BEAUTIFUL BOOKS ON BEAUTIFUL FREEZE

We kick off our week of celebrating Beautiful Freeze with a collection of books that explore the art and science of ice and frozen worlds.

1. VANISHING ICE: ALPINE AND POLAR LANDSCAPES IN ART

 

“Vanishing Ice: Alpine and Polar Landscapes in Art, 1775-2012,” by Barbara C. Matilsky, is a fabulous exploration of art inspired by ice, frozen landscapes, freezing imagery and other ultra-cold circumstance.

 

When things freeze, they take on a new aesthetic. New colors, transparencies, crystals, shapes and textures form. Glaciers, icebergs, and fields of tundra create new kinds of worlds.  The light hits frozen things differently.

 

All of this can be inspiration to artist, as Vanishing Ice beautifully exhibits.  

 

Barbara C. Matilsky is curator of art at the Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington. She is the author of numerous books, including Fragile Ecologies: Contemporary Artists' Interpretations and Solutions

 

Whatcom Museum (2013)

2. ICE AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

 

“ICE At the Ends of the Earth,” contains over 150 of Ira Meyer’s award winning color photographs from Antarctica and the Arctic.

 

Meyer captures polar light in a magical way. Blue, purple, and pink light, are all captured, as if coming from within the ice itself.

 

The book is printed with exceptional quality. Jean-Michel Cousteau offers special perspective in his forward.

 

Von Herzen Press; 1ST edition (2013)

3. ICE CAVES OF FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND

 

The ice caves of France and Switzerland are incredibly beautiful. They are shared here in this gorgeous book, “Ice-Caves of France and Switzerland,” by G. F. Browne.

 

“The existence of natural ice-caves at depths varying from 50 to 200 feet below the surface of the earth, unconnected with glaciers or snow mountains, and in latitudes and at altitudes where ice could not under ordinary circumstances be supposed to exist, has attracted some attention on the Continent; but little or nothing seems to be practically known in England on the subject.

 

These caves are so singular, and many of them so well repay inspection, that a description of the twelve which I have visited can scarcely, as it seems to me, be considered an uncalled-for addition to the numerous books of travel which are constantly appearing.

 

In order to prevent my narrative from being a mere dry record of natural phenomena, I have interspersed it with such incidents of travel as may be interesting in themselves or useful to those who are inclined to follow my steps. I have also given, from various sources, accounts of similar caves in different parts of the world.”

4. THE MEANING OF ICE: PEOPLE AND SEA ICE IN THREE ARCTIC COMMUNITIES

 

“The Meaning of Ice: People and Sea Ice in Three Arctic Communities,”  edited by Shari Fox Gearheard, Lene Kielsen Holm, Henry Huntington, Joe Mello Leavitt, and Andrew R. Mahoney, celebrates the Inuit, Inupiat, and Inughuit indigenous peoples, who live in and around the freezing Arctic Sea.

 

With stories, photos, maps, drawings, and recipes, contributed by over 40 members of their communities, we come to a new understanding of what it means to live in a frozen world.

 

International Polar Institute (2013)

 

5. ANTARCTICA

 

“Antarctica,” by David W. H. Walton, presents the frozen continent as one of the most beautiful wild places on earth. And it deepens our understanding of why this polar ice cap is so vital to the health and viability of our planet.

 

With gorgeous, dramatic illustrations and photographs, spanning topics from marine biology to space science, this book provides a valuable summary and inspiration.

 

"From 'Why is Antarctica so dry?' to the current state of the Antarctic Treaty, and everything conceivable in-between (history, geology, oceanography, biology, climate-change and much more) this is the book if you want to understand the significance of Antarctica for the future of Planet Earth. Well illustrated, and well written - I felt completely up-to-date when I finished reading it."

 

Professor Sir John Lawton CBE FRS, last chair of the Royal Commission on Environment Pollution

 

Cambridge University Press (2013)

 

6. THE WHITE PLANET: THE EVOLUTION AND FUTURE OF OUR FROZEN WORLD

 

“The White Planet: The Evolution and Future of Our Frozen World,” by Jean Jouzel, Claude Lorius, and Dominique Raynaud, explores a variety of frozen regions of our planet, including the Arctic Ocean, the ice sheets of Greenland, glaciers in the Andes and Himalayas,and frozen deserts of Antarctica.

 

These frozen worlds, are shrinking, of course, and the authors, each internationally renowned scientists, offer a firsthand account of how the "white planet" is changing.

 

Princeton University Press (2013)

7. SNOW CRYSTALS

 

“Snow Crystals,” by W. A. Bentley, W. J. Humphreys, is chock-an-ice-block full of over 2,000 photomicrographs of snowflakes, frost, rime, glaze, dew, and hail.

 

Photographers and buff will appreciate the introduction by meteorologist W. J. Humphreys, which discusses techniques of photographing snow crystals, science of crystallography, classification, and markings.

 

Dover Publications (2013)

8. DEEP: THE STORY OF SKIING AND THE FUTURE OF SNOW

 

“DEEP: The Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow,” by Porter Fox, is a deep dive into the

sport that has inspired millions to pray for snow.

 

DEEP relays the history of skiing, from prehistoric Norwegian hunters to nobility in the Alps in the 1800s to present-day freeriders. It surveys the best ski mountains of the Northern Hemisphere, including Washington’s Cascade Range, Mont Blanc, and the Matterhorn.

 

Global warming will change the world for millions of skiers first, as their runs melt and their sources dry up.

 

DEEP also offers ideas about how to mitigate global warming, reduce human impact on our planet and repair the water cycle.

 

Rink House Productions (2013)

 

9. THE SNOW IN US: POEMS ABOUT ARCTIC CANADA

 

“The Snow In Us: poems about Arctic Canada,” by David P Reiter, is an artistic exploration of Canada’s First People, the Inuit.

 

Reiter immersed himself in the Inuit lifestyle, culture and craft for over 30 years. His poetry reveals stories of endurance, resiliency, and survival.  

 

Canadian artists Marilyn Higgins and Lloyd Bennett add to the beauty of the book.

 

Marilyn Higgins (Illustrator), Lloyd Bennett (Illustrator)

 

Interactive Press (2013)

 

10. ICEHOTEL: THE DEFINITIVE BOOK

 

“ICEHOTEL: The Definitive Book,” by Mary Gibbons, Anders Porter, David Sheely, Susanna Porter Ohman, and Bengt Nilsson is a collection of photography, documenting all phases of construction of ICEHOTEL in Northern Sweden.

 

It includes all of the artists' suites for 6 years and the articles written about each suite and the artists that created them. You’ll also enjoy seeing the famous ice bars, ice church, main hall and lobby.  Each includes a passage describing the design process and artists' thoughts.

 

ICEHOTEL: Art & Design also includes the never before told 20+-year history of the friendship between Ake Larsson, Ice Hotel architect and Arne Bergh, ICEHOTEL creative director.

 

Fawn's Leap Productions (2013)

 

 

Read more about Beautiful Freeze, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact in our posts throughout this week,

 

Enter this week’s BN Competition. Our theme this week is Beautiful Freeze. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 02.02.14.

Photo Credits:

 

1) Photo: Ackroyd and Harvey. Ice Lens, 2005.

2) Image: Courtesy of Whatcom Museum.

3) Image: Ira Meyer.

4) Image: Courtesy of Amazon Digital Services.

5) Image: Courtesy of International Polar Institute.

6) Image: Courtesy of Cambridge University Press.

7) Image: Courtesy of Princeton University Press.

8) Image: Courtesy of Dover Publications.

9) Photo: Courtesy of Rink House Productions.

10) Image: Courtesy of Interactive Press.

11) Image: Courtesy of Fawn’s Leap Productions.

12) Photo: Courtesy of Emacswiki. Icicles.