Andy Goldsworthy (born 25 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces
site-specific sculptures and
land art
Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mo ...
situated in natural or urban settings.
Early life
Goldsworthy was born in
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...
on 25 July 1956, the son of Muriel (née Stanger) and F. Allin Goldsworthy (1929–2001), a former professor of
applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is the application of mathematics, mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and Industrial sector, industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a ...
at the
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
.
[Stonard, John Paul (10 December 2000). "Goldsworthy, Andy"]
Grove Art Online
. Retrieved on 15 May 2007. He grew up on the
Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...
side of
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
. 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."
He studied fine art at Bradford College of Art from 1974 to 1975 and at Preston Polytechnic (now the
University of Central Lancashire
The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...
) from 1975 to 1978,
receiving his
BA from the latter.
Career
History

After leaving college, Goldsworthy lived in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, and
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
.
He moved to Scotland in 1985, first living in
Langholm and then settling a year later in
Penpont, where he still resides. 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, Goldsworthy received an honorary degree from the
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...
. He was an
A.D. White Professor-At-Large in Sculpture at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
2000–2006 and 2006–2008.
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 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."
Rather than interfering in natural processes, his work magnifies existing ones through deliberately minimal intervention in the landscape. Goldsworthy has said "I am reluctant to carve into or break off solid living rock...I feel a difference between large, deep rooted stones and the debris lying at the foot of a cliff, pebbles on a beach...These are loose and unsettled, as if on a journey, and I can work with them in ways I couldn't with a long resting stone."
Goldsworthy's commitment to working with available natural materials injects an inherent scarcity and contingency into the work.
In contrast to other artists who work with the land, most of Goldsworthy's works are small in scale and temporary in their installation.
For these ephemeral works, Goldsworthy often uses only his bare hands, teeth, and found tools to prepare and arrange the materials. His process reveals a preoccupation with temporality and a specific attention to materials which visibly age and decay, a view which stands in contrast to monumentalism in Land Art.
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
West Dean is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester (district), District of Chichester in West Sussex, England north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton, West Sussex, Singleton. The parishes include t ...
he has employed the use of
machine tool
A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...
s. 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.
Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern
rock balancing.
Photography
Photography plays a crucial role in his art due to its often ephemeral and transient state. Photographs (made primarily by Goldsworthy himself) of site-specific, environmental works allow them to be shared without severing important ties to place. 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."
Photography aids Goldsworthy in understanding his works, as much as in communicating them to an audience. He has said, "Photography is my way of talking, writing and thinking about my art. It makes me aware of connections and developments that might have not otherwise have been apparent. It is the visual evidence which runs through my art as a whole and gives me a broader, more distant view of what I am doing."
Documentary films on Goldsworthy
Goldsworthy is the subject of a 2001 documentary feature film called ''
Rivers and Tides'', directed by German director Thomas Riedelsheimer. In 2018, Riedelsheimer released a second documentary on Goldsworthy titled ''Leaning Into the Wind''.
Personal life
In 1982, Goldsworthy married Judith Gregson; they had four children together before separating. He now lives in the Scottish village of
Penpont with his girlfriend, Tina Fiske, an art historian.
Awards
* 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
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE)
Exhibitions and installations
Publications
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See also
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Environmental art
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Environmental sculpture
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Greenmuseum.org
*
Land art
Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mo ...
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Rock balancing
References
Further information
Articles:
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SPARK Educator Guide. Andy Goldsworthy at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. (Visual Arts: earthworks). (2005).
Books:
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Film/Documentary
* ''
Rivers and Tides'' (2001) documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer
* ''
Leaning into the Wind'' (2017) documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer ()
External links
General:
Andy Goldsworthy at the Cass Sculpture Foundation Common Ground, a UK charity and lobby group promoting local distinctiveness
Andy Goldsworthy working on ''Drawn Stone'' on KQED's TV programme ''Spark'' (June 2005)
Art:
Online preview of the Andy Goldsworthy Digital Catalogue DVD Volume 1: 1976–1986 A collaborative effort involving Goldsworthy, The Crichton Foundation, and the
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
's Crichton Campus and Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII). The DVD documents, visually and textually, the first ten years of Goldsworthy's ephemeral outdoor practice. It replicates Goldsworthy's "Slide Cabinet Index", and includes previously unpublished material from "Goldsworthy's Sketchbook Diaries".
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Wet feathers/Wrapped around a stone/Before the incoming tide, Carrick (1999). Photograph from the collection of the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
*
Three Cairns (2002),
Des Moines Art Center
The Des Moines Art Center is an art museum with an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, modern art and mixed media. It was established in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa.
History
The Art Center traces its roots to 1916, when the Des Moines A ...
,
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
, US.
Photographs by Andy Goldsworthy in the UK Government Art Collection
Andy Goldsworthy's Portfolio at the Cass Sculpture Foundation SaveLandArt.org – Media Initiatives to Protect Land Art from Urbanization, Industry and Overcuration.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsworthy, Andy
Scottish photographers
English sculptors
English male sculptors
English installation artists
Land artists
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Cornell University faculty
Alumni of the University of Bradford
Alumni of the University of Central Lancashire
1956 births
Living people
Artists from Leeds