ice age
ice age was an ephemeral monument/performative sculpture in the form of a twenty-five-foot-tall inflatable plastic iceberg, installed in Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, San Jose, California, on June 7, 2008.
This park is heavily frequented by local residents, particularly in summer when families come to enjoy the interactive fountain in its center. ice age was sited prominently in this busy location in order to create a beacon and serve as an intersection between the daily activities of San Jose residents and the global conversations hosted by ZER01.
ice age was fabricated in one week out of standard construction-grade plastic sheeting at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre's scene shop in West Oakland, California. The use of theater production strategies to structure large-scale fine art collaboration was a major focus of this project.
ice age was commissioned by ZERO1 for the 2nd Biennial 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge with the support of the James Irvine Foundation.
ice age was conceived and designed by Sarah Lowe, and built in collaboration with:
Technical Director: Rachel Hospodar
Project Intern: Ali Sajjadi
Construction: Owen Premore, Justin Greene, Ashley Dawn
Technical Consultant: Benjamin Peoples
Project documentarian and site surveyor: Michael Lowell
Install and Strike Crew: Jay Ruland, Chad Ruland, Thomas Asmuth, Rebecca Wilson, Justin Greene, Sheila Vyas, John and Renee Kramer.
Additional thanks: Lisa Lazar, Jim Smith, Ryan O'Steen, Sam McKnight, and all the good folks at BRT. Barbara Goodrich. My family: Howard Lowe, Kathleen Lowe, Bill Lowe, and Maggie Tennesen. Sarah Deutsch. Amera Rizk. James Morgan and John Bruneau. David Wilbanks. My ART013 students at SJSU aka my inflatables field researchers. Thomas Hertzog and Ant Farm for their good books about inflatable architecture, and particularly ZER01 and the James Irvine Foundation for making this project possible.