|
|
|

As an investigation of climate change in North America and questioning society's dependence on mobility, Carothers and Wrbican are taking on different elements: Ice and Time. During the winter of 2008, the artists will freeze a car into a solid block of ice in Michigan, the state of the birthplace of the automobile industry. Their chosen site is on the grounds of Michigan Tech University, in Houghton, located on the western side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Their target date for the unveiling of the ice block is February 4-10, 2008. As The Frozen Car thaws with the spring, the artists will document its demise and interact with the public. Out of respect for nature they will embrace fluctuating weather patterns incorporating the element of chance into the project.
A 1978 Chevy Nova has been chosen due to its historical significance. During the Oil Crisis in the 70's as The Big 3, Chrysler, Ford & Chevrolet, developed less oil-consumptive autos. Chevy supplanted its line of "gas-guzzling" cars with a "fuel efficient" line of "X" cars and the Citation replaced the Nova in 1980. Also during this time, Jimmy Carter created the US Department of Energy, in part to investigate alternatives to oil.
The automobile has long been a metaphor for freedom and power in American culture. The Frozen Car represents consumption, politics and desire- a time capsule dredging up The American Dream of ownership and the totemic object that grants "special powers." The act of freezing references "cryonics," a procedure which hypothetically preserves a diseased body until a cure is found. The Frozen Car points to the classic struggle of culture verses nature. It is a monument to a tragedy meant to remind us of our present choices. |