Since I don't seem in the mood to create art often lately and since being a nanny daily involves nap-time, I checked out three awesome art books from the library recently filled with glorious photos. One that has my attention now is by Andy Goldsworthy and is about his artwork with snowballs over the years. One thing I love about Goldsworthy is he seems to see art as a science, an exploration of where a medium will take him, what hidden meaning it holds, what secret beauty is stored in it. Although I know this is no new concept, think of Monet's Haystacks for example, because his art is so fleeting and his photography of it such an integral part of the art, it is easier to see the process he is creating. He doesn't find his work precious; it apears he loves to see how the environment as part of the installation interacts and effects the whole and considers that interaction part of the art itself.
A quote from the book:
Although the snowballs will all be in very public locations, they have not been made for people. They are about people. This goes beyond just wanting to see the public's reactions to them. I am interested in the dialog between two time flows. A snowball melting amongst the river of people that runs through a city...the ebb and flow as people arrive for work, have lunch, then leave to go home in the evening. Set against all this activity, the snowballs may appear almost permanent as they very slowly disappear. They will become markers to the passing of time - slow and deliberate like the hour hand of a clock - appearing hardly to move.
Fascinating man.
1 comment:
Wow, I just can't imagine creating art that would be so fleeting...although the melting process and the interaction he describes is more the point, I guess. :)
Have you seen the people that create elaborate sand sculptures of breath-taking beauty at the beach, just to have it washed away by the tide? Blows my mind.
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