Andy Goldsworthy is a famous British sculptor whose influences come primarily from the environment around him and the way society interacts with nature. His work is constructed solely from objects found in the environment he is working in the aim of the work itself to become a part of the environment around it, interacting with it in a way that makes it seem entirely out of place yet still in sync with what is around it. His own influences and connections to nature show through in the work he creates illustrating his the relations and experiences he has found through the land.
Andy Goldsworthy’s own life has a great impact on the work he creates. He was born on July 26, 1956 and grew up on the farm, working on it since the age of thirteen as a labourer. A lot of the work he creates is influenced by his experiences of farm life- the deconstruction of nature, the cycle of life and death and the role it plays in nature, simple farm objects such as bales of hay or broken walls and even the geometric aspects of the cultivated land itself. These influences show very clearly in his work and demonstrate the impact his childhood and younger life had on the work he creates today. The fact that Andy is an avid environmentalist also shows through in his work a lot. His work never has any negative impact on the environment in which it is created and is made from impermanent objects that decompose and become a part of the land itself over time. This idea is often associated with the Land art movement in which the land itself is a part of the art. This idea strongly supports Andy as an environmentalist as his work ultimately becomes a part of the land.
The themes that Andy explores in his work are most commonly the interactions between man and nature and the effects that these two different yet interconnected aspects of the world have on each other. This common theme can be found in a large portion of Andy’s work, the environment being