Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy OBE (born 26 July 1956) is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.

The son of F. Allin Goldsworthy (1929–2001), former professor of applied mathematics at the University of Leeds. England, and Muriel (Stanger) Goldsworthy, Andy Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire, England in 1956. He grew up on the Harrogate side of Leeds, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. From the age of 13 he worked on farms as a labourer. He has likened the repetitive quality of farm tasks to the routine of making sculpture: "A lot of my work is like picking potatoes; you have to get into the rhythm of it."

Goldsworthy studied fine art at Bradford College of Art (1974–75) and at Preston Polytechnic (1975–78) (now the University of Central Lancashire) in Preston, Lancashire, receiving his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from the latter.

History

After leaving college, Goldsworthy lived in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria. In 1985, he moved to Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and a year later to Penpont. It has been said that his gradual drift northwards was "due to a way of life over which he did not have complete control", but that contributing factors were opportunities and desires to work in these areas and "reasons of economy".

In 1993, he received an honorary degree from the University of Bradford. He was an A.D. White Professor-At-Large in Sculpture at Cornell University 2000–2006 and 2006–2008.

Goldsworthy is represented by Galerie Lelong, New York and Paris.

An example of art work

In 2003, Goldsworthy produced a commissioned work for the entry courtyard of San Francisco's de Young Museum called "Drawn Stone", which echoes San Francisco's frequent earthquakes and their effects. His installation included a giant crack in the pavement that broke off into smaller cracks, and broken limestone, which could be used for benches. The smaller cracks were made with a hammer adding unpredictability to the work as he created it.

Art process

The materials used in Andy Goldsworthy's art often include brightly coloured flowers, icicles, leaves, mud, pinecones, snow, stone, twigs, and thorns. He has been quoted as saying, "I think it's incredibly brave to be working with flowers and leaves and petals. But I have to: I can't edit the materials I work with. My remit is to work with nature as a whole." Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing. For his ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials; however, for his permanent sculptures like "Roof", "Stone River" and "Three Cairns", "Moonlit Path" (Petworth, West Sussex, 2002) and "Chalk Stones" in the South Downs, near West Dean, West Sussex he has also employed the use of machine tools. To create "Roof", Goldsworthy worked with his assistant and five British dry-stone wallers, who were used to make sure the structure could withstand time and nature.

Photography

Photography plays a crucial role in his art due to its often ephemeral and transient state. According to Goldsworthy, "Each work grows, stays, decays – integral parts of a cycle which the photograph shows at its heights, 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."

Documentary films on Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy is the subject of a 2001 documentary feature film called Rivers and Tides, directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer. In 2018, Riedelsheimer released a second documentary on Goldsworthy, Leaning Into the Wind.

In 1982, Goldsworthy married Judith Gregson. They had four children and settled in the village of Penpont in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, in southwest Scotland. The couple later separated. He now lives there with his partner, Tina Fiske, an art historian whom he met when she came to work with him a few years after he separated from his wife.

• 1979 – North West Arts Award
• 1980 – Yorkshire Arts Award
• 1981 – Northern Arts Award
• 1982 – Northern Arts Award
• 1986 – Northern Arts Bursary
• 1987 – Scottish Arts Council Award
• 1989 – Northern Electricity Arts Award
• 2000 – Appointed officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

• Andy Goldsworthy (1985). Rain, Sun, Snow, Hail, Mist, Calm: Photoworks by Andy Goldsworthy. Leeds: Henry Moore Centre for the Study of Sculpture. ISBN 0-901981-24-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1988). Parkland. [Yorkshire]: Yorkshire Sculpture Park. ISBN 1-871480-00-0.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1989). Touching North. London: Fabian Carlsson. ISBN 0-948274-06-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1989). Leaves. London: Common Ground. ISBN 1-870364-07-4.
• Andy Goldsworth (1990). Andy Goldsworthy. London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-83213-8. Republished as Andy Goldsworthy (1990). Andy Goldsworthy : A Collaboration with Nature. New York, N.Y.: H. N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3351-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1992). Ice and Snow Drawings : 1990–1992. Edinburgh: FruitMarket Gallery. ISBN 0-947912-06-1.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Friedman, Terry (1993). Hand to Earth : Andy Goldsworthy Sculpture, 1976–1990. New York, N.Y.: H. N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3420-5.
• Andy Goldsworthy (1994). Stone. London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-85478-6.
• text and photographs by Andy Goldsworthy (1995). Black Stones, Red Pools : Dumfriesshire Winter 1994–5. London: Pro Arte Foundation in association with Michael Hue-Williams Fine Art Ltd. & Galerie Lelong, N.Y. ISBN 0-9525457-0-5.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Chettle, Steve; Nesbitt, Paul; Humphries, Andrew (1996). Sheepfolds. London: Michael Hue-Williams Fine Art Ltd.
• Andy Goldsworthy ; introduction by Terry Friedman (1996). Wood. London: Viking. ISBN 0-670-87137-0.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Craig, David (1999). Arch. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01933-9.
• Andy Goldsworthy. Chronology by Terry Friedman (2000). Time. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51026-1.
• Goldsworthy, Andy; Thompson, Jerry L.; Storm King Art Center (2000). Wall at Storm King. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01991-6.
• Andy Goldsworthy. Introduction by Judith Collins. (2001). Midsummer Snowballs. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51065-2.
• Andy Goldsworthy (2002). Andy Goldsworthy : Refuges D'Art. Lyon; Digne, France: Editions Artha; Musée départemental de Digne. ISBN 2-84845-001-0.
• Andy Goldsworthy (2004). Passage. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51191-8.
• Andy Goldsworthy (2007). Enclosure. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-09336-9.
• Goldsworthy, Andy (2015). Andy Goldsworthy: Ephemeral Works: 2004–2014. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-1419717796.

Articles:

• Beyst, Stefan (June 2002). "Andy Goldsworthy: The beauty of creation". Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
• Moore, Robbie. "Goldsworthy in stone". Specifier Magazine. Archived from the original on 6 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.

Books:

• Malpas, William (1995). Andy Goldsworthy: Touching Nature. Kidderminster: Crescent Moon. ISBN 1-86171-049-6.
• Malpas, William (1998). The Art of Andy Goldsworthy. Kidderminster: Crescent Moon. ISBN 1-86171-032-1.
• Malpas, William (2003). Andy Goldsworthy in Close-Up. Maidstone, Kent: Crescent Moon. ISBN 1-86171-050-X.
• Malpas, William (2008). Andy Goldsworthy: Pocket Guide. Maidstone, Kent: Crescent Moon. ISBN 978-1-86171-241-7.

Film/Documentary

• Rivers and Tides (2001) documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer
• Leaning into the Wind (2017) documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer (Leaning into the Wind official Web site)