Just a few of dozens of high points in the book:

- A graceful circle on the ground, created with brown leaves on the outer perimeter, warming to red, then orange, then yellow leaves toward the center;

- A "slate crack line" created when Goldsworthy carefully arranged pieces of slate so that the edges formed a seeming "crack" in the pile;

- Three "statues" made of balanced ovoid rocks in the middle of a snow-covered stream, each appearing to be something like well-rounded Giacomettis;

- A snowball eerily suspended in and supported by the trees which surround it;

- A rectangle of snow, in the middle of which Goldsworthy has carefully carved concentric, successively shallower circles so that the light gleams from the center but gets dimmer and dimmer with each larger circle;

- A sycamore branch placed on a bed of snow, juxtaposed with the same sycamore branch stripped of bark and placed on a bed of leaves--the first is dark against white, and the second is white against dark;

- An arching series of ice triangles, each of which has been painstakingly stuck to the next and balanced on a moss-covered rock--this looks almost like a glass wing of some sort.

I could go on and on by covering every single page in the book, but I'll leave it to you to find out for yourself what a visual feast Goldsworthy provides for the eyes--and what interesting mental exercise he provides for the mind of the observant viewer.


The Earth that we forgot   May 4, 2000
 51 out of 53 found this review helpful

Goldsworthy takes utterly mundane natural materials - leaves, sticks, stones, ice, grass, flowers - and alters them in ways that don't quite change them, but simply make us take notice. Like a reviewer below noticed, the artist takes what is already there - he neither creates the icicle, nor does he cultivate the leaf. However, that is not what Goldsworthy mission is - he collaborates. He reorganizes nature into forms we haven't yet seen, forms which are so delicate, simple, and natural, that they draw us us to examine them, to see why these mundane things are so new, so vivid, so beautiful, and to once more discover the simple miracles of nature. After all, the only reason we don't see how enchanting the Earth around us is that we simply forgot about it. This book is enough to make us remember.


A remarkable merging of vision and patience, art and nature.   February 19, 1999
 33 out of 33 found this review helpful

The work of Andy Goldsworthy is an inspirational meditation. He begins by going into nature and observing what is already there -- the subtleties of colors, the slight variance between similar rocks or twigs or leaves, the light and the texture. He then patiently creates each sculpture, laying a sense of order where none had been before.

Most inspirational to my soul is how he couples his artistic vision of the beauty intrinsic in nature, coupled with his patience to modify and follow through. He shows us what is possible if we can imagine it, can think through how it should be done, and have the patience to work with nature to create it.

Some pieces take him days of collecting rocks, or sorting leaves by color, or patiently allowing one icicle to freeze to another. Sometimes his work is lost to wind or animals or the sun and he must start over. But he continues on to build the structure and the order that he sees in his mind's eye, working within nature, and creating something that is almost supernatural.

Each person I've shown this book to has been absorbed and amazed. It's the one I give as gifts so spread the word of the work of Andy Goldsworthy.


Goldsworthy, Gold worthy.   February 18, 2003
 17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I purchased this book when I was at the Grounds for Sculpture in New Jersey. Goldsworthy has always been one of my "heros" but I had know idea he had books! I had seen his work in my old sculpture text and a documentary. This book was instantly part of my "treasured art text" library. The photography is superb. A wonderful match to Goldsworthys work. The text is an eloquent and sometimes contemplative commentary by the artist. I have no idea why it never occurred to me that the artist would document his work in book form! Little slow on the uptake for this reader. I immediately looked online line and purchased several more Goldsworthy books for my library. Surprisingly enough, I got a few good deals on used books. Who would part with them. A good deal on the price or not, if you love Goldsworthy, enviromental art or just want to see some vivid breathtaking photography, this is one of the best.


WOW!   June 8, 2004
 16 out of 17 found this review helpful

This book is truely inspirational. It is one you will go back to time and again. It is soothing when you feel stressed. I would not part with it. It makes a great gift for anyone who appreciates nature or art.