Midsummer Snowballs

Just after midnight on June 21, 2000, Midsummer Day, Andy Goldsworthy supervised the unloading of 13 huge snowballs from refrigerated trucks onto the streets of London. What took place as an astonished public came upon these snowballs--each several feet in diameter and weighing about a ton--is captured in spontaneous and evocative pictures taken by photographers working around the clock.

Here, then, is the story of Goldsworthy's largest ephemeral work to date. Made in one century and unwrapped to melt very slowly in the next, this is four-dimensional sculpture in which the lifespan and history of the snowballs are as important as their appearance at any moment. As Judith Collins explains in her introduction, and Goldsworthy in his diaries, this is a natural progression from his previous work with snow. Goldsworthy presents a unique confrontation between the wilderness and the city--snowballs made in the Scottish winter brought to the streets of London in the summertime.
More than 100 photographs in full color, 144 pages, 8 x 10"

Andy Goldsworthy's work is regularly exhibited in Britain, France, the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. His previous books include Abrams' Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature; Hand to Earth; Stone; Wood; Wall; and Time.
Judith Collins is former senior curator of British art, Tate Gallery, Modern, London.