Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Andy Goldsworthy... land artist



For those of you who have never seen the work of British native, Andy Goldsworthy you are in for an insightful glimpse of an artist's mind.
  His documentary, Rivers and Tides is on Youtube.com in 9 parts and you can get a very good idea of what he does so masterfully and why he is one of the most prominent non-American practitioners of Land Art.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_art

Long appreciated by the French, Goldsworthy is continuing his efforts in the area of Haut Provence, in fact in our own back yard at Digne-les-Bains, which has fast become a city noted for  patronage of artists. 

My friend Bruce Bethany spotted this article from the Financial Times which gives you a good idea of the installations and what the project will entail.  http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/64f7ab4c-e858-11e1-8ffc-00144feab49a.html#axzz26FScX0Tr

Apparently, Goldsworthy is extending his work of the "Sentinelles"  the giant pine cones started ten years ago and linking them to an elliptical 90 mile hiking trail which one can enjoy over stages.   Along the way he is restoring  abandoned buildings and ruined chapels as way stations of art he calls "Refuges".   With these new additions to the project, there is now more Andy Goldsworthy art in the Alpes Maritimes region of France than anywhere else in the world.


The most romantic way to go from Nice to Dignes Les Bains is by le train des Pignes , a small one track train that runs from Place de Liberation  in Nice through several mountain towns and terminating at Digne .  The only problem with this method is that by the time the train stops at all the villages along the way you have little time to enjoy Digne before the last train takes you back.   



                                                                           flicker.com
                                                 
And I can say as an aside, that just sitting in the Notre Dame du Bourg Cathedral(secondary cathedral of Digne) is worth a trip.  You will need to set aside some time to sit and meditate in this favorite of mine. 

 I have already convinced Jeanne that she needs a trip up to see what Digne has in store for art lover's.   After a visit to the town , we will plan our hikes into Goldsworthy's world.   And this time I will take my hiking boots.  

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