This installation is inspired by the forms and concerns of Egyptian solar temples' geometrically complex arrangements of obelisks and spheres that trace celestial phenomena and embody the rhythms and cycles of the sun. For the ancient Egyptians, the sun was the awesome and mysterious answer to the question of fertility on this planet. Artist Jim Mason will construct a large-scale ice sundial; its center formed from a 10 ft. diameter sphere of ice surrounded by 12 ft. tall ice obelisks. This giant sphere, itself a massive clock, will in turn enclose watches, clocks and other modern timepieces frozen within it. Melting, it will evoke the deep and mysterious courses of geologic time.
< Back to search results

Temporal Decomposition by Jim Mason

Photo by: J. Absinthia Vermut

Year: 1997

Image Caption: 

This installation is inspired by the forms and concerns of Egyptian solar temples' geometrically complex arrangements of obelisks and spheres that trace celestial phenomena and embody the rhythms and cycles of the sun. For the ancient Egyptians, the sun was the awesome and mysterious answer to the question of fertility on this planet. Artist Jim Mason will construct a large-scale ice sundial; its center formed from a 10 ft. diameter sphere of ice surrounded by 12 ft. tall ice obelisks. This giant sphere, itself a massive clock, will in turn enclose watches, clocks and other modern timepieces frozen within it. Melting, it will evoke the deep and mysterious courses of geologic time.

Collections