Todd Gehman
Seattle
Wishy-Washy — 3 years ago
I guess Goldsworthy’s work is interesting in that it’s visually appealing, and I guess his process is interesting because it’s so labor-intensive and ephemeral. It’s often clever in its application of available material and color. The documentary is beautifully shot and well edited, so as a film object it stands up and is worth watching. But I found Goldsworthy a rather bland character whose art wasn’t really inspired or inspiring, it was merely pretty. Meanwhile, he gets interviewed throughout the feature length flick, expounding on rather inane and redundant theories about his connection to the land and so forth. If you can stomach someone saying “I don’t think that the Earth needs me at all, but I do need it” as if it’s a profundity, you might like Goldsworthy, because that’s the kind of thing he always says. At one point he explains that he finds people draining, but I can imagine that it really works the other way around, at least with regard to ironical city folk like myself. But, hell, you might adore unwavering earnestness. If you do, or you find more inspiration in his work than I did, I promise you that this film is a well-made must-see.







