S. Worthen | Weblog

What a lovely, lovely story! I've never met him, but my parents spent a fair amount of time with him in May/June when he was in Des Moines to work on a permanent installation there (in conjunction with 2 museums of the coasts of the US). It's a series of 3 cairns (one at each site) and mold/niches which mimic the outline of each at the central site. He also did several gallery installations there which were still up when I was home the other week: an amazing screen of cattail reeds, pinned together with Scottish thorns, made into a enormous gate-like screen, very airy, erratic, and spacious. This is part of why my parents had the books handy at home.

But the real and more personal part of the story is that Andy Goldsworthy and his family were coming back in late June/early July to complete the installation, just when my parents were going to be abroad for a few weeks. So he effectively housesat for them, staying in their/my house for a few weeks while they were away. I'm told he did a temporary piece on a tree just outside our side door, but I've not seen photographs. So even only knowing his work from the few installations at the Art Center in DM and his books, I know he stayed in my house for a bit this summer. (My parents work in the art world, my mother as a curator at the same museum - thus the connection).

But your story has more whimsy and delight to it. I hope to run across some of his temporary works someday in situ.