This past weekend I was privileged to hear the sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy, talk about his work and the new installation of a wall he constructed locally. He began by talking about the first wall he built over thirty years ago, and told us it had been created in Scotland on land he leased from a farmer. It was built out of necessity. The farmer wanted a wall to contain his sheep and as a condition of leasing the land, Andy agreed to build the wall. But he did it while being acutely aware of the social nature of the landscape, and as a result he wanted the wall to have “give and take”. Therefore instead of dividing the property by building a wall straight down the middle, he literally created one that required a physical giving and taking of the land.
Eventually his work evolved to the creation of stone sculptures, and working in stone made him consider the geological and human passage of time. He cited two examples of that interplay. First, he described to us the meticulously maintained wall he built at Storm King in New York, and talked of it as perhaps being loved a bit too much. He then recalled one of his first projects, built long ago in Scotland, and how it had been largely ignored and was now overgrown and had taken on a life of its own. He described it as “a bit refreshing”. He seemed to like the idea that what were once new seedlings had now become trees, and other forest elements and animals had taken up residence in the wall.
It seems to me that both walls represent the next generation. One adheres strictly to its immediate forbears and strives to continue its traditions, and the other, more of a free spirit, grows in tandem with nature.
Both are supported by their undulating walls….Co-parenting is a “give and take”.
