Fred Flintstone becomes Shape in White 2023 and “Crypto-Art”
Last updated on 17.01.2023
Ivan Holzknecht and Armin Rifesser from Italy won 1st place in the 29th “Shapes in White” snow sculpture competition with the sculpture “Back to the roots aka Fred Flintstone”. From now on, guests in the Silvretta Arena can marvel at eleven visions of the future made of snow, created by international artists and up to ten metres high. And not only that: from February 2023, the snow artworks can also be purchased for the first time as NFT (Non Fugitile Tokens) in the form of crypto-art.
Ischgl’s “futuristic” and “climatic” open-air gallery is open: At the 29th snow sculpture competition “Shapes in White”, international pairs of artists formed the future out of Ischgl snow on and off the slopes from 8 to 13 January 2023 under the motto “Future, Future-Mobility, Climate”. There are now eleven spectacular snow sculptures up to ten metres high to admire, including a winged “energy bee” (with a wind turbine on its back so that the lady can generate electricity while skiing), a “polar bear in distress”, a sailing boat called “Unsinkable”, a “palm boarder”, various means of transport from the Stone Age or the future and, under the name “ÜberALL her nach Ischgl”, an alien landed in the snow of Ischgl complete with spaceship. After careful consideration, the Ischgl jury chose the sculpture “Back to the roots alias Fred Flintstone” by Ivan Holzknecht and Armin Rifesser from Italy as the winner. From now on, anyone who wants to take a look into the future themselves can ski the various locations in the Silvretta Arena or – new in 2023 – secure their own future with NFTs in the form of crypto-snow art of the “shapes in white”. A map with the eleven sculpture locations and explanations is available free of charge on site. Info: www.ischgl.com
“Shapes in White” becomes “Crypto Art
Not only a vision: From this moment forward, “Shapes in White” will serve as art in perpetuity. After digital, photographic processing, the individual Ischgl snow sculptures can be purchased and traded as NFT (Non Fugitile Tokens) in the form of crypto art on the online marketplace Open Sea with Castellocoins. All info: www.formeninweiss-nft.com
Realization that is old as ice
Ten spectacular snow sculptures, ten international teams of artists from 7 countries, including Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, the USA, France and Canada. Ultimately, there was only one 1st place winner. For the Ischgl jury, the 29th “Shapes in White” snow sculpture competition became an agony of choice: “Every year, the artists impress us anew with their creative interpretations of the motto and their masterful implementation, which makes our choice very difficult. This year we were finally able to welcome ten international artist couples to Ischgl again for the competition, and for the first time we can also reward them with the “immortalisation” of their works as crypto-art,” says jury member Alexander von der Thannen, chairman of the Tourism Association Paznaun – Ischgl, delighted about the latest developments. The jury’s verdict: 2023 was gilded by Ivan Holzknecht and Armin Rifesser with their sculpture “Back to the roots alias Fred Flintstone”. Second place was awarded to Ivo Piazza and Reiner Kasslatter from Italy with “E Unterwegs”. Ralf Rosa and Peter Fechtig from Germany won bronze with their “Palmboarder: 2050 – Palms on the Mountain and Surfing the Net”. Due to the Corona pandemic, the winners from 2020 and 2022 created the eleventh and final themed sculpture this year.
A tale of too much snow turned into art
What are we going to do with all that snow? Art – what else! With this idea, the snow sculpture project “Shapes in White” was launched 30 years ago. Since then, sculptors from all over the world have sent their designs to the jury of the Ischgl Snow Sculpture Competition every year. These designs reflect a newly announced motto. The jury selects the most beautiful entries and invites ten pairs of artists to the Silvretta Arena. The snow artists then have five days to create their masterpieces of snow, up to ten metres high, in the 239-kilometre ski area. Since most of the sculptures are located above 2,000 meters above sea level and close to the slopes, they remain “tangible” for winter sports enthusiasts for a long time. The event will take place again in January 2024. Further information is available at www.ischgl.com.
