Clay/ Worked into a Stone/ Edges to Catch the Passing Light/ Government Island, Virginia 16 - 2003

Andy Goldsworthy made this piece called 'Clay/ Worked into a Stone/ Edges to Catch the Passing Light' on Government Island in Virginia. Looking at this earthy, ephemeral sculpture, I can imagine Andy feeling and thinking about the stone. He's building something here, but also discovering it. It's like a form of drawing or painting, but with stone and clay instead of pigment. The clay is so malleable and the stone so unyielding, yet he coaxes them together to catch the light in this really beautiful way. The careful way the clay is worked into the stone reminds me of the earthworks of Robert Smithson and the land art movement, but with a more delicate touch, and a desire to create something tender and intimate. It’s not a monument, more like a whisper. What a lovely gesture.