Ava McDonnell-Portfolio Prject

Ava McDonnell- Portfolio Project

Preface: My name is Ava McDonnell. This work is titled “Andy Goldsworthy: Artist and Environmentalist” and I will be using a CC BY-SA license for this project.

Intro: Andy Goldsworthy was born in the United Kingdom working on farms for most of his life which inspired him in both the art of nature and the nature of art. He tends to use materials he finds naturally to represent changes, life, and movement which he claims are all the ‘blood of nature’. By using nature as his art source, he shows just how delicate and precious not only the Earth, but art can be making him such a famous environmentalist. He is still actively working to have a better understanding of nature and how humans are very similar to nature but are still the ones changing it.

This portfolio project address two main themes, one being the process of regeneration and the other being the process of decay. Andy strives to understand nature by being an active participant inside it. By using pieces of Earth as art, he represents movement, change, growth, and decay all at the same time. As the world continues to change with the increase in technology, parts of nature are being torn down adding to the process of regeneration. In many of Goldsworthy’s photographs he consistently shows a theme of death and decay whether that’s through putting icicles together with his own saliva and spit or through meticulously laying branches in a pattern. He always finds a way to show his audience the connection between nature and people. 

Andy was born in North England and ever since he was young his interest in art and nature grew. He mostly worked on farms when growing up and claimed to enjoy activities like building haystacks and plowing fields the most which can both be seen as a form of art. After his first year in art school, he decided to go to the beach and create lines in the sand and watch them get washed away, this changed the way he looked at the world. He was inspired mainly by works of Joseph Beuys and Robert Smithson who are both tending to learn towards unique representations of art and nature. Once he began his work, he became someone who would spend years and years of hard labor to create these pieces from nature, by nature, and in nature.

I chose Andy Goldsworthy because his ability to take what already exists in the world and turn it into a beautiful message for both people and nature is truly inspiring. Since he uses pieces of land to create his works his is representing a very environmentalist mindset. What I mean by this is that his works will eventually and naturally fade away into the land they originally came from, showing that he has much respect for nature. I admire his ability to use photography, education of nature, art, and nature itself to create meaningful pieces. He has a way of connecting artwork and the environment around us to show how similar they are to each other as well as touching people in the real world.

Media Attributions:

• Private: Wood Fallen Oaks is licensed with a CC BY(Attribution).

• Storm King Wall is licensed with a CC BY 2.0.

• Dandelion line is licensed with a CC BY 2.0.