Rock balancing
Encyclopedia
Rock balancing is an art, discipline, or hobby depending upon the intent of the practitioner, in which rocks are balanced on top of one another in various positions.
, a spectacle, or a devotion, depending upon the interpretation by its audience. Essentially, it involves placing some combination of rock
or stone in arrangements which require patience and sensitivity to generate, and which appear to be physically impossible while actually being only highly improbable. The rock balancer may work for free or for pay, as an individual or in a group, and their intents and the audiences' interpretations may vary given the situation or the venue.
Modes of rock balancing
Rock balancing can be a performance artPerformance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, a spectacle, or a devotion, depending upon the interpretation by its audience. Essentially, it involves placing some combination of rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
or stone in arrangements which require patience and sensitivity to generate, and which appear to be physically impossible while actually being only highly improbable. The rock balancer may work for free or for pay, as an individual or in a group, and their intents and the audiences' interpretations may vary given the situation or the venue.
Styles of rock balancing
- Pure Balance - each rock in near-point balance
- Counter Balance - lower rocks depend on the weight of upper rocks to maintain balance
- Balanced Stacking - rocks lain flat upon each other to great height
- Free Style - mixture of the two above; may include arches and sandstone.
Notable rock balance artists
- Bill DanBill DanBill Dan is a sculptor and performance artist specializing in rock balancing. He creates seemingly impossible, temporary balanced sculptures from un-worked rock and stone in public spaces near his home in San Francisco....
, a San Francisco immigrant artist who is helping popularize the art in the U.S. (and around the world). - Andy GoldsworthyAndy GoldsworthyAndy Goldsworthy, OBE is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.-Life and career:The son of F...
, an influential artist working in the field, for whom rock balancing is a minor subset of his "Collaborations With Nature". - Dave GormanDave GormanDavid James Gorman is an English author, stand-up comedian and presenter. He has performed comedy shows on stage in which he tells stories of extreme adventures and presents the evidence to the audience in order to prove to them that they are true stories...
, British TV and radio comedian took up rock balancing after meeting Bill Dan in San Francisco. - Mark MasonMark MasonMark Mason may refer to;*Mark Mason , retired Guyanese long jumper*Mark Mason , American public address announcer for the Portland Trail Blazers*Mark Mason, pseudonym of Septimus Winner , American songwriter...
, a Sarasota, Florida based rock balance artist that travels the globe creating ephemeral art.