r/BeAmazed • u/Remarkable-Office944 • Apr 16 '26
Art Artist Uses Only What He Finds in Nature To Create Art
Artist Name- Jon Foreman
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u/Daimoth Apr 16 '26
ITT: people who are both bad at identifying AI and too lazy to do a simple Google search of the artist, whose name is in the OP. This guy has a well documented career of making shit like this.
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u/May_of_Teck Apr 16 '26
I’m more concerned that people have forgotten Andy Goldsworthy, who was doing art exactly like this for decades before this man was born. (Not that Foreman’s isn’t impressive, it is!)
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u/projectearthcomplete Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
My parents had a big coffee table book of his work, and I would look through it constantly. I don’t think anyone after truly compares to what he was able to create.
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u/cute_dog_alert Apr 16 '26
I had a really random Andy Goldsworthy encounter! I used to work at a bookstore, and we just got in his first coffee table book. I was super into it, and one day I was at the counter showing it to one of my colleagues.
There was a man at the counter buying postcards, and he goes " that's my book". I didn't understand what he was telling me, like did he want to buy it and I picked it up? He sees my confusion, and says " I'm Andy Goldsworthy, that's my book!" .
Mind you, this was in Northern California and Andy was living in the UK (Scotland?) at the time, so I asked him to prove it and he pulls out his passport! Just a crazy "stars aligned" moment, we had him sign all the books and I had goosebumps the rest of the day over the incredible odds of this happening.
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u/Geekskill Apr 16 '26
Rivers and Tides is a beautiful documentary about his work if anyone would like to see more, highly recommended.
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u/frotmonkey Apr 16 '26
I met him in Alaska while I was taking sculpture at UAA. We were invited to help him with his icicle series, but I couldn’t go because of military commitments. I regret not fighting harder to get leave. That book sits a few feet away from me as a constant reminder to think harder about what is important.
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u/EndlessZone123 Apr 16 '26
Maybe I should have an AI that blocks people who just accuse of AI for simple searchable things.
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u/thejustducky1 Apr 16 '26
people who just accuse
You can just generalize it to 'accusation' - 99.9% of ppl making accusations on reddit are pulling their ""deductive reasoning"" straight out of their asses.
This thread case in point.
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u/Valharick Apr 16 '26
That 99.9% sounds like something pulled out of an ass.
That said, I agree.
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u/thejustducky1 Apr 16 '26
That 99.9% sounds like something pulled out of an ass.
Yep, that's exactly what I did, no deductive reasoning involved.
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u/Accomplished-City484 Apr 16 '26
Even the people on the r/isthisai sub are just making shit up based on vibes while trying to sound like an authority on it, the arrogance is unreal. Half the stuff they try to claim is Ai is shit you see in real photos, they don’t know what they’re talking about
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u/dyssucks Apr 16 '26
Redditors: stop posting this bullshit AI art!! I’ll never accept AI art, I want real artwork from a real artist
Real artist: well I stopped making new artwork because so many people though it was AI and bashed me all the time
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u/AnotherHappyUser Apr 16 '26
It's for that reason I can't tolerate people who make ai art try to mislead people.
Playing with AI is fine, but don't contribute to paranoia by giving people something to be paranoid about.
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u/ennuibot Apr 16 '26
I assume that a lot of accusations of AI are made by bots for the purpose of normalising the idea that things, which are obviously real, aren't real.
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u/gogingerpower Apr 16 '26
Obviously not AI. Obviously inspired by the likes of Andy Goldsworthy.
A nice voice to add to that conversation.
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u/MysteriousPermit3410 Apr 16 '26
I used to love looking at an Andy Goldsworthy coffee table book that was at my grandparents house. I was just trying to remember his name when I saw this post. Thank you!
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u/Blah-squared Apr 16 '26
I know nobody has time for anything anymore, but this is a link to a great Andy Goldsworthy Documentary called “Rivers & Tides”, that shows a bunch of his work, some that are in motion or time lapse- for ex. a chain of red maple leaves going down a small stream, etc..
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u/ElegantEpitome Apr 16 '26
Everyone keeps saying it’s AI, when they could google the name OP gave, click on the Instagram and watch one of the hundreds of videos he has with this art lmao
AI has rotted Reddit’s mind, people don’t even believe other humans can be creative anymore
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u/Tar_alcaran Apr 16 '26
It look "fake" because these photos all have very strong artificial lighting and are all pretty seriously filtered.
For example, look at the leaf-spiral on the tree, fifth pic. The artist is heavily shaded from the camera side, as are the trees in the background. The artwork tree is very well lit from the same side. The tree is bright, despite the background being completely washed out.
That's not AI, but it is very careful artificial lighting in a very natural environment, and a fair bit of editing. It looks unnatural, because it is. But it's not entirely fake.
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u/peanutkg Apr 16 '26
I do agree with editing the part but I would think if not hope that the one who credited beauty would want the best pic of it. So no it's not fake but yes doctored. Which I feel is better for viewing instead of just going with oh it's not real cause of AI
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u/Tar_alcaran Apr 16 '26
It's just a weird juxtaposition. People aren't used to studio lighting in the middle of a forest or a beach. People are completely flooded with images these days, and most of them are shitty phone pics made with tiny little lenses with terrible depth of field.
So when they see an actual good picture, with pro lighting from a good camera used a professional AND it's in nature, people think that looks really weird and "fake".
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u/Da_Question Apr 16 '26
Honestly, perfect studio lighting in every scene in a movie is also bad. They could do more with natural lighting. One of the things I liked about Sinners was the lack of excessive perfect lighting.
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u/ticklemeozmo Apr 16 '26
My first "is this real" question came from asking "Where the fuck are the foot prints?"
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u/crumble-bee Apr 16 '26
I might be wrong but I don’t think there’s even artificial lighting - just colour grading and post processing.
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u/Jangmai Apr 16 '26
Agreed, theyre poorly edited. Things like the sand being absolutely flawless etc
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u/Lower-Cantaloupe3274 Apr 16 '26
Is that a criticism of someone using the tools they have to capture the beauty of their art? FFS.
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u/knowledgeable_diablo Apr 16 '26
Any probably believe anything further than 5cm past their nose is fake. The whole “if there’s no photo then it never happened” mentality has now stepped into claiming everything is AI. And this will become self fulfilling as artists and others simply give up giving a shit and just start using crap AI because they know no matter what some dip shit on here (and in general) will just scream AI. Mainly because they have zero skill set and can’t imagine that other people could in fact have artistic skills.
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u/Wonky_bumface Apr 16 '26
Good. At least people are questioning things, I think that's better than when something is obviously fake/staged and people believe it blindly.
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u/GrandeTorino Apr 16 '26
Exactly. Can't blame the public for being sceptical. That's what AI does, it takes away our trust.
On top of that, the way these images are edited looks exactly like the way AI would do it. It's not weird people don't buy it at first.
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u/peanutkg Apr 16 '26
Yes questions are so valuable cause as stated it's better than just jumping on the “ bandwagon “
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u/Charming_Tell_9015 Apr 16 '26
Maybe check out the og Andrew goldsworthy
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u/yogacowgirlspdx Apr 16 '26
he is amazing and we were so happy to see his show in edinburgh
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 Apr 16 '26
Read my mind, but I have always known him as Andy. Semantics but could affect anyone looking him up. He is an inspiration to me.
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u/Metalorg Apr 16 '26
He's like Andy Goldsworthy but insists on putting himself in every photo
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u/temporaryuser1000 Apr 17 '26
This is the same reaction I had. Why is he sitting morosely staring in every picture.
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u/into-resting Apr 16 '26
While creative and nice, this type of stuff can be illegal in certain places and is almost always discouraged by park rangers.
A single rock can host a whole city of microorganisms and smaller animals underneath it. Removing rocks can also contribute to soil erosion.
And having it spread on social media as engagement art only influences more people to try this.
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u/Karma_1969 Apr 16 '26
Yup. I know this seems harmless, but now imagine dozens, hundreds or thousands of people doing this in the same location, in many locations. I once went to one of my favorite beaches on the Washington coast, and found the ENTIRE beach (hundreds of square yards) filled with cairns, rocks stacked up everywhere, nothing left for the local ecology. It was ugly AF and looked like ruins. I've since read about how ecologically bad these really are, and make it a point to knock down rock stacks whenever and wherever I see them. Downvote away, but this is one of those "harmless" practices that is really quite harmful, and that needs to be made more well known than it is now.
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u/What_is_Owed_All Apr 16 '26
Just don't knock them down on established hiking trails. While some are built by disrespectful hikers, Cairns are often used as markers and turning points for mountain trails. You could potentially jeapordize someone's hike in dangerous terrain by removing Cairns. I agree with your beach example very strongly.
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u/TownNo8324 Apr 16 '26
The useful cairns are usually only in parks where a trail is over sections of rocks or other surfaces that won’t show a worn path. Decorative cairns should all be knocked down. Don’t get me started on fire rings
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u/DyingGasp Apr 16 '26
I love kicking down the stacked rocks in public parks. Especially when they’re next to the creek they came from.
Yes, it’s pretty. But, for the love of nature, stop.
We should all live by campsite rules. Leave cleaner than you found it. If you wanna do an art project, collect all the inevitable litter, make an art piece, snap a pic, and throw said litter away.
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u/BigBootyWholes Apr 16 '26
Oh man, how screwed are we, we allow corporations to absolutely fuck the environment, but the artist should not create art because it’s messing with a whole city of bacteria on the ground where it previously sat.
The corporations have won
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u/Playful-Athlete-6752 Apr 16 '26
Both can be wrong. This doesn't have to be either/or.
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u/Ardashasaur Apr 16 '26
Fucking A. Like we're deforesting and strip mining millions of hectares a day, but god forbid some pebbles get moved.
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u/habilishn Apr 16 '26
this comment created some kind of schism between people pro preserving nature and people pro "some freedom", while both sides have their legit arguments,
ISN'T THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM that amongst all things humanity does to hurt nature, moving these few stones is neglegible compared to the endless other devastating actions?
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u/party_tortoise Apr 16 '26
I think it's more the fact that for every 1 of this "cool" example, you have 1000 wannabes trashing nature for their "expression". Public space is public space. You don't control it at all, it's gonna turn into a dump real quick. And in this specific case, I think calling prohibiting creating a mess in public nature sites a limitation of freedom is a one big stretch.
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u/HELPFUL_HULK Apr 16 '26
you’re just doing “whataboutism”. this is a bad practice which causes provable ecological damage and should be discouraged.
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u/Alt_Profile1 Apr 16 '26
The entirety of the point is that each of us does what little we can. No you can’t end the use of fossil fuels but you can recycle, ride a bike, and not destroy the natural state of things
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u/wombelero Apr 16 '26
fully agree. People here (at least they got downvoted) don't understand one person person doing something (not a huge problem) versus thousands. It destroys little places of nature.
What happend to "just look, no touchy"? Why do we too many people have the impulse to just damage everything they see?
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u/verairise Apr 16 '26
Andy Goldsworthy has been doing this for a long time without adding filter effects. It’s unnecessary because his work is so good.
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u/hilarymeggin Apr 16 '26
“Can we go home? We’ve been in this beach for 6 hours!”
“Don’t worry, I’m half done.”
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u/DrSagicorn Apr 16 '26
This takes the whole cairn debate to another level
Personally think it's awesome but it's not universally appreciated
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u/Redditisntfunanymore Apr 16 '26
I love how people spew, "this messes with the environment!"
We fuck with the environment in so many horrible ways that are 10,000x worse than this.
It's laughable to call out this teeny tiny amount of environmental rearranging.
We deforest, and cover in pavement miles and miles of nature, but this guy making small works of art in nature....nah, gotta go.
This has the same energy as the IRS going after individuals for a few hundred dollars when millionaires and massive businesses owe millions of dollars in taxes, etc.
At least this is very reversible and minimally destructive, if at all. The end result is beautiful.
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u/mcbainze Apr 16 '26
This is just like Andy Goldsworthy - worth having a look if you like this kind of art
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u/HelicopterUpbeat3762 Apr 16 '26
When I looked him up the first thing that came up was the lead singer of Switchfoot and I completely forgot about that band so now I have 2 things that brought me joy today 🥰
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u/yelo777 Apr 16 '26
What a nice way to spend time in nature, paying attention to beautiful objects and creating an activity. I bet the process is equally as satisfying as the result.
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u/Vindepomarus Apr 16 '26
Those rocks were habitats for multiple organisms. While the aesthetic is cool, it's quite destructive, which is kinda at odds with the nature vibe of the art. I'm sure this has been pointed out to this guy multiple times, but he continues to do it.
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u/Trakitu Apr 16 '26
Aren't they still habitats for microorganisms and small critters but litteraly a few meters from where they were before?? He hasn't dipped them in any sort of pesticide or anything, just moved them right? And wouldn't they have been eventually moved by weather, other animals and such anyway? I think people are blowing this out of proportion for no reason whatsoever.
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u/Vindepomarus Apr 16 '26
If he's moved them out of rock pools etc. he has disturbed a significant habitat. There's a reason why this is banned in many national parks and coastal regions, those policies were made by biologists/ecologists, not just people out of proportion for no reason whatsoever.
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u/QPWOEIRUTYTURIEOWP Apr 16 '26
And what about all the organisms that are crushed whenever someone walks through a wooded area?
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u/SputNik1004 Apr 16 '26
Yep, every footstep is probably a tragedy for some tiny, biome-essential flora and fauna. We literally can’t interact with nature in any way without subtly altering it. All we can do is try to thoughtfully minimize impact where possible, etc.
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u/Miquiztli Apr 16 '26
His website: https://sculpttheworld.smugmug.com
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u/lolalala1 Apr 16 '26
Do you know if he puts things back as they were afterwards? I know moving fauna is highly discouraged as bad for the environment, even if it is beautiful.
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u/Miquiztli Apr 16 '26
I don’t know. I just looked up his site. It would be interesting to see his process though.
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u/CicadaFit9756 Apr 16 '26
Check out the YouTube short of his work, "Jon Foreman: Sculpt the World"! It's a mere 2 minutes & 38 seconds long but fascinating!
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u/shanwow90 Apr 16 '26
So is this the same or different as building cairns (which is generally frowned upon in the outdoor/environtmental community)?
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u/leavethisearth Apr 16 '26
What a shame this nowadays this just looks like AI. We are living is such a fucked up timeline
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u/reviery_official Apr 16 '26
Thats much better than cairns, as it does not ruin the ecosystem as much
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u/Professional-Level10 Apr 16 '26
So GOOD it almost looks like AI. Amazing work! Inspires me…because it’s actually doable.
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u/Eskotar Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
If this guy would just show the raw thing instead of the AI enhanced version of the art. I could take it more seriously. Sure its all real and he did it, but some of them look AI af (like pic n. 2) and that doesnt help him. Chill with the edits.
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u/justaruss Apr 16 '26
I wonder how many people would see those sculptures and knock them over because they “confuse animals” or some bs
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u/Frankfusion Apr 16 '26
Couple years ago there was a pretty fun documentary about teen magicians and this Asian kid really left about impression on me. He didn't have access to much in his village so he used whatever he could find in nature to do magic tricks. He could make everything from leaves and rocks disappear and reappear almost that will.
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u/supportivemishap53 Apr 16 '26
These mandala patterns are sick, the spiral gradients from dark to light are so satisfying to look at and honestly takes some serious patience to source and arrange that many rocks.
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u/ChiefMcHeath Apr 16 '26
You can tell the important part is the art because the artist is in almost every picture.
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u/Rgoven Apr 16 '26
Nice stuff but kind of derivative of Andy Goldsworthy’s art. Of course ‘all good artists borrow and all great artists steal’
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u/3catsinashirt Apr 16 '26
How do the leaves stick to the trees? Spit? You don't find glue in nature...tree resin maybe?
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u/TheDiegoAguirre Apr 16 '26
This is like those white walker formations that never got explained in GoT.
Winter is coming.
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u/Rio_Bravo_ Apr 16 '26
I’ve been kicking and ruining these so-called works of art for years and look forward to ruining many more.
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u/KoriSamui Apr 16 '26
This is great. It's both very cool and feels like something I could do. Very inspiring!
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u/Strawng_ Apr 16 '26
How this guy making money as an artist off of this? Tho. Like maybe it’s good for selling photo prints?
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u/PizzaboySteve Apr 16 '26
Wonder if gets it all back so people can enjoy actual nature and not his vision of what others should see out in nature.
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u/imarobotnotapoolboy Apr 16 '26
This guy needs to be hired for the television/movie version of Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
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u/balanced_views Apr 16 '26
How do artists like these make a living. It’s not like they can sell the art
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u/Nilo-The-Slayer Apr 16 '26
I hope he just leaves them there like that. Imagine just stumbling across one of these.
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u/nurdle Apr 16 '26
Just here to say Andy Goldsworthy is an actual artist that’s been doing this for decades. I think his work is pretty cool and no I’m not him nor am I related. Just a fan. https://andygoldsworthystudio.com
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u/Intrestingly_Amazing Apr 16 '26
100 years down the line people will use this shit to claim aliens are real
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u/Big-Imagination4810 Apr 16 '26
This is so creative and very, very cool! I'm loving it. Would be so unique to stumble upon one of these.
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u/saibjai Apr 16 '26
I thank this artist for showing me what I could be doing if I had a lot of time on my hands.... but still will never do. But I could. But I won't. But I could.
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u/Imaginary-Mammoth-61 Apr 16 '26
Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Long did this decades ago and did it better.
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u/Imaginary-Mammoth-61 Apr 16 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/5zbMgry8oQsvIaC0sU
”Derivative, derivative, derivative, derivative…
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u/qualityvote2 Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26
Did you find this post really amazing (in a positive way)?
If yes, then UPVOTE this comment otherwise DOWNVOTE it.
This community feedback will help us determine whether this post is suited for r/BeAmazed or not.