Andy Goldsworthy

The “environmental sculptor”, Andy Goldsworthy, was born in 1956 in England and began his work in the 1970’s (Hurley). He works closely with an environment and uses only the materials available there to create his art. To document his work, he takes photographs before the sculpture is transformed by natural processes such as wind or water. He also writes a short poem about each piece to describe its construction in place of a title. The photographs utilize the surrounding environment and they are how his work is widely viewed (Hurley). Many of his works are cyclical in nature. More specifically, many of his works include a dark hole in the center which is an important aspect of the emotion he feels in connection to the earth and to life (Riedelsheimer). …show more content…
The subject of this piece, and of many other pieces by Goldsworthy, is the black hole. The stones laid around it draw attention to the hole and the shape and colors included in the piece show the nature of a cycle. The graduation of color shows that there is a darker side to nature, or to a landscape, and that nature is not always pretty (Riedelsheimer). Although this makes the project harder for Goldsworthy to complete, he shares in his book, Stone, that he “enjoy(s) establishing an order that forces [him] to look hard to make it complete” (Goldsworthy 64). This completeness, time consuming hard work, and attention to detail are aspects that make Goldsworthy’s work so …show more content…
The piece contains many branches weaved into a circle at the base of a tree with the infamous black hole in the center. These branches are placed not only so that the thinner, smaller branches are towards the center and the thick, bigger branches are on the outer edge, but also that the branches towards the center are lighter in color than the branches on the outer edge of the piece. These colors can be interpreted similarly to Rowan leaves laid around a hole (1987) and Pebbles around a hole (1987), however the differing sizes of branches offers further suggestion about Goldsworthy’s cyclical theme and the black hole being filled with potential. The branches on the outer edge of the sculpture are not only darker in color, but they are also thicker and bigger suggesting that those on the outer edge, or end of the cycle, are older and larger in size. Correspondingly, the branches towards the center of the sculpture outlining the black hole are not only lighter in color, but are also thinner and smaller suggesting that those on the inner edge are young, lively, and full of potential. Goldsworthy comments on this cycle in his documentary by discussing how there is a root system that begins from below which repeats from year to year. He relates this comment to his feelings about his work. He feels as though making work “roots” him, and that if he