Ephemeral Art

Here today, gone tomorrow

1. What does 'ephemeral' mean? I looked it up in a dictionary and discovered that it is used to describe something that only lasts for a short time. You know, like a mayfly, the insect that lives for one day, or a pleasure that you experience, but which passes. I was amazed to find that it is also used to describe a genre of art. OK, you may ask - how can you study or debate the value of art that is here today and gone tomorrow? Good question. It roused my curiosity!

2. Ephemeral art is not about pictures, statues or art installations that can be kept in a gallery. It's a term that came to prominence in the 1950s. That was a time when artists were experimenting with different types of art and debates about the nature of art were common. At that time, it was used to describe any type of fleeting event such as a performance or a lighting display. One interpretation of ephemeral art is that it promotes awareness of how quickly life changes. It tries to bring us closer to nature and understanding that nothing lasts forever. Tibetan monks spend weeks creating spectacular, colourful patterns in sand (mandalas) that are blown away in days. They want to create a symbol to remind us that life passes quickly.

3. Some artists create ephemeral art using materials that will self-destruct. In 1984, Andy Goldsworthy created a ribbon of poppy petals held together by saliva, which quickly fell apart when it dried. And in 2014, Brazilian artist Néle Azevedo made 5,000 tiny figures out of ice which sat on some public steps in Birmingham until they melted. The project was a memorial to the nameless men and women who died in WW1. Her melting men ice sculptures havebeen placed in public squares all round the world since 2005. Originally her idea was to protest against the big bronze statues and monuments to heroes. However, her art has taken on a new life. People now see it as symbolic of the melting ice caps and consider it a comment on the dangers of climate change.

4. Many ephemeral artists explore profound ideas in their work, but others are more concerned with producing unique experiences that cannot be truly documented. In 2012, Dutch artist Smilde created a perfect cloud in the hallway of a building in New York. He used water, temperature and smoke to make the cloud. It lasted a few seconds. The cloud was photographed, so we can see what he created, but we cannot feel the humidity or breathe in the smoke, which was an important part of the experience.

5. Ephemeral art is not a new idea. Street artists have been drawing with coloured chalk on pavements since the sixteenth century. More recently, starting in the twentieth century, spectacular 3D pavement art has shown how the genre is progressing. And photography allows the artists to record their work before it is washed away by the rain or smudged by the feet of careless pedestrians. The development of another traditional type of ephemeral art is seen in sand sculpture. It has progressed from simple children's castles made on holiday to complex and stunningly beautiful creations produced by specialist artists today; still waiting, however, for nature to take back the sand. And then we have that other, controversial street art -graffiti. This is ephemeral, not because it will quickly be washed away or self-destruct, but because it is unprotected and can be painted over, cleaned off or added to.

Some people might say that in our modern, consumer society, ephemeral art has found a proper home. In my opinion, it is just another example of human beings' ability to adapt and create wonderful things that can provoke reactions, raise awareness or simply give us pleasure.