Tuesday 2 April 2013

Andy Goldsworthy - Floating Plant Materials

While I'm still focusing on the Land Art artist Andy Goldsworthy, I'd like to present two smaller works that I feel are particularly interesting from an ikebana perspective. In both cases water is as an important   component in the work.


This first work with Iris leaves and rowen berries is floating on the surface and also has a fleeting character - when the water moves it will probably disintegrate quite quickly.

My first thought when I saw this work was that It could very well have been made by an ikebana artist. Any Sogetsu ikebana practitioner would recognize it as an ukibana, a floating flower arrangement, which is a special category of ikebana. This particular work would be a typical abstract free style arrangement, using mass and line as well as contrasting colours. Iris leaves is a material often used in ikebana, and a material with a deep symbolic meaning.


The second work is not floating, but it uses the reflection of the water to complete the shape. This work also uses clean lines, but in this case curved or circular lines which is also much used in ikebana. By repeating the geometric form asymmetrically a rhythmic movement is created. It looks like the material is some kind of water plant or it could be split bamboo.

I hope you have enjoyed my stop in the world of Andy Goldsworthy. If you want to see more there are a lot of videos on YouTube. You can even see a full version of the award winning documentary Rivers and Tides about Goldsworthy and his work.

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