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
cities people done
People do not realise that many of my works are done in urban places. I was brought up on the edge of Leeds, five miles from the city centre-on one side were fields and on the other, the city.
land discipline people
I have six acres in front of my own house, which I very rarely work on. Most of the work occurs on farmers' fields around me. And I like the discipline of working on other people's land.
people sculpture movement
I am not a performer but occasionally I deliberately work in a public context. Some sculptures need the movement of people around them to work.
art years people
My art recognizes the human place, the human context - especially in Britain, which is a landscape so worked by people for thousands of years, written, deeply ingrained with the presence of people.
cities people pavement
People are the nature of the city, and you can feel it in the pavement.
country new-york people
Generally in New York, people just walk over you with no problem about that. Other countries, people want to resuscitate you, like, after a bit.
people
People also leave presence in a place even when they are no longer there.
acceptable breaking fact familiar hammer response stone violent
Breaking stone with a hammer is a familiar and acceptable way of working the material, but is in fact a more violent response than firing.
origin
Fire is the origin of stone. By working the stone with heat, I am returning it to its source.
photography distance way
Photography is a way of putting distance between myself and the work which sometimes helps me to see more clearly what it is that I have made.
firsts reason
My work comes first, reasons for it follow.
rocks want sticks
I want to get under the surface. When I work with a leaf, rock, stick, it is not just that material in itself, it is an opening into the processes of life within and around it. When I leave it, these processes continue.
memories historical stones
A stone is ingrained with geological and historical memories.
ifs repeats fascinating
If you repeat something, it can become pointless. Some things can repeat and be endlessly fascinating.