The middle of the woods might be the last place you'd expect to see an art installation or a sculpture. There's the artistry of nature, of course, but as for human-made artwork? That's a little less common.
Unless, of course, you're talking about the artwork of Andy Goldsworthy. This British artist doesn't use paints or pencils to create his art, nor does he create it on paper or in a gallery.
He uses items he finds in nature and simply rearranges them a bit, but the results turn the ordinary world into a suddenly magical one.
Using nature as inspiration and as material is something people all over the world enjoy, like the artist who creates complex forms using flowers and leaves.
And it shows us that artistic talent isn't all about drawing something as realistically as possible. It's simply about helping people see the world a little differently.
Using leaves, twigs, rocks, and other foraged material, Goldsworthy turns the things we overlook, like tree roots, puddles, and the ground itself, into stunning art pieces that remind us how amazing nature really is.
[H/T: BoredPanda, Ufunk]
Using only what he finds in the area, Andy Goldsworthy creates meticulously arranged, but ultimately temporary, art pieces that he then photographs for posterity.
He uses these natural materials to explore ideas of fragility, change, and time.
And what do you call this? Goldsworthy calls it "land art."
They also have the effect of making the everyday settings of the woods and fields around his home in Scotland suddenly seem full of unexpected magic.
These tree roots, for example, look like they're glowing, but it's really just how Goldsworthy arranged differently colored leaves.
Arranged like this, the leaves seem almost too bright to be real.
But scattered around naturally, many people overlook how vibrant they really are. It's only in an artificial arrangement like this that you truly notice their color.
By rearranging familiar objects, he makes us look at them in a new way, and see how beautiful they really are.
And leaves aren't all he works with. And he's also not afraid of getting a little wet and muddy to complete a piece.
While leaves are colorful, stones and sticks also make great materials, and Goldsworthy arranges them just as meticulously.
Of course, they won't last. But that's part of the piece, too. As the pieces change with time and weather, they change shape, color, and texture, becoming new pieces by the day before fading back into the landscape.
But like anything that decays, it's also not really gone. "When I make something," Goldsworthy explains, "…it may vanish, but it's part of the history of these places."
So while his art might not exist in the form he created, it still exists in a way, just like everything else that decays on the forest floor.
So while working with material that won't last makes Goldsworthy aware of the impermanence of things on Earth, it also makes him remember that the past will still linger in some form.
His pieces also call to mind the spooky and supernatural legends that often take place in the woods, where mysterious creatures leave traces of themselves in strange, geometric forms.
And his work also gives a sudden personality to the rocks, twigs, and leaves, that other people might pass by without a second thought.
