24' Diameter, Just Under 6' High 

Curator: Andy Goldsworthy's piece, "24' Diameter, Just Under 6' High", presents an almost architectural blueprint, realized through the simple, direct means of pencil on paper. Editor: My first impression is of an ordered and quiet energy—a contained, deliberate explosion about to happen within those drawn confines. Curator: Goldsworthy often intertwines geometric shapes with organic materials and elements. It is rendered with clear architectural leanings: a plan view of a flattened dome sits atop an elevational representation of the same dome. Considering this artwork, what observations can you share about its structure? Editor: Absolutely. It immediately draws attention to its repetitive nature, emphasizing the meticulous, almost meditative process. He highlights what I would interpret as stone construction through the detailed arrangement of individual components—bricks or stones—revealing both the structural integrity and material origins of his architectural ideas. I imagine a team building a stone enclosure, placing each stone. Curator: The choice of pencil as the medium is crucial; the apparent rawness contrasts with what could otherwise be quite a sterile and technical representation. Editor: Agreed. This tension also manifests in the way Goldsworthy plays with geometric perfection and handmade mark-making, which serves to remind viewers of the artist’s presence in, and labor on, its creation. Curator: From a historical context, such planning is intriguing when considering the artist’s other sculptural projects. Many were designed only to last a short while before being broken apart and eroded, sometimes on a daily basis. What is your impression? Editor: It certainly introduces a poignant contrast. By committing this design to paper, it acquires a permanence starkly different from Goldsworthy's ephemeral constructions. Its very form acts as a challenge to the temporal constraints typically imposed on his work by the surrounding landscape. Curator: Reflecting on this, it showcases Goldsworthy’s fascination with both the raw physicality of materials and the conceptual framework that dictates his interventions. Editor: Indeed. This offers a lasting document that reveals more complex implications about what lasts.