Great Barrington Artist Bringing Ice Cream to the Desert
 Gabe Adams is off on a monthlong trek that's part cultural connection and part performance art. |
Last Friday, Adams began his journey to the Mongolian desert. His goal, to bring ice cream to the children of nomadic tribes and villages.
“It is the ‘Ice Cream Mirage,’” he said, when we interviewed on Thursday, before he flew off. “I’m basing it on the illusion of the desert. Who would think that you could make ice cream in the desert? I think it will be fun to create ice cream with the kids. This is performance art; it is making a connection through art and food.”
What could be simpler than ice cream? In Adams’ case, this is by far his greatest challenge as an artist. As a painter and installation artist, he has travelled the world over; New Zealand, Ireland, South Korea and most recently to Sarajevo. Making art while in foreign lands is not new to him. However, this time around Adams, along with 26 other artists from 14 different countries are tackling the Silk Road, a 7,000-kilometer trek across the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts.
“This is by far the longest trip I’ve taken,” Adams said. “It’s a full month, mostly on camel and with a caravan through the desert. We’ll be stopping at small villages where they speak different dialects. We’ll have some time to do our own work, which for me means going on the hunt for local fruit so that the ice cream we make contains flavors from the region. I’m sure it will be surprising for everyone.”
Before Adams wears the hat of the desert ice cream man, he will test his art in Seoul, outside the walls of the ARKO Art Center. There he will document the ice cream making process and that documentation will then become an installation at the museum.
 Adams will be bringing ice cream to desert and using native fruits (rasberries here in the Berkshires) along the way. |
In addition to the support of the ARKO Art Center, the "Nomadic Party 2010" (as it has officially been named) is the brainchild of Nine Dragon Heads, a collaborative artists’ group that organizes international composite and performance art installations in Korea (including the demilitarized zone), Switzerland, Sarajevo and New Zealand with the hope of bringing cultures closer together via the common thread of art, or ice cream, as the case may be.
“It has to have some kind of association with the human condition,” Adams said. “Having food has a direct impact on that condition. Our view of art is shaped by the Renaissance. That’s a really limited way to look at art. With ‘Ice Cream Mirage’ I’m working on how to do something that’s not selfish. It is the art of life.”
Indeed, Adams has poured much of his physical and creative resources into the Silk Road journey. Much of the cost of the trip (approximately $3,000) he paid for out of pocket. But he said the payoff will be continuous, even after his return to the Berkshires in September.
“It’s definitely a stretch, but I just know that this is something I have to do.”
