Understanding: Andy Goldsworthy

“Process and decay are implicit. Transience in my work reflects what I find in nature.”

It may be twigs, it may be leaves, or it may be snow. Andy Goldsworthy, a British-born sculptor, does not discriminate with his materials, but uses whatever he finds at hand. For him, nature is his inspiration, his medium, and his reflection.

He is intimately connected with the natural world, and just as his work comes from the land, he lets it return. There is nothing precious, nothing beyond the grasp of nature. His art is all about the creation and the destruction, the process of life itself.

Generally his only tools are what he, as a human, has at his disposal. He will rip, tear, and bite his materials as necessary, for rarely do man-made tools enter the picture. His aim is to embrace nature as fully as he can in his art, so he keeps away from objects that would interrupt this. Instead of nails, for instance, he will employ small twigs, grass connections, or as in the case of his ice sculptures, his own saliva.

Although some of Goldsworthy’s work is permanent, the majority of it is extremely temporary. For him, the process of its destruction is just as important as that of its creation. Nature is cyclical and changeable, and his art reflects this as it evolves with the environment around it.

To capture the essence of the artwork at its various stages, Goldsworthy relies on the documentation of photography. Although the photos are hardly comparable to actually experiencing the sculptures in real life, many of them are pieces of artwork unto themselves. Without them, there would be little chance for the average person to see his work, for not only are many of his works fleeting, they are also often located deep in nature, out of the reach of most.

There is something magical about the work of Andy Goldsworthy. There is a silence, a peacefulness, and a patience that he captures in each and every work. Whether it is a piece that will remain standing for years to come or one that will get washed away with the tide, there is a beauty that extends beyond the physical presence of the art. His works capture an essence of nature that is all too often overlooked in everyday life.

By simply rearranging that which nature provides, Goldsworthy exposes something that is present all around, something that should not be forgotten. It is the inherent beauty, fragility, and intensity of our natural world.

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