Andy Goldworthy Essay

Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy is a British artist who spec¬ializes in environment based sculpture or instillation. He uses all natural materials such as stones, leaves, sticks, dirt, light, snow, water and any other naturally occurring material. His works are timeless, without knowing, it would be difficult to know whether his sculptures where modern or hundreds of years old. He uses no tools other than his hands. Growing up on a farm in Scotland he gained this value of the natural environment and manual skills.
“I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and “found” tools–a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn.” (Golsworthy, Andy) A common theme of Andy Goldsworthy’s work is the contrast between constructed and natural, while emphasizing natural materials. He takes the normally random and organic patterns in natured and rearranges them to create various constructed and organized sculptures. He arranges a pile of branches into a delicately constructed circle, organizes leaves by shade, and assembles rocks by shape. This creates a contrast the contrast of natural vs constructed. It is also important to note that while he shows this distinction he also shows a strong idea of preservation or respect of nature. His works create a feeling of man being together and working with nature, rather than destroying it. Although the final artworks themselves can be appreciated by themselves, the process of his creations is a large part of the value. He needs to spend long periods of time understanding nature to create these art works, he may spend days studying the shape of the rocks to make a construction, or hours understanding sticks to be able to weave and balance them. This understanding and becoming familiar with nature is not only a large

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