Every summer for the past fifty years, Calvin Seibert has been building sandcastles.
But in recent years, the 57-year-old’s sandcastles, built on New York beaches, have gained recognition online for their elaborate geometric “architectural” designs, which Seibert says can take up to two 10-hour days to build.
“I rarely start with a plan, just a vague notion of trying to do something different each time,” he writes on his Flickr, where he regularly posts images of the sandcastles. “In my mind they are always mash-ups of influences and ideas. I see a castle, a fishing village, a modernist sculpture, a stage set for the oscars all at once.”
In an phone interview on Saturday, Seibert said it was that “potential,” that sets the medium apart and what “makes a sandcastle that much more interesting than just some sculpture in a plaza.”
On a more philosophical level, he said his fascination lies in the transient nature of the structures.
“We’re all doomed, but there’s a different time frame for the sandcastles than you or I, hopefully,” he said. “And that’s what makes them interesting.”
