I have realised that despite the fact I spend hours and hours reading books, looking at artists, documentaries and interviews, I haven’t actually written any of it on my blog.
Posting about my practice on a blog doesn’t come naturally to me, I tend to work in a very sporadic way and gathering everything together in one place is very forced. However, I think the way I refer back to past works and past influences in between my posts about current ideas and understandings reflects my interest in the fragments of obscure thought that are the nature of the mind.
Agnes Martin’s writings provide me with inspiration and confirmation of my own meandering awareness. In one way her writings appear intentionally ambiguous and in another I feel totally connected and aware of her meanings. The honesty Martin shares in her understanding of what it means to be an artist is a both refreshing and absolutely essential to both current and future generations of artists, her words embody a simple truth that lies at the heart of any creative practice.
‘Sometimes there are moments of perfection and in these moments we wonder why we ever though life was difficult’ Schwartz, D., ed, 1998, Agnes Martin Writings/Schriften. Germany:Hatje Cantz
Martin’s paintings are also a source of great inspiration, her minimalist style and use of subtle colour are both things that are a large part of my own practice, the paring down of elements within my work finds a balance between the incomprehensible vastness of consciousness and the simple, humble reality that I believe is the fundamental truth of human existence.
An interesting element of her work,for me, is the incorporation of grids in her painting, the contrast between the vast, fluid freedom of her subjects and the rigid predetermined nature of the lines somehow finds a very delicate balance that relect the thoughts and ideas of her writing.
I have seen writings about Martin that document her interest in esoteric knowledge….Zen Buddhism and particularly Taosim have heavily impacted on my own practice and I find it interesting that many of the artists I research have had an interest in this way of thinking at some point in of their artistic practice, if not for the duration.
