Massive Mandala: Simon Beck’s Snowy Circles
Downing massive cups of hot cocoa and stomping around for hours in frigid conditions?…
Tough job, and somebody’s gotta do it!
As with my previous post on Tony Orrico Human Spirograph, and Big Circle maker Jim Denevan, and even the work of Andy Goldsworthy, here is SIMON BECK – who presents another example of endurance, art, and the human body as natural GPS system. With a nod to the ‘crop circle’ phenom… he brings us an ephemeral art form in nature, about nature.
White on White. Sheer and utter beauty.
I made this 11-fold crop circle pattern in mosaic ! Have a look below.
Diamond Heart, 2004 by Lillian Sizemore
The fractal nature of triangles
A pattern favored by the Roman pavement builders!
In an interview from “Now That’s Nifty” he says
“Typically a large design is the size of 3 soccer fields and takes 2 days. In this context a day means until I get too tired to continue, how long this takes is mainly a function of the snow condition and how tired I was before I started. Usually between 5 and 9 hours.”
The MAN~!!! N-Ice.
More of Mr Beck’s handiwork can be seen on his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/snowart8848
MORE phenomonal photos form Daily Mail UK HERE
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[…] you like Klingberg’s Sand print work, see Jim Denevan‘s massive sand drawings, or Simon Beck‘s […]
Lillian Sizemore's Mind's Eye 
Thanks for this, Lillian. I love the way you’ve juxtaposed these images. His Facebook page has some of the same patterns in situ – remarkable. I love seeing things that look impossible. And I know what you mean about feeling these patterns and proportions – it does seem to be built in.
Glad you find this inspiring Liz! swirl power!
I’m really intrigued by how perfect these are. But he doesn’t disclose his process. So he preplans a pattern and follows a gps? How are they so perfect? Thanks, Lillian!
Hello Julie! Thanks for commenting! – as i reply above to escapeabyss, it appears Mr. Beck does in fact discuss his techniques, you just have to dig beyond what I have posted here. He uses marker poles and what he calls “reverse orienteering”. It makes me consider the ancient geometric pavements in grand architectural settings and the use of the body as measuring device, along with poles, plumb lines, ropes and what I call our ‘internal homing’ devices. We FEEL these patterns, and Simon Beck is but one artist who is (might be?) experimenting with use of the cosmological internal compass we all possess to one degree or another, on an environmentally large scale. check out the other artists I mentioned. Jim Denevan for example, did use GPS technology and aerial photography for his 9-mile diameter desert circle drawing.
Recently been talking with a snowshoer, and it’s highly unlikely anybody named “Simon Beck” created these complex formations. I’ll believe it when I actually see pictures of him making one of these patterns during different stages of it’s development. Lovely patterns though!
Hello and thanks for the comment. I read some coverage of this work in the Daily MailUK and his Facebook page in which he goes into some detail about his process… I’m just as intrigued…Many of the people I list in my Mandala artist roster work with large scale ephemeral environmental patterning, so click around> have a look at the works by Andres Amador, Jim Denevan, Tony Orrico, Joe Mangrum….thanks!
WOW,, that’s all I can say, just WOW!
I know right? Talk about a fitness pal….