True Film: River and Tides

Artists at work

River and Tides

One of the best films about art, by one of our best living artists. Drift in and out of the dreams of Andy Goldsworthy as he summons a cornucopia of temporary monuments -- an arc of icicles, a train of flowers, a hive of sticks -- from bits of leaves, twigs, rocks, ice and mud. He makes things you could easily make -- if only you saw the world as he does. By the end of this beautifully lyrical film, you DO begin to share Goldsworthy mystical vision of a world swimming in energy and flows. My favorite moment: when he despairs as his painstakingly constructed pieces fail before they are finished. But a little later, after he tries again, he watches in boyish glee as they naturally fall apart. There's an angelic sweetness about that switch.

(Since Goldsworthy sees his photographs of his creations as essential to his art, a gallery of his best work is available in several books. The best one to start with is Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature.)

-- KK

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