DENVER.- The artist duo Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese (Ligorano/Reese), in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, present The State of Things, an ice sculpture of the word “Democracy.” The work will be installed at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 27th and disappear within 24 hours. Located outside the front entrance of the MCA DENVER, this “temporary sculpture” weighs almost 2,000 pounds and measures 36 inches tall and 180 inches in width.

According to Ligorano, “The sculpture is emblematic of our times – our democracy is in danger of wasting away at an imperceptible rate.” Reese adds, “What stands out – is that for the amount of time most people view art – 1 minute or less – the sculpture won’t seem to change, yet by day’s end, it will be gone - disappeared, like so much of what is happening to the values and institutions that make America a great country… This piece focuses on the impact of the War on Terror… and how it has transformed American society.”

The artists will capture the sculpture’s disappearance on videotape and digital still photography transforming the event into a multi-faceted performative installation. The State of Things will be available as a webcast during the disappearance to create a "viral projection." The following week, on September 1st, Ligorano/Reese will re-present The State of Things in St. Paul/Minneapolis marking the start of the Republican Convention. Ligorano says, “We chose to present the sculpture at both conventions to highlight the fact that preserving our democratic values is a bipartisan issue. We want to engage people from all sides of the political spectrum.” The sculpture in the Twin Cities will also be videotaped and streamed over the internet. The video from both conventions, then, will form the basis for a large-scale media installation at the American University Museum in Washington, DC, September to October, 2008. This installation combines footage of the event with street interviews of passersby, giving their views on democratic values, with the ice sculpture as a backdrop.