Art is a Dish Best Served Cold

Photo:
All images via Hongtao Zhou

When Hongtao Zhou sees snow, he doesn't make snowballs. Instead, he uses his creative powers to make art out of a useful and sustainable material. To that end, the graduate art student recently ventured out to frozen Lake Mendota near his University of Wisconson - Madison campus to build 'ice and snow furniture' that look quite fit for the dining room of an ice palace.

Photo:

There's no lifeguard on duty, but there may be a place to sit in what looks to be a barren landscape.

Photo:

Braving the cold, Zhou worked meticulously, packing snow to create "Ice & Snow Furniture Raised from Lake Mendota." Following the cycle and patterns of nature, this work is transient; it was made possible because the lake was frozen and there was snow on the ground, and it will disappear as the seasons change and winter literally melts away.

Photo:

Zhou says of his furniture:

They connect the lake, the land, the air and the people and complete a sustainable life cycle with less or without environmental impact.

And, instead of drinking a hot cup of cocoa while you're seated on a chilly chair, why not eat some ice cream out of these cute, sustainable snow bowls?

Photo:

Sources: 1, 2

If you want to find out all the latest news on the environment, why not subscribe to our RSS feed? We’ll even throw in a free album.