Does Andy Goldsworthy Fit the Form of Formalism?

by Michael Semenec

"So what is the meaning of formalism?"

In Terry Barrett's book Why is That Art? we come to understand

that formalism is a theory of art in which the belief of aesthetic
values is the sole importance and that judgments of art can be
removed from other considerations such as ethical or social
ones. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as
color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and
content. "Art for the sake of art" is a phrase that is often associ-
ated with formalism. The medium and use of that medium to
create pieces with aesthetic value is the concentration of for-
malism, so in that sense nothing else should influence the work.
This allows artist to create art without having to worry about it
being judge for its subject matter, emotional value, or any picto-
rial representations of reality. The art does not need to refer
to anything outside the actual piece itself. In the book Barrett
introduces Andy Goldsworthy as a formalist artist.

Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy (1956– ) was born in England and now re-

sides in a small rural village in Scotland. Goldsworthy is a sculp-
tor who mainly produces site-specific sculpture and land art
situated in natural and urban settings. He does also produce in-
door work usually presented in galleries. He works with natural-
ly found materials like stones, twigs, flowers, icicles, leaves, mud,
pinecones, snow, and thorns. With these materials Goldsworthy
creates both permanent and ephemeral sculptures. Since most
of his work is done directly in nature and made with materials
found in the nature, it is left to nature to determine how long
the work can last. That is why it is important for Goldsworthy to
document his ephemeral work. He mainly uses photography,
but he is also known to use video, to document his work.
Andy Goldsworthy’s Artwork

Barrett goes on to tell how Goldsworthy is criticized on his work

for not being completely true to formalist theory. This criticism
comes because of the two different realms his artwork is put
into, his work created in nature and his work created for galler-
ies. The work created in natures stays true and pure to formal-
ism, he is making nature out of nature in nature. His gallery
work dies in this sense of formalism, he adapts subjective and
symbolic meanings to his work, which can be seen in Garden of
Stones. Barrett seems took take a little more focus to this piece,
which poorly represents Goldsworthy’s body of work.

Garden of Stones is one of Goldsworthy pieces created for gal-

lery installation. It was permanently installed in New York City
in 2003, for the Museum of Jewish Heritage as a memorial to
the Holocaust. The installation consists of granite sculptures
that have been hollowed out and planted with small saplings.
The saplings were left to grow or die in the rock. This is where
Goldsworthy breaks from formalist theory and he makes repre-
sentations and put symbolic meanings in his work. The boulders
were chosen for both their aesthetic and their symbolic mean-
ing. The were removed from their land by farmers hundreds of
years ago, Goldsworthy compares “the continuation of the jour-
ney these stones have made. They have a history of movement,
struggle, and change” to the plight of the Jews of the Holocaust.
The saplings ability to live in the rock is also a metaphor that
relates to the Holocaust. Overall this is not Goldsworthy’s typical
work and really doesn’t embody the nature of the work he does
in nature. The Garden of Stones installation and the fact it is in a
gallery really does take away from the mediums that Goldswor-
thy works so strongly with. His gallery pieces in general do not
fell like “Art for the sake of art” instead they call out a different
slogan “Art for the sake of some other alternative motive.”

To put his art in perspective you really have to look at his out-
door nature work. This work is Goldsworthy’s strongest and
most formal. The best way to experience this work is to actu-
ally be there for the process and completion, but that is most
likely not possible. The next best thing is to watch Thomas
Riedelsheimer’s documentary Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldswor-
thy Working with Time. The documentary follows Goldsworthy’s
process of his ephemeral work. Riedelsheimer has Goldsworthy
narrate the film which gives the viewer a better understand-
ing of this process and his beliefs in the artwork. One scene in
particular shows Goldsworthy working on a beach building one
of his seed like stacked rock sculptures, he attempts the piece
fours times with each attempt ending in failure as the rocks fall
down. Then filled with intense disappointment he goes on to
describe the failure “…this is the fourth time it’s fallen. Each time
I got to know the stone a little bit more. It got higher each time.
It grew in proportion to my understanding of the stone. That is
really what my art is trying to do. I’m trying to understand the
stone.” That statement embodies the formalist theory, to put
focus on the medium and the understanding of the application
that medium. Through out the scene he is working with the
conditions of his medium (nature) to build the piece, he ac-
knowledges the ground he is working on, the impending ocean
tide that is coming in, and the use of the rocks he is building
with. There are many other examples that Riedelsheimer pre-
sents through out the film that strongly show the formalism of
Goldsworthy’s work.

Barrett does mention Riedelsheimer’s film, but then he focuses

on Goldsworthy gallery work. Riedelsheimer’s film gives the
best understanding of Goldsworthy’s work and how it applies
the formalist theory.

Conclusion

Goldsworthy can be called a formalist artist based on the work

that adequately represents him as an artist. Then again there
are more things to consider then the ability to fit into a certain
sect of art theory. Maybe the system is broken, and Goldswor-
thy’s work shows this. Maybe his work is more than “Art for the
sake of art.” Maybe there is no way to verbally describe his work.
Maybe the only way his art can communicate is through the
experience and not through a language that tries to give voice
to something that can not speak. Maybe that is exactly what
formalism is trying to be, not trying to define beauty, but to
experience it.
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