This clip from Andy Goldsworthy’s “Rivers and Tides” is the first of many posts that will highlight connections between culture and the environment. Enjoy!

Goldsworthy’s work plays with a number of tensions that exemplify dominant interpretations of both art and the environment. For example, his work is often impermanent. This trait allows both artist and observer to appreciate the act of creating art, and not just the art itself. Second, his work, most often done in “natural” outdoor settings (though his work is in a number of outdoor installations) also forces the observer to question the very definition of environment–is his work in “nature”? Is it natural? Can something created by humans still be called “natural”? Is natural beauty spoiled or lessened when touched by human hands? These are just a sample of the issues that Goldsworthy’s (and many other artists’) work pull out of the socially constructed categories of art and nature, and will be addressed frequently in this blog..