dharmachris
dharmachris
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Autumn Leaves

Posted about 4 years ago
My favorite middle school art teacher and lunch partner "Zan":http://www.tesd.k12.pa.us/vfms/art/art_homepage.htm turned me on to the artist "Andy Goldsworthy":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthya few years ago, and his work resonated deeply within me from the moment I saw it. His book, "Time":http://www.amazon.com/Time-Andy-Goldsworthy/dp/0810944820/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196042583&sr=8-1, is a vast meditation on the transient nature of things, as he creates sculptures that disappear as the temperature rises or falls, or as the sea comes in to claim the cairn of stones he balances so carefully. So Friday I spent the day blowing leaves and mulching them all over the yard, turning the oak and beech leaves into small brown squares to replenish the soil, and save me the task of bagging over 40 trees worth of autumn color. The wind blew hard that night, and the next morning the brilliant yellow maple leaves had fallen around like some wild golden blanket. Feeling inspired after 3 cups of coffee, I spent maybe five minutes pushing a few yellow leaves around, to bring out the arc a little more, and snapped these two pictures. Someday I will get more ambitious and so something larger for that space…. Other Goldsworthy links: "Stormking Art Center, NY":http://www.stormking.orgMore of his work is online "here":http://www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk/
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Comments (17)

  1. Dzendvokh
    Dzendvokh says Great post chris, I love Goldsworthy, I'm sure you have seen "rivers and tides", but if you have not, it is definitely worth it. Probably seen it five or six times and I never really get bored of it. His work really is quite amazing. I like what you have done, the golden yellow radiating out from the dark vertical trunk. thanks
    Permalink posted 11/25/2007
  2. ivylander
    ivylander says Goldsworthy looks like someone who ought to be at Grounds For Sculpture, just south of Princeton, which is one of the most awe-inspiring places I know.
    Permalink posted 11/25/2007
  3. walkingthecow
    walkingthecow says i enjoyed this, especially on this cold morning.
    Permalink posted 11/26/2007
  4. dharmachris
    dharmachris says Dz: have not yet seen the DVD, but just put it on the top of my netflix Q. His book Time is incredible. And even cooler was that some of the things he did were completed in southwest PA, Dunbar specifically, which is quite close to my hometown. Bill- I will check out Grounds for Sculpture! Do they have rock type things? My wife has a burning desire for a big rock formation in our front yard. Personally, I would like some odd scrap metal sculpture that would frighten the deer and amuse the neighbors, but that's me. Rocks might be cheaper.
    Permalink posted 11/26/2007
  5. extraordinarypoems
    extraordinarypoems says That piece was so incredibly satisfying at this late hour of the work day. I am still in my office, but I closed the shades and shut my door and really absorbed this song. Thanks.
    Permalink posted 11/26/2007
  6. Dzendvokh
    Dzendvokh says Oooh, you are in for a treat with that doc.
    Permalink posted 11/26/2007
  7. ivylander
    ivylander says Chris, where you from in southwest PA?
    Permalink posted 11/27/2007
  8. dharmachris
    dharmachris says Scottdale, Westmoreland County (borders Fayette County). Small town Americana at its finest. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottdale,_Pennsylvania Home of the fighting Southmoreland Scottie Dogs. No lie. Birthplace of HC Frick, Andrew Carnegie's coke business partner. (For those not from coal country, coke is the product created from coal used in the production of steel. You can still see the beehive coke ovens in the Scottdale area today.) Are you from that area, Bill?
    Permalink posted 11/27/2007
  9. ivylander
    ivylander says Not exactly southwest - southcentral, more like. Was born in the now-sad burg of Lewistown (quite a lively industrial town when my dad was growing up there - at one point the second-larger producer of rayon of any place in the world). Grew up in State College, the crossroads of the Keystone State. Scottdale looks very cool.....
    Permalink posted 11/27/2007
  10. ivylander
    ivylander says Not exactly southwest - southcentral, more like. Was born in the now-sad burg of Lewistown (quite a lively industrial town when my dad was growing up there - at one point the second-larger producer of rayon of any place in the world). Grew up in State College, the crossroads of the Keystone State. Scottdale looks like the prototype for so many Pennsylvania towns (I just looked on their Chamber of Commerce site). I don't think any other place's towns look like ours.....
    Permalink posted 11/27/2007
  11. dharmachris
    dharmachris says It looks cool, but its a small town, with all the pros and cons that come with that. It was a good place to grow up, almost Norman Rockwell-like with my family and all. L But I escaped to State College for 4 wonderful years at PSU. I agree, PA has so many great small towns! Even the ones that have gotten bigger, like Downingtown, still have that core. The govt structure certainly encourages small towns here, what with how many hundreds of boroughs and townships. Even my current home, Strafford, is small towny in a lot of ways. A good friend who grew up in Dushore, Sullivan County (now that's small town!-- one stop light for the county!) who has lived in Maryland for 20 years still misses his Pennsy towns. My dream job is to be the small town principal of some quiet school where I don't have to say no a lot. Ah yess....
    Permalink posted 11/28/2007
  12. ivylander
    ivylander says Not to seem boastful, but we currently live in the second smallest borough in the state of Pennsylvania. I agree with you wholeheartedly.
    Permalink posted 11/28/2007
  13. dharmachris
    dharmachris says ahh.... Ivyland Borough...looks lovely! . I never knew where that was; did not realize you were so close to Willow Grove. Bucks and Montco confuse me still. When I coached debate at Lower Moreland we got lost almost every time we went to a match.
    Permalink posted 11/28/2007
  14. ivylander
    ivylander says You wouldn't lose against my daughter's high school, I suspect.
    Permalink posted 11/28/2007
  15. Girlcrawl
    Girlcrawl says Beautiful photos; lovely track. Cheers!
    Permalink posted 11/29/2007
  16. extraordinarypoems
    extraordinarypoems says What a great tune! I hated for it to be over. I'm glad a teacher had such an influence on you. I like to think that occasionally I might have such an impact; I've been a teacher for about ten years.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007
  17. Jonh Ingham
    Jonh Ingham says Andy Goldsworthy is fantastic. Nice to see your photos as 'inspired by', and the track is perfect for a cold dusky December evening.
    Permalink posted 12/03/2007

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