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Snow Art In Motion

By: Chiara Klein + Save to a List


Google “snow art” and the first 6 hits will be pages devoted to Simon Beck. It seems safe to say that he is the uncontested master of this completely unique, highly mathematical art form. For anyone who has looked at a fresh expanse of pure white snow and thought “canvas,” this is affirmation of your artistic sense.

Filmed at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, this video documents Beck’s athletic, lyrical process. An Oxford-educated engineer, he begins each piece with an exercise that is presumably second nature: making calculations. Beck maps out the distance between each core design point, counting his steps along the way, which, taken together, often add up to 15+ miles of walking. Venturing into these snowy landscapes, he is equipped with little more than warm clothes, snowshoes, and a compass, which he uses to determine the angle of his lines, arcs, and curves. From there, he creates his masterpieces, sometimes spending up to 10 hours in pursuit of the massive designs.

With an end result that looks like a giant stencil, Beck’s snow artistry seems a perfect addition to nature’s canvas.

Check out more videos from Banff Lake Louise Tourism.

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