Pass the Popcorn

Politics aside, tonight I sat down with my knitting in hand (lace socks) and watched the documentary Rivers and Tides, about the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. If you aren't familiar with his work, look it up. There are actually a number of very expensive coffee table books with gorgeous photos of his work. He works with all natural materials, creating artwork that, more often than not, is only temporary. Not only are the materials taken directly from nature, but the forms that he uses echo nature's flow (as he likes to call it.)

The film follows him as he creates and talks about his art. I liked the scene where he is at home with his wife and a passel of children (the man is prolific in all ways, I guess), then he kisses them good-bye and heads out into the streets of his Scottish village to collect dandelions from the neighbors' yards and the roadsides. Next we see him at the side of a stream, perched on some rocks, placing the dandelions in the water. Finally the camera pulls back so we can see the flow of the stream and, off to one side, a large vibrant yellow circle. It is a hole, several feet across, that the stream has carved into the rock and Goldsworthy has filled it with dandelion blossoms. Lovely.

I have to comment on the role his wife must play in his creative efforts. Clearly someone is staying home and taking care of all of those young kids while Andy is out creating art from icicles! And someone must launder his muddy jeans at the end of the day. Not to belittle either of them, but it seems like behind every artist, someone is keeping the home fires burning and hopefully gets some credit for it.

If you're looking for excitement and it's a choice between Jackie Chan and this, get the Jackie Chan. But if you're feeling introspective and want to watch something quite beautiful, unique and inspiring, this is a very good movie. You'll be out making towers of rocks in no time!