Sixtieth Annual
Sapporo Snow Festival
February 5 - 11, 2009
Background
This week on the island of Hokkaido, upwards of two million people will visit the city of Sapporo as it celebrates its sixtieth annual snow festival with a week of art and festivities. According to The Daily Telegraph, the tradition of crafting elaborate snow and ice sculptures goes back to the early post-war period, when six youths carved six snowmen on the grounds of downtown Odori Park. Since then, the event has become increasingly popular, with overflow from the main event collecting at two additional sites, Tsudome and Susukino. Moreover, the original six humble snowmen have evolved into stunning, world-class masterpieces of sculpture. This year alone, approximately 270 sculptures of varying sizes will be on display.
Example of a 2006 sculpture, from The Japan Times Online.
Monuments and Spectacle
Though monumental buildings are a favorite subject for artists, visitors to the festival will also see snowmen carved in the image of popular characters from anime and manga, explore labyrinths hacked out of the ice, and sled, slide, and slush down snowy lanes. At nightfall, the most impressive designs are cunningly illuminated, often appearing to be lit from within. At these times, Odori Park glitters with a rainbow of colors.
More images at PinkTentacle.com
An Army of Snowmen
The Japanese government takes an active role in supporting the festival. Many sculptures are government-sponsored, with the work being done by members of Japan's Self Defense Force. Since 1955, Japanese soldiers have designed and carved the largest free-standing exhibits.
Here, soldiers put the finishing touches to The Magic Kingdom,
carved to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland.
From AsiaOne Travel. Follow the link for more pictures.
Realism and Surrealism
Using a medium flexible enough to press the limits of self-expression in strange new directions, artists are unafraid to tackle surrealism with both hands. The following images, from a Chinese online news source, represent the aquariums of local fish markets, including real, frozen fish.
Ocean and sealife themes dominate at Tsusukino.
Left, from TheFirst.cn. Right, close-up from Japan Photo Guide.
International Participation
Naturally, the finest artists from all over Japan gather to showcase their talent. Yet foreigners also attend. In this year's thirty-sixth annual International Snow Sculpture Contest, the winning entry was crafted by a team from Thailand, with the runner-ups coming from Lithuania. Details of the contest and photos of all entries may be found at the festival's official site.
Second Place. "Glove." Lithuanian.
Competition is fierce, and the rules of the contest are rigidly prescribed. No more than twenty international teams are allowed to submit entries. Japanese citizens are strictly forbidden to provide assistance to these artists. A standardized block of snow 3M (H) x 3M (W) x 3M (D) is provided by the festival's organizers. The three-member teams are also provided with a variety of tools. Additional equipment, though not forbidden, is the responsibilty of the sculptors. Four, twelve-hour workdays are set aside before judging begins on February 8. The sculpture must be free-standing, as "placement of supports inside the snow block provided by the committee will not be allowed." Complete contest rules are available from SnowFes.com.
The following videoclip documents the international entries.
The following videoclip highlights examples of sculpture and activities at the festival.
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