Product Description: Just after midnight on June 21, 2000, Midsummer Day, Andy Goldsworthy supervised the unloading of 13 huge snowballs from refrigerated trucks onto the streets of London. What took place as an astonished public came upon these snowballs--each several feet in diameter and weighing about a ton--is captured in spontaneous and evocative pictures taken by photographers working around the clock.
Here, then, is the story of Goldsworthy's largest ephemeral work to date. Made in one century and unwrapped to melt very slowly in the next, this is four-dimensional sculpture in which the lifespan and history of the snowballs are as important as their appearance at any moment. As Judith Collins explains in her introduction, and Goldsworthy in his diaries, this is a natural progression from his previous work with snow. Goldsworthy presents a unique confrontation between the wilderness and the city--snowballs made in the Scottish winter brought to the streets of London in the summertime. More than 100 photographs in full color, 144 pages, 8 x 10"
Amazon.com Review: Throughout time artists have been making art about the landscape. In Midsummer Snowballs, Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy makes art from the landscape and dramatically unleashes it upon the city. Over the winter months in Scotland, Goldsworthy assembled 13 enormous one-ton snowballs and placed them in cold storage. One summer night, he released them onto the streets of London's financial district. Londoners awoke to startling winter sculptures on their sunny sidewalks. The snowballs were filled with a variety of elements, from feathers, seeds, and pinecones to rusted metal. The element of surprise continued as the warm summer air melted the sculptures and slowly revealed their insides to the passing public. Goldsworthy, whose career has been focused on making art in nature, creates beautiful and meaningful moments with these snow pieces. The sculptures highlight each viewer's relationship to public art, from hostility to wonder, as well as the connection between the city and the countryside. The book includes a straightforward, diary-like essay on the workings of the entire project, setbacks and all. With 280 full color photographs, it is a truly lovely and inspiring book. --J.P. Cohen
midsummer snowballs An excellent overveiw of an Andy Goldsworthy project. Great Huge Images to get your teeth into.
A bizzarre and wonderful concept... Midsummer Snowballs. The very idea puts a smile on your face. If that doesn't, then a few photographs of this Summer 2000 exhibition by Andy Goldsworthy will.
This book is a photo essay and journal entries on the creation of this facinating exhibition. I was enticed by the photos, and then had to go back and read the journal to learn more about the creation of this display. A highly enjoyable, but light read by the artist. A great book to give to other people, since it's very unlikely they'd ever buy it for themselves.