formality and to use the planted elements to complement
the built ones. Often trees are employed along with
shrubs and ground-cover planting. These three layers of
landscape are usually designed to act together, especially
in city parks. The shape of leaf, colour and texture of
foliage contribute much towards the visual effect, and can
be highlighted in a sketch. In more urban situations trees
are mixed with paving, and here the contrast between the
gnarled trunks of ancient trees and the smoother surfaces
of brick or stone is deliberately exploited. Whether as an
amateur artist or as a professional designer, it is worth
searching out such details and learning to use them.
UNDERSTANDING ANDY GOLDSWORTHY
THROUGH DRAWING
A number of artists work in the media of landscape, such
as Andy Goldsworthy whose installations at the Yorkshire
Sculpture Park are explored here. Landscapes are pri-
marily man-made and hence lend themselves to analysis
through drawing, particularly when artists and sculptors
intervene in interesting ways. Goldsworthy’s art engages
directly with nature, producing work in the countryside
that draws upon ecological understandings, local
materials and cultural references. Using dry stone walls,
ambiguous holes, woven branches, twigs and leaves,
Goldsworthy produces sculpture of great beauty whilst
also engaging the viewer in questions of sustainability.
Sketching the landforms and installations created by
Goldsworthy helps bring the structural properties of his
work into greater focus. There is considerable under-
standing of engineering and craft in his work, especially
that placed directly in the landscape rather than in a
gallery context. With Goldsworthy, the structural
solutions employed borrow directly from constructions
found in nature, such as the weaving of birds’ nests or the
suspension of spiders’ webs. However, in the exploitation
of familiar natural phenomena, Goldsworthy adds local
cultural and craft references, which anchor his work into
specific locations. In bringing together nature, craft and
indigenous materials, Goldsworthy is making a statement
about the particular as against the universal – an arena in
which architects are also much engaged.
Recording Goldsworthy’s often ephemeral work via
the sketchbook is a departure from the usual
documentation via the camera lens. As mentioned before,
the process of sketching forces the student to explore
beneath the surface whilst also providing the opportunity
to modify the drawing in order to enhance the learning
experience. This is particularly pertinent in an analysis of
Goldsworthy’s land art, where the surface structures
reflect deeper intellectual investigations by the artist.
Bringing these into focus by drawing helps the student to
understand his art at two main levels. First, there are the
practical areas such as the materials, crafts and structural
techniques used to realise what are often large
constructions built to withstand the harsh realities of the
outdoor world. Second, there are the artistic aspirations,
values and working principles followed by the artist.
Through sketching, Goldsworthy’s use of geometry and
space becomes clearer, especially the play of circle and
square, and straight and serpentine line, which recur in
his art at different scales.
All of Goldsworthy’s work can be explored via the
sketchbook. However, his large site-specific sculptures,
which address themes of nature and time, holes and
layering, cracking and stability, lend themselves to
analysis through drawing better than his smaller gallery
works. The conceptual journeys undertaken by artists
working in the medium of landscape art from
Goldsworthy to Richard Long and Ian Hamilton Finlay are
often concerned with time, space and construction – the
very issues faced by architects. Drawing encourages
these parallels to be explored, perhaps in the process
enriching future architectural practice.150 Understanding architecture through drawing