Andy Goldsworthy.
 

He's the kind of artist you'd imagine mother nature might be, if she were personified, human form. Shy and wonderful and magical. He is amazing and its difficult to even capture his work in photos. If you have the chance to see any in person, do it. And if not, you should watch his dvd or read some of his books.

His work is sculptural and exists momentarily in nature, or build from natural objects in a space which might have commissioned it. The most beautiful imho are his ice and snow works, and sculptures done in moving rivers.

some of his 'cones'










some ice based works..






and working with rivers and water...

wow that ice spiral is crazy looking!

I like them all actually.

is he from Oz?

He is indeed a genius, and has been discussed here more than once.
I think cuetzpalin uses one of his pieces as her avatar.

He's from England.

He is to sculpture what Jack Vettriano is to painting.

that explains the lack of (fucking) platypuses.

you're right, I use this..


more of his work..

i had to study him in my first year of college, he's a pretty nice guy.

I've always liked your avatar cuetz, but had no idea what it was.

wow....this guy is fucking genius.

:)

gsus i'm sooooo tired today:(

used this as an avatar for a little while awhile back




mentioned Goldsworthy a bunch of times at the old board as perhaps the most significant living artist...was met with indifference for the most part...wrote review of rivers & tides when at va film festival

figured some would have been around enough to mention me
can only remember that cuetzpalin & Pauly expressed a mutual interest

so i'm just going through my photobucket album here...















this was a sig

Twig sculptures, leaves stuck to rocks,
ARE YOU ALL FUCKING MAD!

hahahaa

that's exactly what makes it genius!

I like the impermanence of it as well.

(unlike the works of Lana Zugzug)

Oh i see, we're being ironic. I didn't get it.

finding the completed version of this with the lettering and everything like the sister cover has proven difficult, so below is just the raw material for that picture (think I lost it)

He's British living in Scotland.
The Rivers & Tides documentary shows the process of Goldsworthy making a piece like that spiral; it's probably the very same one.

Here's a rare photo of him constructing one of his earliest works:

He makes interesting and futuristic Ikea objects for sure. I've always liked his use of pattern, he's really good at that. Pookie is a little harsh when he compares him to Jack Vettriano. Vettriano's work is for people who only want prints on the walls of their living rooms.

I think the Vettriano comparison is fair. Though I think it's probably more The Pier than Ikea.

i watched his dvd in art class last year. this kid in my class tried to challenge him by saying it wasn't real art. my teacher destroyed him.

and what is real art actually..?

exactly

anyways.. i appreciate goldsworthy as one of the biggest artists. his work is kinda zen, isn't it? :)

I don't like individual Goldsworthy pieces as much as i do overall environments that feature his stuff as part of the landscape. Same with Richard Serra.

Andy Goldsworthy reminds me of Nils-Udo. A Bavarian artist with similar work.

http://greenmuseum.org/content/artis...ist_id-36.html

its a different piece, but yeh.

okay vettriano's work is completely stunning. and is definately not just for people who just want prints on their walls. There is a massive difference between a close up leaf you can buy at ikea and the complete and utter resplendance shown in some of vettriano's work.

and imho they (goldsworthy and vettriano) are nothing alike.

I dont like the use of human forms... The thing(well one of) that appeals to me about goldsworthy's work is that it is completely and utterly timeless. It might have been created by someone or something, or it could have just occured. It is that untouched and pure, mathematical the way nature exists yet somehow almost unbelieveable in its beauty, that it could not be accidental.

a lot of this work seems far more 'cut in' to nature. where as to me, goldsworthy seems to work with the flow, and his works are never permanent. There is something not quite right about a red human form sitting amoungst the green. Or a square cut away from a trees roots. The images seem painful.

lols/.

I thought you might like him too!

I'm not to keen with Nils-Udo's use of human forms in his work. It makes the viewer focus on the figure and forget the surroundings. You could say that Goldsworthy's work is sort of timeless in it's simplicity and pureness, but I don't think it presents itself as something that just occured. There's always a reminder of human intervention. Also, some of his work is definitely permanent. If left untouched, those stone walls and oval shapes can last for ages.

fucking cool.
the jack vettriano comparison is just unfair. he is an untalented asshole.

ages /= permanent

who handles light in a way many painters can not.

I actually like Nils-Udo even if he is using human forms.

Do you mean / as "doesn't equal"?
If so, it's permanent in the sense that it doesn't disappear after the first 500 rainfalls.

not equal to. yes I do. I searched through my character map and couldnt find the real one. I guessed you'd understand.

it isnt cared for though. Once he creates, he leaves it there.. to be destroyed or exist or whatever shall happen. That is what I mean. Many artists don't do that. That to me therefore is impermanent.

Fair enough.
I'm outta here. Got loads of work to do before I leave the office at five. Bye.