Rock balancing

Rock balancing is an art, discipline, and/or hobby depending upon the intent of the practitioner.

Modes of rock balancing

Rock balancing—as well as the approaches above—can also be a performance art, 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.

tyles of rock balancing

*Pure Balance - each rock in near-point balance
*Balanced Stacking - rocks lain flat upon each other to great height
*Free Style - mixture of the two above; may include arches, etc.

Famous rock balance artists

*Andy Goldsworthy, an influential artist working in the field, for whom rock balancing is a minor subset of his "Collaborations With Nature".
*Dave Gorman, British TV and Radio comedian took up rock balancing after meeting Bill Dan in San Francisco.
*Bill Dan, a San Francisco immigrant artist who is helping popularize the art in the U.S. (and around the world).

References

* [http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/03.21.01/goldies-finch-0112.html "Stuart Finch - Rock Balancing Act". By Sarah Phelan.] Metro Santa Cruz. March 2001.
* [http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_foster21.1156c38.html "Lila Higgins' gravity-defying cairns become ephemeral art at Riverside's Division 9 Gallery".] The Press-Enterprise. July 21, 2008.
* [http://www.dispatch.co.za/dottydispatch/article.aspx?id=209675 "Rock mystery solved". By Sven Herselman.] 29 May 2008.
* [http://www.csmonitor.com/1999/1202/p18s1.html "OK, really, how does he do it?" By David Holmstrom.] The Christian Science Monitor. December 02, 1999.
* [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MAN+SETS+'EM+UP,+PHYSICS+DOES+THE+REST-a083969067 "Man sets 'em up, physics does the rest". By Gary Warth North.] (San Diego) County Times. September 29, 1996.
* [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59569561.html?dids=59569561:59569561&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+18%2C+1994&author=LEN+HALL&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=DANA+POINT+Partners'+Beach+Works+Strike+a+Balance+Between+Art%2C+Nature&pqatl=google "Partners' Beach Works Strike a Balance Between Art, Nature". By Len Hall.] Los Angeles Times. November 18, 1994.