Blog Task - Andy Goldsworthy
Wednesday, March 28, 2012♥
9:14 PM

"People do not realise that many of my works are done in urban places. I was brought up on the edge of Leeds, five miles from the city centre-on one side were fields and on the other, the city”.Andy Goldsworthy.
Use the quote given above to find, describe and analyse a piece of Andy Goldsworthy’s work, that would ‘fit’ in Singapore.

Chosen artwork:

Leaves polished, greased made in the shadow of the tree from which they fell, pinned to the ground with thorns.
Le jardin Massey, Tarbes, France,
22 August 1989

First, let me explain why I chose this work.
The first moment I laid eyes on this, I certainly knew it could 'fit' Singapore. Why? Because it has this sense of familiarity when I look at it. Singapore, as a tropical country that provides best conditions for floral and fauna, grassy, forest-y areas in Singapore certainly exist such as the Botanic Gardens and Mac Ritchie reservoir. Furthermore, I have also seen leaves quite similar to that in the artwork, similar shapes as well as shade of the leaves. These grassy patches are also commonplace in Singapore. Hence if we were to reproduce such a work in Singapore, it'd definitely be possible!

Description :

This work mainly depicts brown leaves splayed on a grass patch strategically to form a spiral composition. Some leaves are first placed flat on the ground before another leaf, slightly rolled up is placed above it. The grass patch is a predominantly earthy green shade while the leaves are a warm shade of brown providing contrast. As mentioned in the title of the work, the leaves are greased, hence allowing more light to reflect off the leaves to create a polished and smooth effect. Aside from that, the spiral also creates a vanishing point right in the center of the spiral. Overall, the work has a balanced composition with the spiral as the main subject matter.

Aanalysis :

The artist had made good use of the manipulation of the leaves from merely splaying it down flat and coiling them. From doing so, different effects are created. While the leaves lay flat on the ground seem mundane, the coiled up leaves seem to protrude from the ground, thus having more defined shadows and highlights to define the shape of the spiral. The viewer's eyes are also instantly drawn towards the spiral created by the coiled up leaves.
Upon scrutiny, we can also see that the artist had tried to make use of the different shades of brown on the leaves in the artwork. He alternated a lighter and darker shade of the leaves for the coiled up portion of the leaf in order to make the work more dynamic.
The grease used on the leaves also provides a shine for the leaves, making the leaves look smoother. This in turn provides a contrast in texture against the smooth and shiny leaves against the dull grassy background.
In order to fix the leaves on the ground, the artist also uses thorns, an organic material most likely obtained from the surrounding environment. This is meaningful as this makes the artwork purely organic without using any modern tools in its execution, making it a truly organic artwork.
The fact that it had been placed under the tree of which it had fell out of also provides a deeper meaning for this work as this makes it site specific.


Discuss this work in relation to another named work by another artist that operates in a similar way.

While I see some connection of Synthetic Cubism in this work, I think Henri Matisse with his collage/cut outs has a greater relation towards this work.

PANEL WITH MASK

110 x 53 cm.
gouache and cut out paper
Danske Kunst industrimuseet, Copenhagen
1947

LA PERRUCHE ET LA SIRENE

guouace on paper cut and pasted
337 x 768.5 cm.
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
1952





Henri Matisse, like Andy Goldsworthy were both interested in organic forms. This is clearly depicted from their use of subject matter where Goldsworthy had used real organic leaves in his works, Matisse had made use of paper cut outs which are in abstract forms of flora/fauna.
Though both artists have very different styles in their art, along with the altogether difference in uses of medium, composition etc., we can still identify the similarities in the way that they operate.
Neither of them had used any form or drawing or paintings in this series of works, rather, they used existing shapes (In Matisse's case, after cutting) and played around with their composition to achieve their desired result.



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