冰点之下的舞者

冰点之下的舞者

零下几十度的东北，大地蛰伏，滴水成冰。以冰雪雕琢而成的玉宇琼楼、飞檐翘壁向人们开启了另一个奇幻世界。原本毫无生气的大块冰雪，在艺术家手中，仿佛化成一个个活泼的冰雪精灵，在洁白的世界里跳舞。

Northeastern China is a vast, hidden sanctuary where temperatures fall well below zero in winter.Water drops freeze as soon as they hit the ground.This is a place of pavilions and halls carved and sculpted from the ice and the snow, creating a magical world of beauteous chambers and archways.Gifted artisans transform this seemingly bleak and lifeless world of ice into lively statues of ice fairies, prancing about in a pristine world of white.

French themed snow sculpture by frozen Sun Island Lake, 2015.2015年太阳岛雪博会雪雕作品。

Zhang Dexiang is a native and resident of Harbin, and loves the ice and snow in his hometown.

Seeing the fi rst Ice Lantern Exhibition held in Zhaolin Park inspired him, who was once an art teacher, to take up the art of creating ice sculptures.Master Zhang then won a prize with his fi rst ice sculpture entry: The Girl Playing with Bubbles.The success greatly encouraged his passion of ice sculpting.He spent more time on the discipline and adopted a more professional approach while honing his skills.

Master Zhang has been practicing ice sculpting for more than 20 years.Before working on the block of ice, he would fi rst create a miniature threedimensional sample using modeling clay to ensure that every detail is included in the fi nal work.Upon completion, Master Zhang would also compose a poem that helps to describe and interpret the piece of art.According to Master Zhang, the greatest joy he could derive from the art of ice sculpting is that a variety of realistic and abstract techniques could be used to breathe life into the frozen material.

Each and every fi nished work offers a beautiful and aesthetic experience for the viewers, helping them to re fl ect and contemplate the meaning of life itself.Master Zhang feels only excitement at the sight of the falling of the fi rst snow fl akes that mark the arrival of winter.“It has come to the point that when I see a block of transparent ice, I feel that I must do something about it with my tools.The sound of ice chipping and forming is almost melodic.Each strike of the chisel creates a small shower of ice chips and snow.You can literally witness how your efforts transform lifeless snow and ice into enchanting works of art, imbuing them with various essences that eventually gives birth to life.”

Near the equator, we have Master Bai Yamei, a skilled ice sculptor from Singapore and winner of multiple international awards who has led Team Singapore to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival for a total of 20 occasions.One may question, how Master Bai could tolerate the physical and mental stress creating artworks in a place of ice and snow that is 60 degrees Celsius colder than Singapore.Master Bai puts it cooly: “I like how this feels!”

Ice sculpting is demanding, requiring both skill as well as stamina.The outdoor environment is

extremely cold worsened by the freezing blasts of wind.Such conditions make focusing dif fi cult.The fragility of ice also demands a steady hand during the sculpting process.These professional artisans must work in such bleak environments in order to create works of ice and snow for tourists and visitors from across the world.To overcome the biting cold and keep themselves in their best creative conditions, the ice sculptors and artists have established temporary work sheds with warming fi res to soothe their numb limbs, fi ngers, and toes.These artists are dressed in duck down jackets, woolen hats and gloves.Many wear a pair of valenki boots to combat the low temperatures.

As the artists move into the details, they are fully aware that the slightest mishap may transform their almost completed masterpiece into a pile of ruined ice.Limbs and ribbons require a great deal of time and meticulous work.Spheres and balls must be stuck to the main body.Artists have to apply some water and stand in the winter cold for more than a quarter of an hour to securely “glue” these adornments onto the work piece before they can let go.Working on the details of the work imposes the most strenuous challenge for the artist's stamina and artisanship.The metal tools become bitingly cold, sapping even more heat away from the hands, forcing the artists to take frequent pauses so that they can breathe soothing heat into their painful fi ngers and palms.Despite such precautions, frostbite is still a common occurrence.The harsh environment of ice sculpting easily makes it one of the most physically demanding form of art.

Due to his special ties with ice and snow, Master Zhang Dexiang added the Chinese character Xue (snow) to his children's names.His fi rst-born is named Zhang Xuesong, while his second child is named Zhang Xuetao.Under his in fl uence, his wife Zhu Qing, both of his sons, as well as his daughterin-law (married to Zhang Xuesong) have become avid ice sculptors.

Despite being a world-renowned ice sculptor, Master Bai Yamei still harbors some regrets.Those wonderful works created in China, Japan, and Canada are ephemeral and disappear once the seasons change.He still hopes that there is a method of permanent preservation, allowing the ice sculptures to escape their fate of melting away in spring after only being born in winter.

This may sound like pure fantasy, but every ice sculptor and artisan share this wish.

1.Ice and snow sculpting requires clay sculpting beforehand, according to Master Zhang.张德祥说，冰雪雕刻都是二度创作的，先要泥塑出一件作品，便于对冰雪雕塑作品的多维度认识和把握。

2.Ice sculpture Prosperity Year after Year by Zhang Dexiang.刀工绝伦的《连年有鱼》冰雕作品。

1.Ice sculpting can be enjoyable but painful, according to Master Bai.白亚美认为冰雕艺术是痛苦中的快乐，图为进行冰雕创作中的白亚美。

2.Curves shown from all angles are the most difficult for a snow sculpture.线条呈弧状，且不同视角均呈现出曲线的雪雕作品是难度最大的。

作为土生土长的哈尔滨人，张德祥热爱家乡的冰雪。在兆麟公园观看第一届冰灯游园会时，曾为美术老师的他便动了制作冰雕的想法。后来，他第一次雕刻的“吹泡泡的小女孩”在冰雕比赛中获了奖。欣喜之余，也对冰雕雪雕的兴趣浓了，态度严谨起来，手艺也愈发精湛。

从事了20多年的冰雪雕刻，每创作一件作品之前，他都要用油泥雕出小样来，以形成立体的图形，确保每一个细节的精准，同时还要赋诗一首进行诠释。他认为玩冰雪的最大乐趣便是在于通过写实、写意等各种艺术手法赋予冰雪灵魂，让观者能从一件件作品中体会到美的享受，引发对生活的深刻思考。每到冬天第一片雪花飘落的时候，张德祥总按捺不住内心的激动，“现在我一看到哪块冰很透，我就想拿把铲子给它铲点啥。那种沙沙的声音真像是音乐，铲子刷的一声下去，冰雪纷纷落下来。没有生命的冰和雪经过你的手，一点点的居然变成了美丽的作品，产生了种种内涵，渐渐地那个生命就诞生了。”

而远在赤道附近，屡获国际赛事大奖的新加坡冰雪雕塑艺术家白亚美，已累计20次率新加坡代表队参加在哈尔滨举办的国际冰雕和国际雪雕比赛了。当被问及整日身处与新加坡温差60度的冰天雪地里，对肉体上痛苦和精神上的刺激能挺得住吗？他坦然地告诉大家：“感觉挺好的！”

冰雪雕塑不仅需要技艺，更需要毅力。寒气袭人的露天环境使人难以深思熟虑；冰雪质地酥脆，又必须稳健操作。能工巧匠们就是在极其矛盾又痛苦的条件下，把冰雪艺术品呈现给来自世界各地的游人。为了克服寒冷又很好发挥技艺，冰雪雕塑艺术家们在施工现场会搭起临时工棚避风烤火，缓解冻透的肢体和麻木的手指、脚趾。他们穿着鸭绒服，戴着包裹头脸的毛线帽和手套，脚上多以毛毡靴御寒。

作品的复杂精细部分，创作时稍有不慎，就会把即将大功告成的作品弄个“粉身碎骨”。如肢体、彩带部位极其耗时费力；而球形等部位，常常需要往冰雪雕塑主体上粘贴，艺术家们在寒风飞雪中一站就是数十分钟，要用手托着蘸水的“部件”直到粘牢才能慢慢撒手。在作品需精雕细刻时，是考验毅力和艺术水准的关键阶段，寒风里手握冰得刺手的金属工具，不得不雕刻几下就用嘴哈哈热气以缓解疼痛。即使这样，冻伤也还是难以避免。从事这门艺术的艰辛环境，恐怕要超过任何艺术门类。

因对冰雪有着特殊感情，张德祥给儿子们起名都加上了“雪”字，老大叫张雪松、老二叫张雪涛。在他的影响下，妻子朱青、两个儿子，还有大儿媳季丽莉，都成为了冰雕爱好者。

而在世界冰雪雕塑领域早已成为名人的白亚美唯一遗憾的是，自己在中国、日本和加拿大等大型赛事中辛勤创作的作品不能永存。他非常渴望将出于冬季、融于春季的冰雪艺术品冲破季节的界定，使作品生命永恒。

也许，让冰雕雪塑成为永不落幕的童话，是每一位冰雪艺术家的宿愿。

DANCE OF THE FAIRIES

Text by Wang Yuanchang Photos by VCG & Wang Yuanchang Translation by Sonia