Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time - Frame Study from Documentary

Hello Readers !

Nature, an independent entity which operates autonomously, taking all pride to change by itself and growing from nothing to large landscapes, trees, streams, oceans. forests, mountains and so on. It can also be seen as an art.

Art, if its prepared in a controlled environment it lasts longer. Many art installation are put in museums and at art centers. Under the shelter of around the walls, art can only increase the ego of an artist or monetary valuation, but what if one allows nature to interfere in one's created art ? What if the art sustains for long in open nature ? And what if it does not ?

Rivers and Tides is a documentary film focuses on the nature of nature, its responsiveness to human beings. Andy Goldsworthy, an environmental artist who works with time. He makes several art sculptures taking raw material from nature itself and observes that how nature deals with that art, and also that how long it goes to sustain in an open nature. In this blog a frame study has been done to explore the themes and symbols of nature and its reaction to the art sculptures made by Andy Goldsworthy.

Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time

Director: Thomas Riedelsheimer

Screenplay: Thomas Riedelsheimer

Released: 7 March 2002 (Germany)

* River - a symbol of movement and progress. It also signifies time, because just like time, river never stops flowing. It's flow is also a symbol of successive continuity.

* Tide - a symbol of carrying away with something. It also symbolizes destruction.

"Art for me is a form of nourishment. I need land."

A design created on the surface of a frozen water.

This shape is made up of ice pieces. It is quickly melted within few hours or minutes.

This is the result of the hard work done by humans and . . .

The art is vanished by the sunrays.

For this art, Goldsworthy chooses a place where river merges with ocean. Before tide comes, Goldsworthy prepares a round shaped wooden structure which looks like a roof of a religious building, and as if a hole is kept intentionally open for ventilation. For this art, he uses soaked tree branches and sticks.

But when the water surface increases by tide, the structure starts floating and is carried away. Goldsworthy here says, it doesn't seem like destruction but it looks like it is being taken to another place.

"On the moment when something collapses, its intensely disappointing." He reflects on the collapse of the stones. "This is the fourth time it's fallen and each time I got know stone little bit more, I got higher each time, so it grew in proportion to my understanding of the stone and that's really what one of the things my artists trying to do. He is trying to understand the stone. I obviously don't understand it well enough, yet."

He wants to make stone art in the shape of eggs. He tries to make it at different locations, one in the forests, a plain land nearby and one at the seashore. Then he observes the trajectory of both the places. One is covered with green plants and other one is surrounded by water by the time of tide.

If any art is kept under the guardianship or under vigilance, then it has no importance.

Stone art at the roadside. 

Ice structure.

This frame has cleverly captured the natural design of stones. It is also a similar to the design Andy Goldsworthy often draws in the documentary. This ups and downs and highs and the lows are also engraved in in human nature also. This frame has captured that rendition.

Goldsworthy prepares such art in various locations in nature and observes the natural process, whether it is destroyed quickly or not.

Each stone is kept very carefully because it's setup is necessary while creating any art.

Here, even after the tide is gone, Goldsworthy's art sustains. 

A small area that is nurturing youth and blossoming with the blend of nature. Just like nature, these player also cultivating sportsman spirit. A temperament of moving on in life.

He also captures raw sketches in his diary.

This frame is captured from helicopter and it seems that this design has inspired Andy Goldsworthy to create the similar ones in different parts of nature.

This is the only frame where we find a contrast to the art he is creating in nature and the archived pieces of arts are preserved at his house. Also a blend of technology as we can see a desktop at the table. In short, art which he creates in nature is vanished very soon, within few seconds and minutes but here in his house he has preserved all the arts he has made.

Here, Andy Goldsworthy is trying to stop his art being vanished by his hand but nature has to be itself. He has created this 'web' with small wooden sticks and joined them through thorns.

His frustration is reflected in this frame. This is how humans are tend to preserve somethings and if it doesn't happen we all get frustrated and anxious. But it doesn't matter how much we are frustrated but how quickly we become free from that and overcome our anxiety is important.

This is the woolen art. Strings are spread all across the stone edges and its shining in the sunlight. It is also evident that wool is also something what we directly get from nature. Sheep is the animal who is quite rigid in nature and always follows the herd. But the wool we get from it, is quite opposite in nature. Wool is a symbol of tenderness and softness, which signifies positivity and kindness. But sheep is narrated very differently in various fields such as politics.

Even if someone travels in nature and wants to create something. No other instruments or other objects are required. Human body itself words as an instrument while working with nature.

Here are the seasonal changes recorded in the design made up from wooden sticks.

This frame is a kind of paradoxical in nature. Andy Goldsworthy here puts yellow flowers in a steady spot of water just nearby the fast flowing stream.

This wall of stones is a kind of dialogue to the trees.

This documentary is beyond the words. It takes us to a spiritual journey and transforms all our understanding of nature. One can surely say a true artist is always ready to witness the art's decay. It is possible only if one is spiritually mature.

Thank You!