Andy Goldsworthy - Art in Nature

[droidofages]

Andy Goldsworthy is a phenomenal creator with a distinctly original take on art and what it is. He brings our attention to the beauty of the natural world around us with his organic expressions.

This guy doesn't use any non-natural materials. Everything in his works comes from the environment that he makes the art in (stitches leaves together with thorns, uses brightly coloured leaves and/or naturally occurring dies to "paint", etc.). Plus, most of his work has been created out in the wilderness where hardly anyone sees it. Just the pics he takes. Sometimes, he'll come back to a piece over time to record it's natural entropy. Fascinating and absolutely gorgeous stuff:

[Mike]

Cool, I really like the 'Superman's Rocket Ship' one.

[droidofages]

There's a great documentary called "Rives and Tides" about Andy and his work that I would highly recommend. His processes are just as intriguing as the final results. In regards to the icicle sculptures specifically, he attaches each piece using his own spit and a little bit of snow... all of which has to be done early enough in the morning that it doesn't melt under the sun's heat. Yet he needs the natural light to photograph it. I love this incorporation of time into his works and how most have a fairly small window of existence due to natural entropy.

There's a clip where he's painstakingly building a rock sculpture. After a ridiculous amount of time, the pile shifts alarmingly... Andy's arms instantly shoot around the structure and there is an intense moment of silence where everyone in the movie as well as every person in the theater holds their breath... As he slowly removes his hands, the structure collapses and Andy's shoulders slump... He pauses a moment with his head down, and then starts again from the beginning... This is a testament to both his dedication and the work itself... There's this natural beauty in it all that almost makes my heart ache...

Here's a clip from the documentary: