Time gives growth, it gives continuity and it gives change. And in the case of some sculptures, time gives a patina to them. Andy Goldsworthy More Quotes by Andy Goldsworthy More Quotes From Andy Goldsworthy I knew the tree when it grew, and the tree is now gone. The farmers cut it up, and it's become firewood. And there's this tremendous sense of absence and shock and violence attendant to that collapsing tree. Andy Goldsworthy cutting violence tree I'm not a performer, in that I don't like the public, but I work in that respect. Andy Goldsworthy performers I soon realised that what had happened on a small scale cannot necessarily be repeated on a larger scale. The stones were so big that the amount of heat required was prohibitively expensive and wasteful. Andy Goldsworthy heat bigs stones Sometimes you need to stop doing something to really see it afresh. Andy Goldsworthy sometimes needs The process of growth is obviously critical to my understanding of the land and myself. So the process is far more unpredictable with far more compromises with the day, the weather, the material. Andy Goldsworthy understanding land weather When I do the permanent projects or the big projects, when a work is finished, that's the beginning of its life. Andy Goldsworthy finished projects bigs Complete control can be the death of a work. Andy Goldsworthy If you've ever come across a tree that you've lived with for many years and then one day it's blown over, there's incredible shock and violence about that. Andy Goldsworthy one-day tree years It's just that when I work on someone else's land, it makes me aware of the social nature of that landscape. Andy Goldsworthy landscape land social If I'm going to understand the land, I have to understand the wind, the snow, the rain, the leaves, the ice, and changes in temperature. It just reflects a reality for me. Andy Goldsworthy ice rain reality The photography is not the aim of the work; the articulation of the work through photography is another way of understanding what's going on and what's happening outside. Andy Goldsworthy understanding photography way I am not a performer but occasionally I deliberately work in a public context. Some sculptures need the movement of people around them to work. Andy Goldsworthy sculpture people needs Occasionally I have come across a last patch of snow on top of a mountain in late May or June. There's something very powerful about finding snow in summer. Andy Goldsworthy powerful nature summer Three or four stones in one firing will all react differently. I try to achieve a balance between those that haven't progressed enough and those about to go too far. Andy Goldsworthy balance three trying As you grow older you realize that art has an enormous effect. It's frightening sometimes to think of the effect that we can have. Andy Goldsworthy aging art thinking Confrontation is something that I accept as part of the project though not its purpose. Andy Goldsworthy accepting purpose artist The reason why the stone is red is its iron content, which is also why our blood is red. Andy Goldsworthy iron stones blood The stones tear like flesh, rather than breaking. Although what happens is violent, it is a violence that is in stone. A tear is more unnerving than a break. Andy Goldsworthy tears artist promise Everything has the energy of its making inside it. Andy Goldsworthy energy I take the opportunity each day offers. Andy Goldsworthy offers each-day opportunity
