Grounds for Appeal

The exquisite harmony of the natural

He works under the radar …. in fact, he works where radar has no function. His canvas is the entirety of nature.

He understands the beauty of small things – the exquisite delicacy of a twig, the fleeting perfection of icicles, the graceful solemnity of stone. Nature is his workbench but he does not disturb Mother Nature. His genius is the window he opens into that which is all around us.

He holds up the perfection of the natural world for our eyes to see anew.

Berry beautiful

He is that rare creature – an ego-less artist who works in silence, who works with silence, to create soul-revitalizing works of artistic harmony, many of which are entirely transient, born to briefly flare then dissolve and disappear likes motes in a momentary shaft of sunlight piercing rain-heavy storm clouds.

He is Andy Goldsworthy, one of this earth’s most ingenious and important artists.

It’s now over ten years since the release of “Rivers And Tides“, a glorious documentary which focuses on Goldsworthy’s artistic muse, and I post it here in the hopes those who have not bought the DVD will see the small-screen version here and be moved to buy a copy for themselves of the full-screen version, which is still available and may be purchased here. For it is a film that calls you back repeatedly to bathe in its exploration of the gentle, harmonious re-working of beauty that is Andy Goldsworthy’s gift to the world.

Take a dip now. Here is “Rivers And Tides” (in English with subtitles):

Andy Goldsworthy’s more “permanent” works may be seen in numerous places, including The Presidio in San Francisco, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield, U.K. and simply dotting the landscape in several countries and regions of the world.

Mr. Goldsworthy has also published numerous books of his work, such as “Time”, “Passage”, “Hand to Earth” and “Wood“, most of which are available through Amazon here.

A selection of Andy Goldsworthy's gorgeous books

Andy Goldsworthy currently lives in south-west Scotland and continues to produce astonishingly beautiful works of art using materials from the natural world.

~ by neil53 on February 25, 2012 . Tagged: andy goldsworthy, enclosure, environmental art, hand to earth, midsummer snowballs, natural world, nature art, passage, rivers & tides, stone, storm king art center, the national gallery of art, the presidio, time, wood, yorkshire sculpture park