the castle that wouldn't necessarily be all that noticeable otherwise. In other words, the designers utilize lighting in the best way possible, since they are able to show something different about their work with each different photo.

Sophie Chen said...

The pictures look stunning and I'm sure this place looks even more amazing in person. I also particularly love the incorporation of lighting in these structures, which combined with the natural color of the sky is truly unique and creative. Since the castles are out doors, I wonder how they deal with temperature/weather changes, such as rain or sun. I assume they have a way to manage the temperature of the structures, but the amount of thin icicles on the castles make me can't help but think that they'll start to fall off once the weather gets warmer. Hopefully the tourists who visit the park will get adequate safety precautions and perhaps safety helmets. Anyhow, I would love to visit one of these parks and hopefully they will expand to more locations.

Javier Galarza-Garcia said...

These pictures are so incredibly stunning! This is something i definitely want to experience. It is so cool to see how lighting changes how you look at each picture. The environment looks like something from a storybook. I wonder how long it takes to create these amazing structures and how they upkeep them from melting. One of my dreams is to visit an ice hotel just like the one in James Bond "Die Another Day", but i definitely would not mind exploring these beautiful ice-castles instead. I never truly realized that ice is such a cool medium to work with because of the glistening beauty. I hope to visit these ice-castles one day and experience what it feels like to be ice royalty. This is also a really cool first date setting, just saying.

Alex Kaplan said...

The pictures of the ice castles are very beautiful. But while I was reading the article, I really only had questions on my mind. The first one is, How do they keep the castles from melting? I looked up each place that was listed in the article as a location on the weather channel. They are all either above freezing or supposed to be above freezing within the next 10 days. If this is happening in January, it makes me skeptical that these castles can be maintained until march. I guess that there might be some kind of cool-down system in place, but I am still questioning. My second question about this article is how are these sculptures made? From the pictures, the castles look very natural, almost as if they formed there naturally. But I know that a lot of work has to be put into them, from the lighting and electrical placement to the overall structure of the castle. Whatever the answers are, they sure are stunning to look at.

Sam Molitoriss said...

Looking at these pictures, it’s hard to believe that these “castles” are man-made. The formations look effortlessly formed and placed into position. I would really like to know how the artists created these forms. Judging from the info on their website, this company builds ice castles in all sorts of places in the US and Canada. Currently, they have one in Nebraska. Thus, they must build nearly everything from the ground up, which is even more amazing. The photography of this castle in particular is quite good. The composition of the shots and the use of HDR really makes the castles feel somewhat magical. The idea of lighting the structures from within worked out very well. IT gives the ice a dynamic feel. This ice castle is an impressive feat of art, design and construction. I hope they open one in Pittsburgh soon.

meeshL said...

These ice sculptures are mind blowing. There's an ethereal and otherworldly quality that applies itself to ice sculptures like these. It reminds me of the ice sculpture festival in Harbin, China. Massive recreations of famous architectural forms decorate the town during the early months of winter and are lit up at night, similar to the sculptures created by Ice Castles. However, I'm noticing the largest difference between the sculptures created by Ice Castles and any other company/large scale ice sculpture I've ever seen is in the form of the ice itself. The castles created by the company in the article take advantage of the natural form that ice takes on right before it begins to melt. I love how they thought about the materiality of ice and decided to capture one of the aspects of ice that makes ice, ice-- the icicle. Because of that, it can almost fool you into thinking that these form are indeed, made by nature and not man. I wonder how they managed to achieve the shape of the icicle and how they managed to control it to such a meticulous degree each time. Now, this is not to say that ice sculptures that are carved in places like Harbin aren't worth of praise either-- it takes insane amounts of precision and artistry to carve forms out of ice but there's a different sense of mystery when you wonder if there's a human hand involved in the creation at all.

Fiona Rhodes said...

So. Many. Questions. First of all, are the castles actually made of ice? That would present many problems which the article didn't address, such as melting, slip hazards, falling icicles (which can be deadly!) and the potential melting and therefore non-structural dangers of the castles. Second question: how do they make them? They take advantage of the wonderful natural form of ice, as opposed to other ice castles that are produced in snow festivals throughout the world, but doing it that way means that you can make each section separately and then piece them together: this version makes that near impossible. Do they have to continuously pump new water to replace the melting ice? How wet are these castles, actually? If they are structural, can you climb up into the taller parts of the castle and look down, or do you have to stick to certain paths? Regardless, a very cool project and definitely something I want to see and explore!

Chris Calder said...

For some reason when I look at this structure I think of the Ice age when Soto dies for a cluster of icicle falling on him. I realize this isn’t exactly the nicest thought but for some reason I just saw the pictures and that was my first thought. Don’t get me wrong I think it is so cool that people can do this, all you need is a couple hundred thousand gallons of water and suddenly you have some pretty amazing art. But there is the presence of danger, almost like the whole thing is going to melt. This type of art is something that I really enjoy and especially that it is an interactive piece that people can get up close and personal with, Even thought you might get a little cold. Sadly I don’t think I will be seeing anything like this around Pittsburgh because the last time the temperature was under 32 for more than a day was over a week ago.

Madeleine Wester said...

I love the effect the lights have when they reflect around in the ice castles. The "castles" remind me of when Disneyland lights up the Cinderella castle and they project movie scenes on it. I think seeing something like this would be awesome because it has such a natural aesthetic, but it is still a manmade structure. It's a little concerning that these structures can potentially snap pieces off, or break, but I guess the company makes sure it's pretty structurally sound. There's so many cool opportunities that these castles present, and it'd be awesome to get to light or design a structure like this. Hopefully we could get to see something like this in Pittsburgh, except it might be sort of lame to be outside in the cold for that long. I'd be interested to see if they set up flashing lights or little props inside the castles, because that might add to the sculptures magical feel.