Andy Goldsworthy

Week 6 Day 1: Andy Goldsworthy response paper



Today in class we watched a documentary about Andy Goldsworthy Rivers and Tides, Working with Time. I at times found him to be so focused and involved with his art, that it seemed like his mind had little space for anything else. He creates pieces within nature, with nature, using tools he finds in the environment. It's clear he loves being outdoors, though difficult and rough on him, it seems he tries to be one with the realm he is in. Allowing his surroundings to depict what the art will be. Most of his works are temporary lasting anywhere from minuets, hours, to perhaps a few years. He views the destruction of his art not as destruction (unless it falls apart before he is finished) but as a gift to nature. His method is old fashioned, however revolutionary if looking at it in a "green" perspective. Never introducing something man made into his art, simply natural elements and media.




Goldsworthy main inspiration would be water and how it flows from the river to the sea, parts are rough and strong while other parts are still and quite and smooth. He allows the river to inspire his line work. He often creates a line fluid and moving back and forth like a river bends. One of my favorite scenes would be when he linked at least 200 hundred green leaves together creating a long line and places them in a still section of a river, and the current slowly drifted the long strand down the flow of water creating this almost dance. I became nearly hypnotised with the fluidity and femininity and grace of the leaves in the water(Link). Water to me is the most beautiful thing in our world. The way it is harmful and harmless. It's slow, and fast, gentle and hard. Life giving and life taking. There is a tragic beauty in water and the way Andy Goldsworthy uses it in his art is unique in today's art scene.