Early Wednesday morning, a 3,000-pound ice sculpture spelling the word “DEMOCRACY” was transported from a New York studio to the National Mall by artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, known as LigoranoReese. To deliver the metaphor, the artists had partnered with Up In Arms, an organization started by Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen, who is known as much for his activism as his ice cream.
The sculpture “speaks to America’s weakened democracy and the costs of its failure amid growing militarism and authoritarianism. The sculpture transforms the abstract concept of ‘democracy’ into a visceral loss,” according to the organizers of “Last Call–DemocracyICED.”
When I arrived at Union Plaza, in front of the US Capitol, the blazing sun prompted me to take off my jacket, but the sculpture was draped in its own covering. The heat on democracy was hotter than planned.
“We’re just trying to keep democracy on ice and preserved as long as we can,” Ligorana said, so that, following its unveiling at a press conference, the sculpture would slowly collapse and melt away, for all to see.
Around noon, a mix of activists, press, and passersby gathered. Organizers removed the coverings, revealing the sculpture’s sharp, icy letters, matched by words from Rev. William H. Lamar IV, pastor of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church; Tariq Habash, co-founder of A New Policy; Rob Weisman, President of Free Speech For People; and Nina Turner, a former Ohio State Senator.
Each speaker issued stark warnings about the administration’s actions and the dangers they fear are tearing apart American democracy. Throughout the conference, water dripped down the letters, forming a continuous stream. Democracy began to melt in plain view of the Capitol, where a gridlocked legislative branch had, at that point, kept the federal funding taps turned off for a 14th day.
Following the speeches, people began checking out and posing in front of the glossy sculpture.
A group of college students had come with their professor. “It reminds me of the doomsday clock,” said one student.
This isn’t LigoranoReese’s first ice activism; they displayed a similar sculpture in New York City about 20 years ago to protest the Iraq War. “Ice,” Ligorano said, “gets the message across.”
Reverend William H. Lamar agreed: “Democracy is melting, and if we don’t do anything about it, this will be a puddle of water, and what used to be quote/unquote American democracy will shrink into authoritarianism.” The reverend also spoke of the “indignity” of DC’s limited Congressional representation: “Here in the District, you marry the anti-democratic reality I spoke of with the fact that we don’t have statehood.”
Runners along the National Mall paused out of curiosity before continuing to pound the pavement. A math teacher from a nearby middle school stopped while on a lunchtime walk. “The message is clear that democracy is melting here in the US, right? It’s a very impermanent thing,” she said.
The sun continued to beam onto the ice. At 4 PM, I returned to Union Square. The letters had thinned and softened, forming a pool of water below. “The R fell backwards and gave up first,” a photographer told me. Moments later, part of the E shattered onto the ground, prompting a gasp from onlookers.
Soon after, the M caved. I asked a passerby if they could make out the word: “No. It almost looks like decay.”
