A blog for current students in David Willburn's Hybrid Art Appreciation course at Eastfield College.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Chapter Four Assignment
Various Projects by Andy Goldsworthy
Using your notes as a reference, write a 200 word reflection on the art of Andy Goldsworthy. In your writing consider how his work addresses the formal element of line as well as time. This reflection should be posted as a comment to this post. Due: Tuesday, October 25, 9:30AM.
Settled in Scotland, Andy Goldsworthy's is a great artist who bases his work on nature. He wishes to capture the energy of life. The growth, change, and the flow of nature all capture his attention. Both the sea and the river are his greatest influences. Goldsworthy visits many different natural locations to express his art, and once he arrives there he starts right away in order to feel contact with his place of selection. In the video, Goldsworthy states "the thing that brings art to life is the same thing that will cause its death." He knows the possibility of his work not coming out as he pleases, and sometimes his work will collapse in the middle of the process, but he is willing to spend as much time as possible on them. That's the point of his art though; the real art is the changes made by nature as time goes by. Goldsworthy doesn't see it as nature destroying his work, but as nature taking it into another world and transforming it. The changes in nature and the limited amount of control he has are big factors in his art. He believes "top control can be the death of a work." The element of lines can signify the connection he is able to have with nature, the flow of energy, and how it all just comes together in the end. Goldsworthy's main purpose is to give nature "gifts", and it is then up to nature to accept it and give it more meaning than he could possibly imagine. It is that one moment, which he lives for.
Andy Goldsworthy is a unique artist that relies on the outside world around him to create art. His creations are from nature and he gives it back to nature as a sort of gift. I found his piece the cone out of rocks really interesting and cool. To him, art is a form of nourishment and he needs it. It was striking that even though it kept falling to pieces, he kept trying to get it finished. When it was finally standing, it was neat to see the tide come in and swallow it up and then to see the water recede and that it was standing.
According to him, the tide is quit extraordinary. Also, seeing the one with the grass growing around it was neat because it became a part of the area as if it had been there forever. Goldsworthy creates art that is supposed to be effortless. He has a passion for photography which reflects his work; it’s his own way of remembering what he has done. His art is fascinating because it is a different form of art and the real work he does comes with a change that is in a sense, the real art.
Andy Goldsworthy is an artist like no other. He focuses on the outside world of art in nature, time and of course Lines. His creations are mostly about lines and he somehow connects nature with them and makes amazing sculptures. For example my favorite one was the icicle sculpture and in this piece you have to have a lot of time and discipline to accomplish this sculpture, but he had patience and finally he accomplished it. Time was a major part of his artwork; he has a time limit on most of his creations. As he creates a piece of art he lets nature take its course and either destroys his artwork or spreading his art throughout the entire world. I can see how Andy connects to nature as he works on a sculpture. For example when he was using the stones, he kept failing and failing multiple times. But he didn’t give up he raced against time and as he kept failing he kept learning something new about the stone each time it collapsed. This made him stronger on both his art work and his connection to nature. His art is all around this planet and nature now is still making more of his work.
Andy Goldsworthy, an artist who lives in Scotland creates work of art by using the nature and objects of the environment. It seems like he works with whatever comes his way. For example, leaves, grass, dead breeze, snow, ice, or sheep are all objects used in work of time. He also created very interesting art by using a river and making a curvy line of green leaves in the water. I find it unique how he finds objects and creates amazing art with it. Goldsworthy stated that once he gets to a destination there is not time to rest or research. He decides to get straight to his way of creating art. He is the type to try understanding nature as he is exploring it. For example, he tries to understand the flow in how the two waters of the river and sea meet. He believes the sea has made the work of art. Andy Goldsworthy main goal is to find out the relationship between natural history and the geological land as well as the relationship between history of human and earth itself. He tries to open our eyes to see the beauty of our natural world in a way we never looked at it. -Dina Odeh
River and Tides was not an easy documentary for me to watch because it was so slow paced until I started seeing how the slowness of the film actually accentuated the movement of the river and tides. When Andy Goldsworthy sewed the leaves together one after another and put the string of leaves in the river, they began to drift with the current twisting and turning forming different shapes from what had been a straight line in the beginning. Now there were loops and curls yet they still held together and seemed as one in movement. Straight lines can swerve and sway as an art piece is developed to give it character and meaning.
Goldsworthy addressed the element of time when he remarked that “time was coming up behind him—the relentlessness of it—the tide is coming in.” He made this comment when the stone egg sculpture built with shale collapsed for the third time. His remark about time was important because as much as he wanted to finish the stone egg he was pressured by time, by the tide arriving whether he had finished or not. However, I thought that he was patient with the stone, even though time was short. By patient, I mean that he did not force the stone to fit into his nature, instead he worked with the stone’s nature and by doing so he was eventually able to meet the tide’s “ time” requirement with a finished sculpture which he gave as a gift to the sea. Jacque Gayle-Norberg
Andy Goldsworthy is an individual who creates his art creations in an outdoor environment. His art pieces are made with material found in the surrounding in which he creates his art piece. Andy Goldsworthy travels to different locations and when he arrives, he begins his work early. With this is allows him the ability to use outer nature forces such as sunlight or even ranging to the time in which the waves wash ashore. His art creations are made with materials found in his surrounding as in his “Rivertides” piece in which he used wood that would soon be washed out to see. Andy Goldsworthy views his art as something that is not destroyed but carried in another form within the course of nature. With this theory in his art, he builds pieces that will stand for an hour or rock statues that stand up along with the climate change. Andy Goldsworthy uses line form as a way to create something that resembles something not naturally occurring. Andy Goldsworthy is often viewed as a famous part of nature work as his sculptures are often the most famous when individuals refer to nature art. This art form is something that not many individuals cannot partake in as it calls for the need of natural materials in the artist’s environment. -Isaias Zapata
Using natures elements to create beautiful art work is something that takes time and great accuracy. Andy Goldsworthy is one of these artists. Andy uses lines and time from the natural world order to create sculptures and other pieces of art work. It was truly amazing watching him in his video about how he used the time of day to create and destroy his art work. Its like if he borrows nature for a while, but in time he gives it back. At first I did not understand why he would take so much time to create something, and at the end, lets nature sweep it away. As the video went on I understood that his art work was like a gift to the world. He built and designed art out of nature to give to the world. This was something that completed him as a joyful human being. Andy Goldsworthy is one of the most creative artist that I have ever seen. Using god given supply to create art work that will transform in time is truly remarkable. My favorite sculpture is the pieces of icicles he puts together to make it look like a flowing river. When watching it when the sun comes up, you can see it flowing like a river as it melts. Andy Goldsworthy is an artists that loves to depend on lines and time through nature. -Carl Dean
Andy Goldsworthy film, Rivers and Tides demonstrates the flow of nature. He tells us that working with time and the flow of the water or river gives him obsessive thoughts that one cannot get rid of. He explains the tides movement and the ice sickle representing time, and the meeting of the river with the sea. This is a line. Goldsworthy’s work addresses both line and time. Time changes work. As the ice sickle begins to melt, the sun was rising, showing how time changes work. As the water moves his creation of hazel leaves, or the stones down the stream; in time it separates and destructs. Part of the lines of his creation is caught on rocks and debris. This is a comparison of human life on earth. We are born, and on life’s journey we struggle to survive; in time we die. (Destruct) Goldsworthy tells us the sea will be here, the sand setting on the weakness of the stone to many is unknown. Personally, the stone represents strength and growth as a powerful image in life. Goldsworthy’s home place at Scotland shows the landscape, the exchange of energy between the earth and the plant (black root) heat within the ground. This is a process that happens in nature overtime, the sun, the light and the sea causes growth and real light in the change. Goldsworthy explains that one has to live in a place a long period of time, seeing the children at the bus stop, and then see them grow to adults. This is a representation of births, deaths and time. The river is the line he follows even though he admits it is unpredictable. The birth of the sheep, nourishment and feeding is like the river, movement in their own way. Even though there are no trees because of the sheep, the sheep is a very powerful animal, because of the wool industry. The white wool, the stones are all effects of time and history of the land. Human history is in comparison to the earth itself. The rocks, the water, the sheep, the children, the stones, debris, ice sickle and our human existence are an example of lines, the lines of life and time. Tranquility thoughts of the river and tides gave me peace and the line of time visually gave me a realization of life and death. I can identify with Goldsworthy obsessive thoughts. I too continued to have those thoughts of the river and tide in comparison, to the lines of life, death and time with solace.
The inevitability of the changes in nature over time is a major element in the work of Andy Goldsworthy. Andy’s work with the raw materials of the area was truly impressive. I never thought I’d feel so intrigued when seeing him look on as his work is destroyed by the forces of nature right before his eyes. The intriguing part was I had realized the action of the piece being defaced or destroyed is simply the entirety of his project. His work on the tides held strong symbolic meaning in regards to the inevitability of the flow of time. . The high tide rolls in and you can no longer see the cone, and eventually the rocks used to build it will be scattered once more. I personally related his cone project on the tides to the flow of one’s own life. The proximity to the tide shows the unavoidable flow of the future, and the natural order of things as the piece vanishes beneath it. It’ll be as if that cone was never built there in the first place once the structure is compromised. All of this just makes me think about existence in general, and brings to mind a George Harrison lyric, “Life goes on within and without you.” I just think of how long that same tide has been there, and will continue to be there, compared to the “lifespan” of the cone that Andy had constructed. The cone was only in existence for a microscopic amount of time compared to how long the tide in that area had been, but it was a marvelous work while it lasted. This just brings me to thinking on how precious life in general is, and how we are only around for just a hair’s width of time compared to the grand scheme of things past, present, and things to come.
Andy Goldsworthy is innovative artist, a one of a kind artist that is currently working against time to express his artistic voice through the use of lines in nature. The canvas is the earth and the painter is Goldsworthy using trees, rocks, basically everything that is part of nature; he uses to make lines and shapes, something that looks effortless but is anything but. Once He has finished his piece, he stops and steps back and looks as nature takes its course and makes his artwork combine with nature. In other words, the art work evolves right in front of him. The passage of time not only enhances the work but it also incorporates the work into nature itself. Andy Goldsworthy creates it this way to show the interconnectedness in nature.In Addition, the lines he creates with nature shows the natural flow that nature has and the universal motion. Andy Goldsworthy's talent seems to be the ability to see whats already there but what is missed by most people. -Javier Lopez
Andy Goldsworthy addresses the element of line in all of his work. I noticed most of his work has curved lines. For example the icicles curved through the rock, when he stacked up the wood it was in a circular form, when he stacked the stones it was also a circular motion forming what appeared to be an egg. He also demonstrated an outline with the sheep’s wool. On top of the rock wall he added wool and from a distance the wool could still be seen since it was white against a dark grey and it stood out. These lines can replicate motion, imitate objects, or make things stand out as well as many other things. He uses time to restore his art back into its natural environment. Time dictates what he will be doing within a certain period. When he demonstrated where the sea and river meet he created his art before the tide rose and as time got later it slowly started taking his art bit by bit with it. Eventually his art went back into the environment he replicated and it appeared as if it went off into another world. When he made this icicles curve through the rock he knew he had to be finish before the sun came out and melted his art. However, he didn’t expect the sun to illuminate his artwork and make it stand out even more. The time of day has a huge impact on his work. It can destroy his artwork, take into another world, or enhance it in unexpected ways.
Art expressed through the natural world is something very few artists have the capability of conveying. Andy Goldsworthy is an artist that can do this with a timely approach and through the use of lines. Many of his works of art have a distinct structure of line that makes the art come alive with every sense of motion in the environment around it. For example, the work of art he constructed in the middle of a plain field was populated by nature. Through the changing seasons, the egg shaped structure was overpopulated by the weeds and trees continuously growing. Time is also a big factor that comes into play with Goldsworthy's pieces. When Goldsworthy catches nature where he wants it, he acts upon it. For example, when he was out picking flowers, he was waiting for the rain to precipitate. Then as it started raining he got on the ground and made a reflection of himself and filled it with flowers. With each work of art presented by Goldsworthy, he consciously brought these formal elements to the table. These "gifts" to nature are also gifts to appreciators around the world that can merely grasp a portion of the great works he brings forth. -Edwin Camacho
In class we watched a video by the name of “Rivers and Tides” by Andy Goldworthry. This video is so amazing due to the unique methods of artistry and distinctiveness of each process. I love the fact that the sea and rivers are his two biggest influences. This also plays a big part in his works. This is because like the nature of water his art is unpredictable and untimely. He never knows what he is going to make until he arrives at the site which calls for all his pieces to be one of a kinds. I have never seen such techniques and appreciation for nature in art. His works do also address the formal elements of line as well as time. This is seen throughout all of his works in which he uses applied lines to assume the shape of an object. For example, when he constructs a squiggle shaped icicle pattern throughout a rock. In the video this is compared to the nearby river that is alongside him. Without the lines his work would be somewhat meaningless spaces on earth. Our minds use the lines to form what we see before our eyes. Time is a formal element as well. Throughout the video we see that time is never really on his side and is in return a valuable substance he can never get back once gone. Time also adds its own mark on the works as they begin to age and become weathered. We see as time proceeds and goes on that his art is eventually given as a gift to Mother Nature unwarrantedly. -Alexandrea Albert
Something that many artist would be scared to do Andy Goldsworthy takes it on with a smile on his face. Yes, of course frustration sets in when the natural roll of natures elements set in. Andy Goldsworthy makes his art work out of nature. Most of his artwork seems to be completely unpredictable and something that would take a lot of time and patience. He doesn't really plan out what he is going to make for the day, when his wife asked him in the video what he was going to do for the day he truly didn't know how to respond, because he doesn't plan until he goes to the location and his mind conjures up something so amazing. All of his artwork are made from materials that he finds on laceration, or in the surrounding area. Although some of his art work does take many hours of preparation and building, it only takes a second to go away. Andy Goldsworthy doesn't think his pieces ever really destroy. When watching the video he built a piece called "Rivertides" where he used wood to create a sort of 'cone' shaped tunnel, that represented where the sea and river met. I think he showed time in this piece because he created it all day, knowing that later in the day tide would rise and his piece would wash away piece after piece. He explains with this piece that while he was watching his piece float out to the sea it was not being destroyed, but was being carried into another form to join with nature. He stated that that piece was a gift to the sea. Andy uses the time of the day to create his art work, but in that same day or moment, time can take away his artwork, or make certain elements stand out even more. He was building the artwork for himself but more so for nature, the world, and to give gifts back to something that is giving him life. He as intrigued me and is one artist that I think has got a creative side I love seeing. Taking everyday things, things I would walk on, step on, kick, or throw away, God given things, and creates masterpieces. I think the sculpture that showed time the best was the piece with the icicles. His intentions when creating this piece was to show the flow of the river, when first making it early in the morning it was frozen solid twirling around the tree. As the sun began to rise and the ice started to melt you could see the water flowing down the icicles, and I think that showed that with time what he is truly trying to portray can be shown. Even though the sun was going to melt his piece it also showed the true beauty and meaning of the piece. When thinking about lines in his work, I think mostly of curves, or just fluid motions. When working with nature nothing is exact, so he never really had a sharp edge that I saw, with the flower trail through the grass it was curvy, the rock sculpture is round, the wood piece was rounded, the icicles were also curved and twisted around something. I think that his 'lines' show fluid motions. I think that his 'gifts' to this world are truly appreciated by many. Parker Page
It is extraordinary how someone can patiently create a simple yet magnificent piece of art out of nature. This someone is a creative artist named Andy Goldsworthy. His last name highlights how much his art pieces are worth because their not only made from nature but by the great energy Andy carries in his mind and in his blessed hands. What is also amazing is Goldsworthy’s patience in creating art out in nature, when he is aware that his work will be transformed into something different or devoured by the sea. He also never really plans what he is going to construct, his ideas just pop out when he reaches the location where he will create his work. There, Andy cautiously picks from a variety of objects found on earth’s extravagant wild nature such as wood, rocks, ice, water, flowers and others. All of his master pieces, as I see them, have two elements that are crucial in his point of view; time and lines. He uses the element of lines in his structures to form curves or align objects into shapes, better yet give them a distinct form. Furthermore, his pieces express change in time. This is evident when in his detailed video, he constructs a structure out of a rock and then adds icicles, creating a great sculpture that through out the day changes because ice melts with the sun, and eventually turns into water. Another example of how time changes and does not “destroy” Andy’s work, is when he is forming a piece of art out of rocks found near to a sea where tides get higher through out the day and night, yet he continues to build the rock structure event though it falls apart a few times, when he is finished he feels accomplished. Now he waits for the sea to receive his gift. The sea slowly with its tides devours his rock sculpture, until Andy is unable to see it. However, as time proceeds and as the tides get lower his sculpture is visible once again, and although it was gone for some time the rocks are still there yet different . his words that changed my perspective on art where” thing that brings art to life is the same thing that will cause its death.”, this conveys that art is not always meant to stay the same, change is good and time changes as well. I value how he thinks about his work, because he and everyone else that sees his sculptures know that they will be destroyed in some kind of way but he adds a different perspective to that fact, he believes that his work will only be taken by nature into a different world and transforming it. This is why I fell in love with his art, he has opened my eyes into seeing how time changes an object into something ten times more wonderful then it already was. Nature is beautiful! -Ruby Garcia
“The very thing that will bring his works to life will cause its death”. Andy Goldsworthy, who works with nature and time to create something you have never seen before, is in my opinion an extreme talent and inspiration to the art world. His work, just like nature, is always a one of a kind. Even while he creates his art he has “too many unknowns”. This meaning he doesn’t always know exactly when a tide may come in, or it may start to rain. For example, while he was working with the stone to make a beautiful pine cone shape for the sea, he could not have predicted that it would fall down so many times. Andy said, “The tension of time is an interesting way to work”. Mr. Goldsworthy puts a lot of different lines in his work. When he was working with the ice, it was a very curvy sculpture similar to the way snake moves. However, when he built the stones in the sea it was more of a 3d cone shape with not as much of a defined line. It seems the line of the river is the one he follows and it is unpredictable.
Andy Goldsworthy's artwork is both fascinating and unorthodox. He has captured the admiration of many people including myself because of it. In the video Rivers and Tides, Andy Goldsworthy introduces artwork that is appealing to the human eye mainly because of the material used and the patience required to construct such structures. Andy Goldsworthy's fascination for nature has influenced and inspired his affinity for the creation of such unique art. His love and passion for the environment and nature has led him to become one of the most recognizable faces in art around the world. Not only does he say that he has passion for nature, he puts in motion by using earth's natural resources to create his art, which results in beautifully hand-crafted, site-specific art. As a result, all of his artwork is created when the situation is right, meaning that inspiration and location are properly felt simultaneously. In one of his works, Andy Goldsworthy creates a time-keeping resembling structure made out of icicles. This references the ancient methods of time-keeping used by past civilizations, but with a different attitude and ideology behind it. The icicles connect and bond with each other until it eventually melts away by surrounding heat and the sun, thus, changing phases. Andy Goldsworthy's work is a representation of purely ephemeral structures constructed with precision and perfection. His artwork is transcendental as it has a symbolic meaning of just how short life can be and how everything is temporary and eventually mortal.
In nature, change and time can be observed very closely. It can be something as simple as the leaves changing from bright greens in the summer to beautiful oranges and yellows through the fall. In the work of the British artist Andy Goldsworthy, many forms of change can be seen. He takes the time to see what roles nature takes upon his art. When first discussed in class I had just seen a picture of his work in the textbook. I thought the picture of the hazel leaves was pretty, but after that I kind of dismissed it until we watched the film on the artist. Seeing the art being made gave me a brand new perspective on his work and the way he seemed to be one with nature inspired me. As I was watching him work I realized that he takes the phrase “stop and smell the roses” to the next level. Not only does he work in nature with mostly his hands, but also he really embraces all of it. When doing his ice sculpture on the large rock he insisted on not wearing gloves in order to be able to feel it. Time and line can definitely be seen in his work. In his pieces, Hazel Leaves, we first see a spiral of the leaves a very clear and definite line. Then we see the river flow to make this piece change and move. As the piece goes with the water we see it unravel, flow down the river, and finally break apart. I feel as though this is very reminiscent of life. We are put together, but sometimes we unravel and break down and then we return back to our original state.
Andy Goldsworthy work adresses how lines is a identifiable path of moving in time. It can vary in width, direction and length. The thicknedd, length and shape of the line affects it's evacative qualities on how it makes us feel when we see it. Every work that Andy Goldsworthy make is documented in photographs. Movement, change, light, growth and decay are the lifeblood of nature. He has a large scale of work in stone which can be seen more clearly by the film Rivers and Tides by Thomas Riedelsheimer. The forms that Goldsworthy uses makes up most of his work are holes,balls,arches,nets,spires,and sinuous lines,and all of his work is found in nature. His work involves sinuous curving lines which is manifested as carved sand, water on stone and trees, leaves on stone , stacked tree branches , stripped braacken fronds, snow on ice , clay walls left to dry and crack and large earthworks. Sheep's wool that was sheeded from the sheep over time was placed over the top of stones forming lines in time which could have been precieved as snow over mountain tops was one of his forms in the film. Goldsworthy return to his work over and over again gave him a different view of how time changes the look of the artwork.
Andy Goldsworthy is an artist who uses only materials from the earth to express his love of nature and the impermanence of life. The natural component cannot withstand the natural elements through time and photos must be taken to preserve his complex designs. All of his work depicts the certain pattern of life. Life, this beautiful force within us and around us, can also be brutal and short. The twigs in water is a perfect example. Andy assembled a birds nest design in a river. Of course the river is alive and running. The fascinating and complex arrangement was short lived. Distruction was imminent. It would be difficult for me to spend time making something only to see it get washed away. However, this all part of his work. The most basic tool in art is the line. Mr Goldsworthy uses it in all of his work. He organizes natural peices of nature in precise ways to express certain patterns of life. The flow of water makes his peices changeable. Just as each of our paths in life is unpredictable, so is his art. One peice may change over time like a kaleidoscope, changing yet still magnificent, or the journey could be over. He is an artist who uses nature to communicate the everchanging and temporary fact of life.
“At its almost successful , my ‘touch’ looks into the heart of nature; most days I don’t even get close. These things are all part of a transient process that I can not understand unless my process is also transient; only in this way can the cycle remain unbroken and the process be complete.” -Andy Goldsworthy Born in 1956 in Cheshire, England and raised in Yorkshire, England. Most people do not understand the beauty of nature, let alone recognize it. But unlike some people, a man named Andy Goldsworthy can change the way you look at nature, permanently. Andy is a magnificent British artist who combines with nature to make his creations. His goal is to understand nature by directly participating in it. He works with whatever is around him; leaves, sticks, branches, flowers, rocks, dirt ect. Andy creates and makes things that inspire him. And he also accomplishes his work by only using his hot breath and his bare hands, rather than machines or paintbrushes. To me that is what separates him from other artist. Andy’s philosophy is for him actually seeing and touching things and make them inseparable from the resulting work. It is hard to say that Andy Goldsworthy isn’t a man of great creativity.
Settled in Scotland, Andy Goldsworthy's is a great artist who bases his work on nature. He wishes to capture the energy of life. The growth, change, and the flow of nature all capture his attention. Both the sea and the river are his greatest influences. Goldsworthy visits many different natural locations to express his art, and once he arrives there he starts right away in order to feel contact with his place of selection. In the video, Goldsworthy states "the thing that brings art to life is the same thing that will cause its death." He knows the possibility of his work not coming out as he pleases, and sometimes his work will collapse in the middle of the process, but he is willing to spend as much time as possible on them.
ReplyDeleteThat's the point of his art though; the real art is the changes made by nature as time goes by. Goldsworthy doesn't see it as nature destroying his work, but as nature taking it into another world and transforming it. The changes in nature and the limited amount of control he has are big factors in his art. He believes "top control can be the death of a work." The element of lines can signify the connection he is able to have with nature, the flow of energy, and how it all just comes together in the end. Goldsworthy's main purpose is to give nature "gifts", and it is then up to nature to accept it and give it more meaning than he could possibly imagine. It is that one moment, which he lives for.
-Cecilia Hernandez
Andy Goldsworthy is a unique artist that relies on the outside world around him to create art. His creations are from nature and he gives it back to nature as a sort of gift. I found his piece the cone out of rocks really interesting and cool. To him, art is a form of nourishment and he needs it. It was striking that even though it kept falling to pieces, he kept trying to get it finished. When it was finally standing, it was neat to see the tide come in and swallow it up and then to see the water recede and that it was standing.
ReplyDeleteAccording to him, the tide is quit extraordinary. Also, seeing the one with the grass growing around it was neat because it became a part of the area as if it had been there forever. Goldsworthy creates art that is supposed to be effortless. He has a passion for photography which reflects his work; it’s his own way of remembering what he has done. His art is fascinating because it is a different form of art and the real work he does comes with a change that is in a sense, the real art.
-Elizabeth Webb
Andy Goldsworthy is an artist like no other. He focuses on the outside world of art in nature, time and of course Lines. His creations are mostly about lines and he somehow connects nature with them and makes amazing sculptures. For example my favorite one was the icicle sculpture and in this piece you have to have a lot of time and discipline to accomplish this sculpture, but he had patience and finally he accomplished it. Time was a major part of his artwork; he has a time limit on most of his creations. As he creates a piece of art he lets nature take its course and either destroys his artwork or spreading his art throughout the entire world.
ReplyDeleteI can see how Andy connects to nature as he works on a sculpture. For example when he was using the stones, he kept failing and failing multiple times. But he didn’t give up he raced against time and as he kept failing he kept learning something new about the stone each time it collapsed. This made him stronger on both his art work and his connection to nature. His art is all around this planet and nature now is still making more of his work.
-Adrian Navarro
Andy Goldsworthy, an artist who lives in Scotland creates work of art by using the nature and objects of the environment. It seems like he works with whatever comes his way. For example, leaves, grass, dead breeze, snow, ice, or sheep are all objects used in work of time. He also created very interesting art by using a river and making a curvy line of green leaves in the water. I find it unique how he finds objects and creates amazing art with it.
ReplyDeleteGoldsworthy stated that once he gets to a destination there is not time to rest or research. He decides to get straight to his way of creating art. He is the type to try understanding nature as he is exploring it. For example, he tries to understand the flow in how the two waters of the river and sea meet. He believes the sea has made the work of art. Andy Goldsworthy main goal is to find out the relationship between natural history and the geological land as well as the relationship between history of human and earth itself. He tries to open our eyes to see the beauty of our natural world in a way we never looked at it.
-Dina Odeh
River and Tides was not an easy documentary for me to watch because it was so slow paced until I started seeing how the slowness of the film actually accentuated the movement of the river and tides. When Andy Goldsworthy sewed the leaves together one after another and put the string of leaves in the river, they began to drift with the current twisting and turning forming different shapes from what had been a straight line in the beginning. Now there were loops and curls yet they still held together and seemed as one in movement. Straight lines can swerve and sway as an art piece is developed to give it character and meaning.
ReplyDeleteGoldsworthy addressed the element of time when he remarked that “time was coming up behind him—the relentlessness of it—the tide is coming in.” He made this comment when the stone egg sculpture built with shale collapsed for the third time. His remark about time was important because as much as he wanted to finish the stone egg he was pressured by time, by the tide arriving whether he had finished or not. However, I thought that he was patient with the stone, even though time was short. By patient, I mean that he did not force the stone to fit into his nature, instead he worked with the stone’s nature and by doing so he was eventually able to meet the tide’s “ time” requirement with a finished sculpture which he gave as a gift to the sea.
Jacque Gayle-Norberg
Andy Goldsworthy is an individual who creates his art creations in an outdoor environment. His art pieces are made with material found in the surrounding in which he creates his art piece. Andy Goldsworthy travels to different locations and when he arrives, he begins his work early. With this is allows him the ability to use outer nature forces such as sunlight or even ranging to the time in which the waves wash ashore. His art creations are made with materials found in his surrounding as in his “Rivertides” piece in which he used wood that would soon be washed out to see. Andy Goldsworthy views his art as something that is not destroyed but carried in another form within the course of nature. With this theory in his art, he builds pieces that will stand for an hour or rock statues that stand up along with the climate change. Andy Goldsworthy uses line form as a way to create something that resembles something not naturally occurring. Andy Goldsworthy is often viewed as a famous part of nature work as his sculptures are often the most famous when individuals refer to nature art. This art form is something that not many individuals cannot partake in as it calls for the need of natural materials in the artist’s environment.
ReplyDelete-Isaias Zapata
Using natures elements to create beautiful art work is something that takes time and great accuracy. Andy Goldsworthy is one of these artists. Andy uses lines and time from the natural world order to create sculptures and other pieces of art work. It was truly amazing watching him in his video about how he used the time of day to create and destroy his art work. Its like if he borrows nature for a while, but in time he gives it back. At first I did not understand why he would take so much time to create something, and at the end, lets nature sweep it away. As the video went on I understood that his art work was like a gift to the world. He built and designed art out of nature to give to the world. This was something that completed him as a joyful human being.
ReplyDeleteAndy Goldsworthy is one of the most creative artist that I have ever seen. Using god given supply to create art work that will transform in time is truly remarkable. My favorite sculpture is the pieces of icicles he puts together to make it look like a flowing river. When watching it when the sun comes up, you can see it flowing like a river as it melts. Andy Goldsworthy is an artists that loves to depend on lines and time through nature.
-Carl Dean
Art Assignment/Helen Trimble
ReplyDeleteAndy Goldsworthy film, Rivers and Tides demonstrates the flow of nature. He tells us that working with time and the flow of the water or river gives him obsessive thoughts that one cannot get rid of. He explains the tides movement and the ice sickle representing time, and the meeting of the river with the sea. This is a line. Goldsworthy’s work addresses both line and time. Time changes work. As the ice sickle begins to melt, the sun was rising, showing how time changes work. As the water moves his creation of hazel leaves, or the stones down the stream; in time it separates and destructs. Part of the lines of his creation is caught on rocks and debris. This is a comparison of human life on earth. We are born, and on life’s journey we struggle to survive; in time we die. (Destruct) Goldsworthy tells us the sea will be here, the sand setting on the weakness of the stone to many is unknown. Personally, the stone represents strength and growth as a powerful image in life.
Goldsworthy’s home place at Scotland shows the landscape, the exchange of energy between the earth and the plant (black root) heat within the ground. This is a process that happens in nature overtime, the sun, the light and the sea causes growth and real light in the change. Goldsworthy explains that one has to live in a place a long period of time, seeing the children at the bus stop, and then see them grow to adults. This is a representation of births, deaths and time. The river is the line he follows even though he admits it is unpredictable. The birth of the sheep, nourishment and feeding is like the river, movement in their own way. Even though there are no trees because of the sheep, the sheep is a very powerful animal, because of the wool industry. The white wool, the stones are all effects of time and history of the land. Human history is in comparison to the earth itself. The rocks, the water, the sheep, the children, the stones, debris, ice sickle and our human existence are an example of lines, the lines of life and time. Tranquility thoughts of the river and tides gave me peace and the line of time visually gave me a realization of life and death. I can identify with Goldsworthy obsessive thoughts. I too continued to have those thoughts of the river and tide in comparison, to the lines of life, death and time with solace.
The inevitability of the changes in nature over time is a major element in the work of Andy Goldsworthy. Andy’s work with the raw materials of the area was truly impressive. I never thought I’d feel so intrigued when seeing him look on as his work is destroyed by the forces of nature right before his eyes. The intriguing part was I had realized the action of the piece being defaced or destroyed is simply the entirety of his project. His work on the tides held strong symbolic meaning in regards to the inevitability of the flow of time. . The high tide rolls in and you can no longer see the cone, and eventually the rocks used to build it will be scattered once more. I personally related his cone project on the tides to the flow of one’s own life. The proximity to the tide shows the unavoidable flow of the future, and the natural order of things as the piece vanishes beneath it. It’ll be as if that cone was never built there in the first place once the structure is compromised. All of this just makes me think about existence in general, and brings to mind a George Harrison lyric, “Life goes on within and without you.” I just think of how long that same tide has been there, and will continue to be there, compared to the “lifespan” of the cone that Andy had constructed. The cone was only in existence for a microscopic amount of time compared to how long the tide in that area had been, but it was a marvelous work while it lasted. This just brings me to thinking on how precious life in general is, and how we are only around for just a hair’s width of time compared to the grand scheme of things past, present, and things to come.
ReplyDelete-Joshua Rowe
Andy Goldsworthy is innovative artist, a one of a kind artist that is currently working against time to express his artistic voice through the use of lines in nature. The canvas is the earth and the painter is Goldsworthy using trees, rocks, basically everything that is part of nature; he uses to make lines and shapes, something that looks effortless but is anything but. Once He has finished his piece, he stops and steps back and looks as nature takes its course and makes his artwork combine with nature. In other words, the art work evolves right in front of him. The passage of time not only enhances the work but it also incorporates the work into nature itself. Andy Goldsworthy creates it this way to show the interconnectedness in nature.In Addition, the lines he creates with nature shows the natural flow that nature has and the universal motion. Andy Goldsworthy's talent seems to be the ability to see whats already there but what is missed by most people.
ReplyDelete-Javier Lopez
Andy Goldsworthy addresses the element of line in all of his work. I noticed most of his work has curved lines. For example the icicles curved through the rock, when he stacked up the wood it was in a circular form, when he stacked the stones it was also a circular motion forming what appeared to be an egg. He also demonstrated an outline with the sheep’s wool. On top of the rock wall he added wool and from a distance the wool could still be seen since it was white against a dark grey and it stood out. These lines can replicate motion, imitate objects, or make things stand out as well as many other things.
ReplyDeleteHe uses time to restore his art back into its natural environment. Time dictates what he will be doing within a certain period. When he demonstrated where the sea and river meet he created his art before the tide rose and as time got later it slowly started taking his art bit by bit with it. Eventually his art went back into the environment he replicated and it appeared as if it went off into another world. When he made this icicles curve through the rock he knew he had to be finish before the sun came out and melted his art. However, he didn’t expect the sun to illuminate his artwork and make it stand out even more. The time of day has a huge impact on his work. It can destroy his artwork, take into another world, or enhance it in unexpected ways.
-J.West
Art expressed through the natural world is something very few artists have the capability of conveying. Andy Goldsworthy is an artist that can do this with a timely approach and through the use of lines.
ReplyDeleteMany of his works of art have a distinct structure of line that makes the art come alive with every sense of motion in the environment around it. For example, the work of art he constructed in the middle of a plain field was populated by nature. Through the changing seasons, the egg shaped structure was overpopulated by the weeds and trees continuously growing.
Time is also a big factor that comes into play with Goldsworthy's pieces. When Goldsworthy catches nature where he wants it, he acts upon it. For example, when he was out picking flowers, he was waiting for the rain to precipitate. Then as it started raining he got on the ground and made a reflection of himself and filled it with flowers.
With each work of art presented by Goldsworthy, he consciously brought these formal elements to the table. These "gifts" to nature are also gifts to appreciators around the world that can merely grasp a portion of the great works he brings forth.
-Edwin Camacho
In class we watched a video by the name of “Rivers and Tides” by Andy Goldworthry. This video is so amazing due to the unique methods of artistry and distinctiveness of each process. I love the fact that the sea and rivers are his two biggest influences. This also plays a big part in his works. This is because like the nature of water his art is unpredictable and untimely. He never knows what he is going to make until he arrives at the site which calls for all his pieces to be one of a kinds. I have never seen such techniques and appreciation for nature in art.
ReplyDeleteHis works do also address the formal elements of line as well as time. This is seen throughout all of his works in which he uses applied lines to assume the shape of an object. For example, when he constructs a squiggle shaped icicle pattern throughout a rock. In the video this is compared to the nearby river that is alongside him. Without the lines his work would be somewhat meaningless spaces on earth. Our minds use the lines to form what we see before our eyes. Time is a formal element as well. Throughout the video we see that time is never really on his side and is in return a valuable substance he can never get back once gone. Time also adds its own mark on the works as they begin to age and become weathered. We see as time proceeds and goes on that his art is eventually given as a gift to Mother Nature unwarrantedly.
-Alexandrea Albert
Something that many artist would be scared to do Andy Goldsworthy takes it on with a smile on his face. Yes, of course frustration sets in when the natural roll of natures elements set in. Andy Goldsworthy makes his art work out of nature. Most of his artwork seems to be completely unpredictable and something that would take a lot of time and patience. He doesn't really plan out what he is going to make for the day, when his wife asked him in the video what he was going to do for the day he truly didn't know how to respond, because he doesn't plan until he goes to the location and his mind conjures up something so amazing. All of his artwork are made from materials that he finds on laceration, or in the surrounding area. Although some of his art work does take many hours of preparation and building, it only takes a second to go away. Andy Goldsworthy doesn't think his pieces ever really destroy. When watching the video he built a piece called "Rivertides" where he used wood to create a sort of 'cone' shaped tunnel, that represented where the sea and river met. I think he showed time in this piece because he created it all day, knowing that later in the day tide would rise and his piece would wash away piece after piece. He explains with this piece that while he was watching his piece float out to the sea it was not being destroyed, but was being carried into another form to join with nature. He stated that that piece was a gift to the sea. Andy uses the time of the day to create his art work, but in that same day or moment, time can take away his artwork, or make certain elements stand out even more. He was building the artwork for himself but more so for nature, the world, and to give gifts back to something that is giving him life. He as intrigued me and is one artist that I think has got a creative side I love seeing. Taking everyday things, things I would walk on, step on, kick, or throw away, God given things, and creates masterpieces. I think the sculpture that showed time the best was the piece with the icicles. His intentions when creating this piece was to show the flow of the river, when first making it early in the morning it was frozen solid twirling around the tree. As the sun began to rise and the ice started to melt you could see the water flowing down the icicles, and I think that showed that with time what he is truly trying to portray can be shown. Even though the sun was going to melt his piece it also showed the true beauty and meaning of the piece. When thinking about lines in his work, I think mostly of curves, or just fluid motions. When working with nature nothing is exact, so he never really had a sharp edge that I saw, with the flower trail through the grass it was curvy, the rock sculpture is round, the wood piece was rounded, the icicles were also curved and twisted around something. I think that his 'lines' show fluid motions. I think that his 'gifts' to this world are truly appreciated by many.
ReplyDeleteParker Page
It is extraordinary how someone can patiently create a simple yet magnificent piece of art out of nature. This someone is a creative artist named Andy Goldsworthy. His last name highlights how much his art pieces are worth because their not only made from nature but by the great energy Andy carries in his mind and in his blessed hands. What is also amazing is Goldsworthy’s patience in creating art out in nature, when he is aware that his work will be transformed into something different or devoured by the sea. He also never really plans what he is going to construct, his ideas just pop out when he reaches the location where he will create his work. There, Andy cautiously picks from a variety of objects found on earth’s extravagant wild nature such as wood, rocks, ice, water, flowers and others. All of his master pieces, as I see them, have two elements that are crucial in his point of view; time and lines. He uses the element of lines in his structures to form curves or align objects into shapes, better yet give them a distinct form. Furthermore, his pieces express change in time. This is evident when in his detailed video, he constructs a structure out of a rock and then adds icicles, creating a great sculpture that through out the day changes because ice melts with the sun, and eventually turns into water. Another example of how time changes and does not “destroy” Andy’s work, is when he is forming a piece of art out of rocks found near to a sea where tides get higher through out the day and night, yet he continues to build the rock structure event though it falls apart a few times, when he is finished he feels accomplished. Now he waits for the sea to receive his gift. The sea slowly with its tides devours his rock sculpture, until Andy is unable to see it. However, as time proceeds and as the tides get lower his sculpture is visible once again, and although it was gone for some time the rocks are still there yet different . his words that changed my perspective on art where” thing that brings art to life is the same thing that will cause its death.”, this conveys that art is not always meant to stay the same, change is good and time changes as well. I value how he thinks about his work, because he and everyone else that sees his sculptures know that they will be destroyed in some kind of way but he adds a different perspective to that fact, he believes that his work will only be taken by nature into a different world and transforming it. This is why I fell in love with his art, he has opened my eyes into seeing how time changes an object into something ten times more wonderful then it already was. Nature is beautiful!
ReplyDelete-Ruby Garcia
“The very thing that will bring his works to life will cause its death”. Andy Goldsworthy, who works with nature and time to create something you have never seen before, is in my opinion an extreme talent and inspiration to the art world. His work, just like nature, is always a one of a kind. Even while he creates his art he has “too many unknowns”. This meaning he doesn’t always know exactly when a tide may come in, or it may start to rain. For example, while he was working with the stone to make a beautiful pine cone shape for the sea, he could not have predicted that it would fall down so many times. Andy said, “The tension of time is an interesting way to work”.
ReplyDeleteMr. Goldsworthy puts a lot of different lines in his work. When he was working with the ice, it was a very curvy sculpture similar to the way snake moves. However, when he built the stones in the sea it was more of a 3d cone shape with not as much of a defined line. It seems the line of the river is the one he follows and it is unpredictable.
- Ashley Torres
Andy Goldsworthy's artwork is both fascinating and unorthodox. He has captured the admiration of many people including myself because of it. In the video Rivers and Tides, Andy Goldsworthy introduces artwork that is appealing to the human eye mainly because of the material used and the patience required to construct such structures. Andy Goldsworthy's fascination for nature has influenced and inspired his affinity for the creation of such unique art. His love and passion for the environment and nature has led him to become one of the most recognizable faces in art around the world. Not only does he say that he has passion for nature, he puts in motion by using earth's natural resources to create his art, which results in beautifully hand-crafted, site-specific art. As a result, all of his artwork is created when the situation is right, meaning that inspiration and location are properly felt simultaneously. In one of his works, Andy Goldsworthy creates a time-keeping resembling structure made out of icicles. This references the ancient methods of time-keeping used by past civilizations, but with a different attitude and ideology behind it. The icicles connect and bond with each other until it eventually melts away by surrounding heat and the sun, thus, changing phases. Andy Goldsworthy's work is a representation of purely ephemeral structures constructed with precision and perfection. His artwork is transcendental as it has a symbolic meaning of just how short life can be and how everything is temporary and eventually mortal.
ReplyDeleteAmpelio Mendez
In nature, change and time can be observed very closely. It can be something as simple as the leaves changing from bright greens in the summer to beautiful oranges and yellows through the fall. In the work of the British artist Andy Goldsworthy, many forms of change can be seen. He takes the time to see what roles nature takes upon his art. When first discussed in class I had just seen a picture of his work in the textbook. I thought the picture of the hazel leaves was pretty, but after that I kind of dismissed it until we watched the film on the artist. Seeing the art being made gave me a brand new perspective on his work and the way he seemed to be one with nature inspired me. As I was watching him work I realized that he takes the phrase “stop and smell the roses” to the next level. Not only does he work in nature with mostly his hands, but also he really embraces all of it. When doing his ice sculpture on the large rock he insisted on not wearing gloves in order to be able to feel it. Time and line can definitely be seen in his work. In his pieces, Hazel Leaves, we first see a spiral of the leaves a very clear and definite line. Then we see the river flow to make this piece change and move. As the piece goes with the water we see it unravel, flow down the river, and finally break apart. I feel as though this is very reminiscent of life. We are put together, but sometimes we unravel and break down and then we return back to our original state.
ReplyDeleteBetsy Thomas
Andy Goldsworthy work adresses how lines is a identifiable path of moving in time. It can vary in width, direction and length. The thicknedd, length and shape of the line affects it's evacative qualities on how it makes us feel when we see it.
ReplyDeleteEvery work that Andy Goldsworthy make is documented in photographs. Movement, change, light, growth and decay are the lifeblood of nature. He has a large scale of work in stone which can be seen more clearly by the film Rivers and Tides by Thomas Riedelsheimer.
The forms that Goldsworthy uses makes up most of his work are holes,balls,arches,nets,spires,and sinuous lines,and all of his work is found in nature. His work involves sinuous curving lines which is manifested as carved sand, water on stone and trees, leaves on stone , stacked tree branches , stripped braacken fronds, snow on ice , clay walls left to dry and crack and large earthworks. Sheep's wool that was sheeded from the sheep over time was placed over the top of stones forming lines in time which could have been precieved as snow over mountain tops was one of his forms in the film.
Goldsworthy return to his work over and over again gave him a different view of how time changes the look of the artwork.
Jacqueline Jones
Andy Goldsworthy is an artist who uses only materials from the earth to express his love of nature and the impermanence of life. The natural component cannot withstand the natural elements through time and photos must be taken to preserve his complex designs.
ReplyDeleteAll of his work depicts the certain pattern of life. Life, this beautiful force within us and around us, can also be brutal and short. The twigs in water is a perfect example. Andy assembled a birds nest design in a river. Of course the river is alive and running. The fascinating and complex arrangement was short lived. Distruction was imminent. It would be difficult for me to spend time making something only to see it get washed away. However, this all part of his work.
The most basic tool in art is the line. Mr Goldsworthy uses it in all of his work. He organizes natural peices of nature in precise ways to express certain patterns of life. The flow of water makes his peices changeable. Just as each of our paths in life is unpredictable, so is his art. One peice may change over time like a kaleidoscope, changing yet still magnificent, or the journey could be over. He is an artist who uses nature to communicate the everchanging and temporary fact of life.
-Carrie Wright
“At its almost successful , my ‘touch’ looks into the heart of nature; most days I don’t even get close. These things are all part of a transient process that I can not understand unless my process is also transient; only in this way can the cycle remain unbroken and the process be complete.”
ReplyDelete-Andy Goldsworthy
Born in 1956 in Cheshire, England and raised in Yorkshire, England. Most people do not understand the beauty of nature, let alone recognize it. But unlike some people, a man named Andy Goldsworthy can change the way you look at nature, permanently. Andy is a magnificent British artist who combines with nature to make his creations. His goal is to understand nature by directly participating in it. He works with whatever is around him; leaves, sticks, branches, flowers, rocks, dirt ect. Andy creates and makes things that inspire him. And he also accomplishes his work by only using his hot breath and his bare hands, rather than machines or paintbrushes. To me that is what separates him from other artist.
Andy’s philosophy is for him actually seeing and touching things and make them inseparable from the resulting work. It is hard to say that Andy Goldsworthy isn’t a man of great creativity.
-Darell Jones