Andy Goldsworthy is an environmental sculptor in which his use of the natural surroundings create an art form. He explores and experiments with various natural materiel such as leaves, grasses, stones, wood, sand, clay, ice, and snow. The seasons and weather determine the materials and the subject matter of his projects. With no preconceived ideas about what he will create, Goldsworthy relies on what nature will give him. Goldsworthy "feels" the energy from nature and transcends that energy into an art form. His transient sculptures contradict the permanence of art in its historical pretense.

               Because of this mortality of nature, Goldsworthy uses the photograph as a form of documentation to capture the essence of his work. "Each work grows, stays, decays- integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its height, marking the moment when the work is most alive. There is an intensity about a work at its peak that I hope is expressed in the image. Process and decay are implicit."-Andy Goldsworthy.

               In the form of a triptych, Black Stone, Dumfriesshire; Black Stone/ Red Pool; Red Pool, Scaur Rover, Dumfriesshire, we see two photographs of Goldsworthy's depiction of art within nature separated by a piece of paper on which the artist's hand records the colors of the materials used, black peat and red sandstone.

               The stone in Black Stone, has been covered in black peat. The stone stands alone in solitude and silence, its blackness and shape stands out from it's serene surroundings. The rolling hills in the background are almost completely covered by fog which rests in the valley.

               The photograph Red Pool was created by adding pigment to the water from the sandstone. This image draws ones eye directly to the red pool for its contrast between the surrounding blacks, green, and browns of the environment.

               Andy Goldsworthy was born in 1956 in Chesire. He studied at Bradford Art College and Preston Polytechnic. Thereafter, he toured the world and experimented with the world's alternating climate and different geographical materials available. In 1986, he moved to Dumfriesshire, Scotland where he maintains his residency.

               Goldsworthy's artwork reinforces the relationship of human existence within nature. His work shows that we as humans have some ability of controlling nature, but eventually, in the end, nature controls us.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

• Andy Goldsworthy's Landscape of the Mind (Smithsonian Magazine)
• Andy Goldsworthy
• Andy Goldsworthy Links
• Andy Goldsworthy, Dandelion Hole
• Andy Goldsworthy, Herd of Arches and a A Clearing of Arches. For the Night
• Andy Goldsworthy, Knotweed Stalks Pushed into Lake Bottom
• Andy Goldsworthy, Sweet chestnut autumn horn
• Andy Goldsworthy, Sweet chestnut green horn
• Andy Goldsworthy, Ice Dipped in Water
• Andy Goldsworthy in a movie clip