PK2K - Visual Art
  • Home
  • Work
    • Altered books
    • Ephemeral Congo
    • Mylar portraits
    • Abstracts
    • Drawings
    • Collage
    • Landscapes
    • Other paintings
    • Rainy/foggy/snowy
    • Reflections on Windows
    • Photos
  • PK's Blog
  • Congo trip
  • Artist Statement
  • Contact

Documentaries about artists 18 - Rivers and Tides

10/11/2020

1 Comment

 
Andy Goldsworthy, a Scottish artist, mesmerizes with installations, sculptures and drawings in nature that incorporate rocks, stones, ice, leaves, branches, driftwood - to name a few. Watching this 2001 documentary, Rivers and Tides, ‘wow’ kept coming to mind as he creates art that would be easy enough for many to produce on their own.
This is one of the better artist documentaries because Goldsworthy speaks understandably and extensively about his work. His explanations illustrate his process - and you can understand what he is saying. One of the longer sections is about a country wall of stone he created at the Storm King Art Center in New York. It is a wall that incorporates his signature imagery, the wandering movement of a river. He wraps the wall around trees, as well as having it enter and exit a lake. It loses its standard straight line and enters a conversation with the trees and landscape in which it sits. Though a wall is meant to last, in his mind it remains ephemeral because it explicitly acknowledges that tree growth will eventually destroy it - much like the previous wall that had been present on the property.

The most impressive river flow imagery piece is from Nova Scotia where he attaches pieces of icicle to a rock by the ocean - then the sun appears in a fortunate way to light it up completely to make it glow. We get to share his surprise at the beauty of it when it happens.

Time is another major player in his work. He often creates on the seashore, completing his works just as the tide comes in - which then destroys them. Working in ice also acknowledges plays into the ephemeral nature of his work. Whether gone in a moment in the flow of a river or lasting longer because it is made of stone, his work is designed to disappear, something that sets his work apart.

His signature works are human sized pinecone shaped sculptures using stone, ice, wood - and probably other objects given the frequency he has made them. They are impressive because they stand on their own with nothing attaching the pieces together - and they can be fragile. One of the compelling moments is when he builds one of these cones from rocks on the seashore but it falls four times before he is able to get it to stand - all while the tide is coming in. It is rare to see an artist fail on camera, but this film captures two such episodes and his reaction of disappointment, making him that more human.

The wow moments come from the fact that anyone could do what he does. He has taken childhood play with stones, sticks and other objects from the natural world and continued the journey into art - without losing the childhood playfulness, and while remaining fully conscious of the meaning he brings to his work.
1 Comment
Mariam Weber link
10/22/2021 10:45:26 am

Niice blog thanks for posting

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About PK

    I am a visual artist and observer of art, especially contemporary art.

    Archives

    August 2022
    March 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    March 2020
    May 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2017
    September 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    April 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly