Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy
Andy Goldsworthy, OBEis a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionSculptor
Date of Birth26 July 1956
energy
Everything has the energy of its making inside it.
stones form reconstruction
Once the fired stone is out of the kiln, it is still possible to mentally reconstruct it in its original form.
cutting tree gone
I knew the tree when it grew, and the tree is now gone. The farmers cut it up, and it's become firewood. And there's this tremendous sense of absence and shock and violence attendant to that collapsing tree.
way quiet introvert
I enjoy working in a quiet and subversive way.
promise tears flesh
The stones tear like flesh, rather than breaking. Although what happens is violent, it is a violence that is in stone. A tear is more unnerving than a break.
art lying ephemeral
Ephemeral work made outside, for and about a day, lies at the core of my art and its making must be kept private.
art land needs
Art for me is a form of nourishment. I need the land. I need it.
artist lines energy
The relationship between the public and the artist is complex and difficult to explain. There is a fine line between using this critical energy creatively and pandering to it.
opportunity each-day offers
I take the opportunity each day offers.
beautiful harsh minutes
I can't edit the materials I work with. My remit is to work with nature as a whole. I find nature as a whole disturbing. Nature can be harsh – difficult and brutal, as well as beautiful. You couldn't walk five minutes from here without coming across something that is dead or decaying.
trying balance four
Three or four stones in one firing will all react differently. I try to achieve a balance between those that haven't progressed enough and those about to go too far.
two growth stones
I go way beyond just the wood and stone but to the process of growth and farming and the tensions between the two.
art car gardening
I see my work plagiarized in gardening programmes and decorating programmes and car adverts, and I suppose I have to accept that's just the way art gets assimilated into culture.
artist elements splits
Stones are checked every so often to see if any have split or at worst exploded. An explosion can leave debris in the elements so the firing has to be abandoned.