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March 22 – Happy Birthday, Agnes Martin

Michael Knox

March 22, 2015

nPostednon March 22, 2015

Hernart is often called minimalist:

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Minimalistnart is often abstract—it isn’t a picture of something just as wensee it; it isn’t representational.

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Itnis often geometrical—featuring perfect (or almost perfect) linesnand geometric shapes rather than organic forms.

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Itnseems to say that less is more.

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AgnesnMartin, born on this date in 1912, rejected the label “minimalist.”nInstead, she called herself an abstract expressionist, which is thenart movement that preceded and to some extent led to minimalism.nAnother abstract expressionist said about art:

n “Thenmore stuff in it, the busier the work of art, the worse it is.”

nMartin herself said this:

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Martinnwas born in the little town of Macklin, in Saskatchewan, Canada, butnshe lived and studied and worked in some big, exciting cities,nincluding Vancouver (also Canada), Albuquerque (New Mexico), and NewnYork City. When she was in NYC, she lived in a loft in the samenbuilding with other struggling artists, and she installed her ownnplumbing as well as made other needed repairs. (She probably learnednabout practical home-repair and renovation stuff from her mom,nbecause her mother made the family’s living by buying old homes,nfixing them up, and selling them again.)

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nAtnage 55, Martin built—all by herself!—an adobe house in NewnMexico, and lived alone there the rest of her life. Apparently othernartists sought her out, and Martin built three more buildings on hernland—not sure if they were guest houses, or studios, or stores fromnwhich people could buy her art works, or what!

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Inread in several places that, in those later years, Martin lived ansimple, quiet life. She didn’t have a radio or TV, and she didn’tnread a newspaper for 50 years. n

See also March 12 – Arbor Day in China

nWhilen“in exile” from the world, living in New Mexico, Martin wrote asnwell as painted, completing several articles and books. Her paintingsnbecame even better known and more often shown, winning many awardsnand honors. Her art works traveled around the world, being exhibitednin many important museums in many large cities. From what I couldndiscover, Martin did not travel with her art, although she wasndelighted by the special Agnes Martin Gallery in the Harwood Museumnof Art in Taos, New Mexico, and she often visited “her” gallery (pictured below).