Andy Goldsworthy (born 26 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural and urban settings.

Early life

Goldsworthy was born in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

on 26 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 mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathematical s ...

at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

.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 the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

side of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. 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 , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

) from 1975 to 1978, receiving his BA from the latter.

Career

History

Sculpture in National Museum of Scotland by Andy Goldsworthy

After leaving college, Goldsworthy lived in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

. He moved to Scotland in 1985, first living in

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits nort ...

and then settling a year later in

Penpont Penpont is a village about west of Thornhill in Dumfriesshire, in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland. It is near the confluence of the Shinnel Water and Scaur Water rivers in the foothills of the Southern Uplands. It has a populati ...

, 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 university, 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 creat ...

. He was an A.D. White Professor-At-Large in Sculpture at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

2000–2006 and 2006–2008. In 2003, Goldsworthy produced a commissioned work for the entry courtyard of San Francisco's

de Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the Legion of Honor ...

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." Goldsworthy is generally considered the founder of modern

rock balancing Rock balancing (also stone balancing, or stacking) is a form of recreation or expression in which rocks are balanced on top of one another, often in a precarious manner. Conservationists and park services have expressed concerns that the arran ...

. 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 Petworth is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex ...

, 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 District of Chichester in West Sussex, England north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove. The civ ...

he has also 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, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All m ...

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.

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

Goldsworthy is the subject of a 2001 documentary feature film called ''

Rivers and Tides A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

'', directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer. In 2018, Riedelsheimer released a second documentary on Goldsworthy, ''Leaning Into the Wind''.http://www.leaningintothewind.com/

Personal life

In 1982, Goldsworthy married Judith Gregson; they had four children together before separating. He now lives in the Scottish village of

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 The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...

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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE)

Exhibitions and installations

Publications

* * * * * Republished as * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

Further information

Articles: * *
SPARK Educator Guide
Andy Goldsworthy at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. (Visual Arts: earthworks). (2005). Books: * * * * Film/Documentary *''

'' (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 , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

'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".
Wet feathers/Wrapped around a stone/Before the incoming tide, Carrick
(1999). Photograph from the collection of the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

.
Snowballs in Summer
(2000), photographed in

Charterhouse Square Charterhouse Square is a garden square, a pentagonal space, in Farringdon, in the London Borough of Islington, and close to the former Smithfield Meat Market. The square is the largest courtyard or yard associated with the London Charterhouse, m ...

and Smithfield Market in

Smithfield, London Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Barth ...

, UK. Photographs from the Conway Collection,

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

, London.
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 As ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, US.
Photographs by Andy Goldsworthy in the UK Government Art Collection

Photographs of Andy Goldsworthy's sculptures at FlickrAndy 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