Parapluie raved about a film she had gotten on Netflix-- Andy Goldworthy RIVERS AND TIDES Working With Time. It sounded so interesting and creatively beautiful that I ordered it from Amazon before I had seen it. I am happy I did as it's about photography, nature, and working with natural elements to create something man-made and yet not.
He studies a place and then sets about using something there to create something that wasn't and even better if that something new will be changed by time again. He is interested in the dispersal of elements in natural... or unnatural ways; but they are always from the land.
The photographs that Goldworthy takes are often surrealistic and always interesting in terms of lighting as he takes that natural element and bends it into something new-- Goldworthy photographs.
The video goes beyond the images to the man, his inspiration, how his native land is part of what he does. I especially liked one thing he said about the land. When he gets a commission to go a new place to do one of his works (in that case Nova Scotia), he says it takes him a while of being there before he gets the feel of the land and knows what will work.
We live in a culture where people race from thing to thing. This business of staying somewhere, of getting to know its soul, well that's something few get to experience. Watching this video might encourage more to try. I highly recommend seeing it for anyone interested in nature, photography, or the creative process.
11 comments:
Sounds very interesting so I put it on my Netflix list. I understand the concept of getting to know a place first. Moving from Western WA to Eastern WA I couldn't do landscapes anymore, really didn't understand the place for awhile. That's the great thing about being retired, I have the time to stop and look.
Thank you so much for pointing this DVD out. As soon as I read your post, I searched my library, and voila! it's winging it's way to me as I write. Right up my alley. Thanks for the present. Have a lovely weekend. Lori
I was given River and Tides as a gift and found it incredibly fascinating. I wander nearby fields observing the gifts of the land and Andy's work is often times, an intense revelation. Two years ago, I was in San Francisco and got to see one of his permanent displays at the Presido. Many cypress trees had dyed and he was inspired to create a monument to forests with the downed trees. The momument is called Spire and here is a link to this incredible standing work:
www.presidio.gov/experiences/spire.htm
That was a great link, Marti. Thanks
Several years ago, I bought copies of this DVD to give for Christmas, I loved it so much. Some of those images have stayed with me ever since.
And thanks to Marti for the link, too.
Hi Rain, you might also enjoy the "Power of Now" by Echart Tolle.
I have that book and have tried several times to read it all the way through but never seem to manage. I do though believe in the now as a way to live. I also watched a DVD of him explaining a lot of this. Definitely on the same track :)
I will be adding this video to my Netflix list for sure. I have seen his work before, but not a lot of it. As it happens, I'm heading up to San Francisco soon, and Marti's link has inspired me to see this installation. So cool. Isn't cyber-land magical?
i enjoyed looking t the image link to Andy Goldsworth.
I just added this to my Netflix que, and they also recommended Oregon Splendor. Have you seen that? I finished the book you recommended, Wild Life by MollyGloss, and though it wasn't easy to read, I really enjoyed it.
Back when I was Snowbirding in an RV I learned that it was best to stay in one location for three or four weeks as it takes at least that long to get somewhat familiar with an area. This photographer is quite right in that.
There is a whole world of DVD "movies" available but about all that we tend to watch are the Hollywood movies. I'd like to find a web site where perhaps daily or at least weekly a good documentary or other non-Hollywood DVD was reviewed. There are a lot of good ones but it can be hard to locate the individual ones in the great forest of DVDs that are released all the time.
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