andy goldsworthy

today we had SOVA lessons as per normal and covered Andy Goldsworthy. He is AMAZING. here are some of his works

                                         (toner value)

(forms, shapes, lines)

(form, lines)

(texture, lines, form)

(acorn like sculpture)

(toner values)

Andy Goldsworthy creates his works from nature and i mean from nature only. the materials he uses are from nature. there is no glue, no hammer, no pencil, no paper, no nails etc at all. saliva replaces glue, thorns replaces nails, rocks replaces hammer. yet he is able to create such beautiful artworks. he is an environmental sculptor who uses the natural environment to create art forms and does not use additional materials, only elements found from nature. his work is mainly temporal, ephemeral art, i should say.

there are many factors that affect the degrading of his work and the time taken to complete his work. it feels as if he is trying to manipulate nature by rearranging them to be presented as an art form, however, it can be said that nature is the one controlling him. his work is unpredictable. he is under the mercy of nature. he will not be able to do his work if the weather conditions are not right and while creating his sculptor, there may be instances where the wind blows, or when it rains, or when water flows, resulting in his work being destroyed in seconds. there he has to start all over again and at times, he has to recreate the same work many times. however, i think, to Andy Goldsworthy, every failure is a success to him. 所谓失败乃成功之母 haha. everytime he fails, it means he has to start from scratch, however it also means that he has additional chances to get to know his medium/materials better. when he first build his acorn like sculpture, it came crumbling down minutes after he started as the center of gravity was incorrect. however, his tower got higher and higher every time he failed. chermaine then mentioned about prep work, like how Andy Goldsworthy (AG) does not do prep work but we have to do prep work. mrs tan said that his prep work is just different from us, every failure he goes through, is like his prep work. well i do agree with what she says. prep work seems to be the toughest time :/ and multiple failures for me dont really work so i guess its equally tiring for me. but on the otherhand, i feel like art should be more free, like its too restricted now. AG did not have an initial plan when he started working on his work, its more of a 顺其自然 kind of thing and i prefer that kind of working style. nonetheless, prep work is still important in some ways, it does help you come up with new ideas. my coursework (im not showing at the moment ^^) would not be how it is now if it weren't for prep work. it would have been presented in a different way (not sure whether that's a good thing or not).

okay back to AG. rachel mentioned that (sorry if im wrong) he seems to be trying to manipulate nature but he does not have absolute control over it. there is only so much we can do. very often, we are at the mercy of mother nature. even if technology is everywhere, it is still not 100% that we can prevent mother nature from throwing tantrums, we cant prevent natural disasters from happening. even if we think we are the best, we are the greatest, and that we have absolute control over nature, like how we can cut down trees and pollute water bodies, mother nature has the last laugh. environmental problems are the main concern now. so much money is being spent on trying to minimise the disastrous effect of pollution (my coursework theme is something along that line). and when global warming becomes worsens, we will be the ones suffering. isnt it kind of ironic?

AG relies on what nature gives him. he 'feels' the energy from nature and transcends that energy into art forms. his transient sculpture contradicts the permanence of arts in its historical pretense. elements of art (colour, line, texture, shape, form, value) must be present in historical artworks, there will be diagonal lines, the golden ratio, the form, toner value, choice of colours used that makes the artwork 'art'. however such elements are also found in AG's work (as mentioned above with the pics <but not all, just some mentioned above, im sure you can easily find the elements>)

another interesting point discussed was that the materials are not made by him, so is this still considered his art? or art, in general terms? for example, i pick up a half rotten log from the beach, and cut off parts of the log and say its my sculpture. isit fair for me to claim it as my work? but chermaine mentioned that isnt paint not made by us too? so our works are technically not ours? okay maybe thats a little too far fetched haha, but i thought it was an interesting point.

to produce such artworks, one needs to be innovative, creative, able to improvise and perhaps have acute and sensitive observations. he is also dubbed the founder of rock balancing as he is able to create a strong sturdy sculpture from piling rocks up. he is so familiar with the material that he can easy create such sculptures in different parts of the world, be it on a grass patch or near the beach where the tides would rise and engulf the sculpture but when the tides are fall back the work is still standing at the same spot. i think he is a 'master of the hands' only using his hands, he is able to create such magnificent works. painting requires some skills but i think sculptures like his require more. you have to be very good with your hands. also, his work tells me that it is not necessary to spend lots of money to get the best kind of material or instrument to aid you in making art. art comes from your hands and your mind. creativity and action comes hand in hand. if you have the brains but you are too lazy to even try to make whatever you are thinking, then it isnt really art. if you are good with your hands but cant seem to think of anything to do, then you cant make art.

all in all, what amazes me is that he has let me see nature in a totally different way, he has shown me a beautiful side of nature that i do not know. before this lesson, i've always thought that nature is just nature, tress, wet grass, muddy fields, its just plain, at most its just breathtaking scenery. even though im an art student, i have never thought of how nature can be an artwork. mother nature is all around us but i have failed to see pass the superficial layer of nature. i seriously didnt know that nature could be presented in this way, if only i had known about this artist sooner, i would not have been so oblivious to nature around me. now i would look at nature and think of different ways that i can represent or play (i wanted to use the word manipulate but decided against it ) with.