Snowman Stories, Cindy Loehr 2002
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

snowman: 96 x 72 x 60 inches, steel armature with internal lighting and plastic garland, motorized head with internal speakers
looped audio: 13 stories, approx. 1 minute each

audio sample from Snowman Stories

An 8 1/2 foot tall snowman, covered with fuzzy white garland, presides over the room, telling 13 stories from a speaker hidden in its head. As it speaks, its head turns slowly from side to side, surveying the room and its occupants.

The artist's grandfather originally recorded the stories as part of an audio letter to her mother at Christmas time. The stories are reflections on day-to-day events such as visiting family, smoking sausages, repairing clocks and writing Christmas cards. The artist generalized the stories and generalized the language to make it seem like they are addressed to the audience.