Artwork Description
untitled
Dimensions: 13.75 x 13.75″
Year: 1990
Media: lithograph
Agnes Martin–untitled utilizes a great number of lines, both horizontal and vertical, that emanate a spirit of chaos while simultaneously channeling simplicity and tranquility. This piece, like many of her others, shies away from heavy intellectualism and instead pursues a path of spiritualism. In her art, Martin’s goal was to plant a positive experience, profound thought, and even a little inspiration within the mind of the viewer. She strove to create an emotional link between artist and viewer.
In the creation of such simplistic, geometric pieces composed of grids and lines, Martin explored the simplicity within herself, the inspiration for her works, and the meditation from which inspiration arises. In such a seemingly perfect piece, the viewer must observe closely to notice the tiny imperfections–ones that can only be produced when the piece itself was created by hand.
Martin is heavily associated with New Mexico; it is where she settled for years in isolation and solitude to develop her techniques of simplicity, puristic artistic philosophies, and profound abstraction. She believed that for her art to be successful, any person who experienced it should be able to feel the same positive emotions that she felt while making the work, as well as an inspiration similar to what she experienced. Martin’s philosophies also included an in-depth exploration of the Inner Eye, meditation, and inspiration. She believed that all inspiration comes from a complete detachment from the impulses and urges of the physical world, that only when an artist completely separates themselves from distractions–which is done through meditation–can they truly begin to see profound inspiration through their Inner Eye.
Martin passed away in 2004 in Taos, New Mexico, but she lives on through her students, such as New Mexican sculptress Karen Yank, and her works, which are still celebrated globally.
Lillie Guo