Riffs: Katie Swetman

Katie Swetman

Art director, Maxon Media

On Andy Goldsworthy

“What moves me most is nature and this incredible earth that we inhabit. It is my constant source of inspiration. Andy Goldsworthy is an environmental sculptor and photographer whose work often rapidly disintegrates due to his cast of materials—leaves, ice, snow, rocks and wood. Watching the documentary Rivers and Tides, I was moved to tears as a nest of driftwood that he had so painstakingly assembled was swallowed by the tide right before his eyes. I thought, ‘How can he stand it? All that work for just a moment in time captured as quickly as possible by photograph, then so much of it disappears.’

I realized that Goldsworthy takes as much delight in the piece coming undone as he does putting it together. He says in the film, ‘It feels like it is being taken off into another world….It doesn’t feel at all like destruction.’

The combination of the artist’s meticulous creations and the way nature comes to erase each piece is such a metaphor for life to me. We work so hard to build and sculpt our ideal life, and no matter what tactics we try, we all become part of the earth again one day. Our work, our possessions, even our bodies will at some point leave us, and Goldsworthy’s work is a reminder of how precious each moment really is with the people and things we care about. Our lives are full of surprising hellos and beautiful goodbyes, and I believe Goldsworthy captures the essence of those fleeting moments in such a gorgeous way.”