My Inspiration

While going through a lot of our possessions lately, I'll occasionally come across something of value that we had forgotten about. For example, while cleaning out our closet, I found our fire extinguisher... still in the box and buried in the back of the hall closet, not really helpful in that condition. But I took it out of the box and put it in a more accessible location... something very valuable to have, should I ever catch the kitchen on fire. Next on the the list, a supplemental health care card that Matt had totally forgotten about, but which we need to spend very soon... prescription sunglasses are coming both our ways in the next few weeks. Another valuable item I came across are some books that I really like but had put away, mostly so Dylan wouldn't destroy them. These include my Agnes Martin books.

Agnes Martin is my favorite artist. I was first introduced to her artwork while in a college English class. When I first saw her work I was really struck by how simple it was... yet it did evoke a lot within myself... beauty, tranquility, quiet contemplation. It really spoke to me. And thus I fell in love with simplicity. Several years ago I set out in search of some books about her artwork. A lot of the books were way more expensive than I wanted to spend (as is often the case with rare out of print art books). But I managed to find 2 that were reasonable (this and this). About a year or so later, Agnes Martin died. Man am I glad I got those books when did. I recently went on Amazon to see if some of the other books were available, and what I considered to be not affordable a few years ago, is now just flat out ridiculous... for just books, I'm not even talking about her actual artwork! Anyway, the 2 books I do have are a little more valuable in terms of $$, but I've also realized that the content in them is valuable enough to me that I'd like to get them back out in regular viewing space. This has given me a new opportunity to look through them and be inspired by her work all over again. So I thought I'd share some of what I love about Agnes Martin.

(Taken from biographies on a few websites)... Agnes Martin, American, b. Macklin, Canada, 1912–2004: Gorgeously quiet in color and composition, Agnes Martin’s paintings have a distinctive grace that sets them apart from those of the Abstract Expressionists of her day and the Minimalist artists she inspired. While Martin has often been grouped with Minimalist artists such as Sol LeWitt and Donald Judd, who emerged in the 1960s in the wake of the dramatic, expressive work of Abstract Expressionists such as Willem de Kooning, she has distanced herself from that association, citing a distinction between Minimalism’s dispassionate formalism and the subtle pitch of emotion and experience with which she imbues her abstract canvases. By 1958 her paintings were based on ordered precisely geometric shapes. She gradually began to work on paintings and drawings that consisted of horizontal and vertical lines within a measured grid format. Martin's use of the grid and her austere, geometric style led critics to associate her with minimalist artists such as Sol LeWitt and Frank Stella. However, Martin's goals were distinctly different. By drawing fragile, tremulous lines across expanses of lightly applied, delicate, atmospheric color, her work seemed to become light and air. Art for Martin was a spiritual pursuit, and in her geometric format she found a way to embody both atmosphere and expression.

When I first saw her work I was really struck by how simple it was... yet it did evoke a lot within myself... beauty, tranquility, quiet contemplation. It really spoke to me. And thus I fell in love with simplicity.

Here are some links so you can see for yourself if you'd like... though it's very hard to capture all the subtleties via computer images.

http://www.artnet.com/artist/641822/agnes-martin.html
http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A3787
http://www.zwirnerandwirth.com/exhibitions/2003/022003Martin/

And an interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-JfYjmo5OA