Things that make me happy installment 3: Andy Goldsworthy

Keeping with the theme of nature oriented artists I wanted to introduce Andy Goldsworthy to anyone not familiar with his work. My dad actually introduced him to me a year or so back, my dad also incidentally introduced me to Thoreau and Whitman as well. A photographer/artist/sculptor, Goldsworthy works in rural and urban settings with organic objects. His sculptures are made from leaves, rocks, snow...anything he finds in nature and his tools are his hands, teeth and "found" tools. No glue, only mud is utilized as well. However, for some of Goldsworthy's more ambitious pieces he used machine tools for safety. One example would be a piece he made entitled "Roof" in which he enlisted the help of professional dry wallers to make sure the piece was structurally sound.

Goldsworthy is known as a rock balancing artist, which means that he combines/balances rocks and stones in an arrangment that exceeds the power of nature. Goldsworthy's work is also classified as "land art" which was an art movement that emerged from the confusion of the sixties and seventies. Linked closely with the art, the landscape is the catalyst for the creation by providing content and materials. "Land art" is made outside and is altered/decayed by natural processes like wind, rain and frost.

Deterioration is part of the artistic process for Goldsworthy and he classifies his work as transient. He creates a piece and then photographs his "land art" making the statement: "My sculpture can last for days or a few seconds-- what is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay."

This work touches me in an inexplicable way. I struggle with the idea that life is in constant flux and no matter how much scheduling I do, I will never be completely prepared. In a sense all humans are "land art"because we are shaped by our environment and are slowly deteriorated by natural processes. There is art in what the world already has to offer, we don't need to make it or freeze time. Art will always regenerate itself, we just have to know where to look.


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