A 3,000-pound ice sculpture spelling out “Democracy” was installed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and has since melted. Created by artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, the work titled *Last Call DemocracyICED* was commissioned by Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, as part of his Up In Arms campaign. The sculpture stood five feet tall and 17 feet wide before melting, intended as a fleeting symbol of democratic fragility.
The piece matters because it uses ephemeral art to comment on urgent political issues, including attacks on free speech, due process, and military overreach under the Trump administration. By referencing conceptual artist Francis Alÿs's 1997 work *Paradox of Praxis I*, the installation connects contemporary protest art to a longer tradition of using ice as a metaphor for impermanence and societal neglect. Its rapid disappearance underscores the urgency of the message about the erosion of democratic norms.