The rivers and tides

The rivers and tides

Andy Golds worthy's art is supposed to fall apart. He creates large-scale outdoor sculptures and artworks out of natural materials like mud, wood, ice and stone in an attempt to imbue the physical world with a spiritual, ephemeral element. Director Thomas Riedelsheimer follows Golds worthy as he constructs his art everywhere from upstate New York to his home village in Scotland, and questions the solitary artist about his inspirations, frustrations and artistic goals.
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Rivers and Tides is a 2001 documentary film directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer about the British artist Andy Golds worthy, who creates intricate and ephemeral sculptures from natural materials such as rocks, leaves, flowers, and icicles.


luscious sculptures entirely out of things he finds in nature — stones, twigs, leaves, plant stalks, clay, ice, snow. In this meditative 90-minute documentary by Thomas Riedelsheimer, Golds worthy is seen working on new creations as he explains his philosophy that brings together a Zen-like appreciation of the natural world, a deeply felt connection with the Earth and all its thousand things, a fascination with time and the ephemeral existence of objects, a respect for place and all the marvels discovered within a space that one knows intimately, and a yearning to explore the energy that is running through the landscape. Sometimes his works change before our eyes and even pass away before we have savored all their mystery and magic. But to the artist, this is all part of the process.

"Art for me is a form of nourishment," Golds worthy says, and we see what he means as he begins to assemble his earthwork arrangements. Arriving for a new commission in Nova Scotia, he has only a little time to familiarize himself with the seaside terrain. Still, he establishes a camaraderie with the natural world: "I've shook hands with the place," he declares as he begins to work on an icicle sculpture that fits perfectly with the chilly and desolate milieu. Golds worthy respects the processes of life and death reflected in nature. As the sun illuminates the finished sculpture, he notes, "The very thing that brought it to life, will bring about its death." This is only one of the many spiritual insights emerging from his art