Leaning Into the Wind – Andy Goldsworthy
Description
In the past 10 years, San Francisco has been a stopover for acclaimed British artist Andy Goldsworthy, whose nature-driven artworks are ensconced in the Presidio and at the de Young Museum. What makes Goldsworthy tick? In the 2001 documentary Rivers and Tides (Festival 2002), Thomas Riedelsheimer followed Goldsworthy around to great effect, and Leaning Into the Wind is their collaborative sequel. Like their earlier production, the new film is a sensation for the eyes and ears that takes viewers into the hillsides, terrains, and other outdoor spaces where Goldsworthy feels most at home. It’s a way to examine the work anew—how nature informs it, guides it, and gives back, as Goldsworthy gives to it. But Leaning Into the Wind is also a journey into the artist’s maturing life and accompanying self-reflective thinking. Now 60, Goldsworthy is a bigger “name,” and institutions around the world commission him to work his magic. Riedelsheimer is there, for example, when Goldsworthy orchestrates one of his Presidio pieces, Tree Fall, which debuted in 2013. But the director is also on hand when Goldsworthy talks about his divorce from his wife, and hints at other difficulties. Goldsworthy questions his earlier assumptions about art, and gives more insight into his hands-on process. The work always carries Goldsworthy forward. So, too, does his eternal joy and wonder. –Jonathan Curiel
Thomas Riedelsheimer specializes in stories of artists who defy convention and easy classification. His 2012 documentary, Breathing Earth, profiled Japanese sculptor Susumu Shingu, whose works adapt to the wind around them. In 2004’s Touch the Sound, Riedelsheimer hung out with deaf Scottish drummer Evelyn Glennie. Riedelsheimer’s Rivers and Tides won the Golden Gate Award for best documentary feature at the 2002 San Francisco International Film Festival. Among his other honors is a 2008 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Scotland award for Alison Watt – A Painter’s Eye.
Film Details
Language English
Year 2017
Premiere World
Runtime 92
Country UK
Director Thomas Riedelsheimer
Producer Leslie Hills, Stefan Tolz
Editor Thomas Riedelsheimer
Cinematographer Thomas Riedelsheimer
Music Fred Frith