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Agnes Martin: Painting As Making and Its Relation to Contemporary Practice

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Agnes Martin: Painting As Making and Its Relation to Contemporary Practice Title Agnes Martin: painting as making and its relation to contemporary practice Type The sis URL https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/12401/ Dat e 2 0 1 7 Citation Phelps, Sharon (2017) Agnes Martin: painting as making and its relation to contemporary practice. PhD thesis, University of the Arts London. Cr e a to rs Phelps, Sharon Usage Guidelines Please refer to usage guidelines at http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/policies.html or alternatively contact [email protected] . License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives Unless otherwise stated, copyright owned by the author Agnes Martin: painting as making and its relation to contemporary practice by Sharon Phelps Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) University of the Arts London Chelsea College of Arts February 2017 Abstract Can nuances of surface – by drawing the viewer close – offer contemplative experience, and enable art-making methods to be better understood? I investigate Agnes Martin’s methods, which are available to those looking carefully at her paintings, focusing on the late 1950s and early 60s. Her constructions of materials found near her New York studio have received little critical attention in existing writing, despite their pivotal role in the development of her grid paintings. I re-enacted some of her methods, and adopted some of the elements that I observed in her artworks from this period, in order to better understand the relationship between found objects in these works and the marks and lines within later paintings and drawings. I focused on the particular quality of attention Martin devoted to marks, materials and surfaces, both in her work and in her working environment; this involved analysing and attempting to follow her ‘contemplative’ approach (see Chapter 2) A practical analysis extended the understanding of Martin’s methods and the effects of local North American influences, and resulted in a new body of layered and two-sided artworks, described throughout this thesis. This investigation of her meditative methods and how the field of painting can include objects and sculpture relates for the first-time Martin’s attitude toward making with some artists who are working today (see Chapters 7 and 8). It also adds to existing scholarship on Martin by comparing her surfaces’ demand for closeness (see Chapter 9) with the participatory practices of Lygia Clark and Gego in South America (see Chapter 10). Mondrian’s influence is thereby traced in separate but parallel lines of abstraction. This thesis’ main contribution is a new workshop methodology (see Chapter 12) as a guide for those who wish to research an artist and their methods. The methodology offers a discursive structure within which to investigate art practice through new practice. The presentation of new artworks in participatory workshops in an exhibition setting invites discussion about art-making methods, emphasising the role of practice in the artistic research process. New artworks were offered to be hand-held by the viewer, and this invitation to attend closely was accompanied by art-making and dialogue around practice. The responses I gathered from participants indicate that this type of active engagement can disseminate tacit knowledge and offer experience of a contemplative approach. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisory team Jeffrey Dennis and Dr Paul Ryan for their continued support and guidance in this research. Artists and other people who contributed to my study include Jane Bustin, Simon Callery and Kat Sapera at Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, and I am grateful for their time and involvement. I am also grateful for the participation of Callum Innes and Daniel Wallis in my preliminary research. Pace Gallery, New York, kindly supplied a copy of Arne Glimcher’s book on Agnes Martin early on in my research. Richard Tuttle, when he visited to lecture at Chelsea College of Arts in December 2014, spoke to me about his friend Agnes Martin, and this was particularly rewarding. At Tate, Frances Morris and Lena Fritsch offered privileged access to an exhibition of Martin’s work. Many staff and research students at UAL have informed my research, and their advice and personal involvement has been welcomed. Special thanks are offered to all the artists and researchers who participated in my workshops. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my husband and family for their ongoing encouragement, without which I would have been unable to complete this thesis. Contents 1 Introduction................................................................................................................1 1.1 Agnes Martin’s methods re-enacted through my practice..........................1 1.2 A practice-led methodology........................................................................12 2 A contemplative practice.........................................................................................15 2.1 The links between East-Asian philosophy and Agnes Martin’s approach to her work...................................................................................................16 2.2 Weave...........................................................................................................19 2.3 Perfect line and the grid..............................................................................30 2.4 Tantra art......................................................................................................32 3 Coenties Slip..............................................................................................................44 4 New Mexico..............................................................................................................69 4.1 Adobe...........................................................................................................70 4.2 Navajo weave...............................................................................................80 4.3 The Agnes Martin Gallery...........................................................................92 5 Agnes Martin’s grid paintings and their analogy with nature...............................96 6 Responses to Martin's artworks through my practice..........................................112 6.1 Dia:Beacon, New York..............................................................................113 6.2 Tate Modern, London................................................................................127 7 Key moments in the development of my practice................................................139 8 Contemporary practice...........................................................................................151 8.1 Jane Bustin.................................................................................................152 8.2 Gabriel de la Mora.....................................................................................156 9 Closeness between the artwork and spectator......................................................165 10 Constructions and objects in Brazil and Venezuela..............................................177 11 Presentations of my artworks and responses........................................................197 11.1 Conferences and symposia........................................................................199 11.2 Workshops.................................................................................................216 12 A workshop methodology......................................................................................237 13 Conclusion and contributions to knowledge........................................................245 List of figures and bibliography..........................................................................................249 Appendices A Preliminary research (2011- 2012): • Research Bureau Journal - Daniel Wallis: making.....................265 • MRes (Arts Practice) thesis summary..........................................269 B Yantras: a brief summary of symbols and their use.................................273 C Jane Bustin – notes from an exhibition of her work and a conversation with the artist in July 2014.................................................274 D A text on ‘Closeness’..................................................................................276 E Workshop methodology guide..................................................................277 Word count: 53,122 Chapter 1: Introduction – 1.1 Agnes Martin’s methods re-enacted through my practice Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Agnes Martin’s methods re-enacted through my practice Some existing writing on Agnes Martin, including that of Barbara Haskell (1992) and Briony Fer (2004) has argued that the materiality of Martin’s paintings invites contemplation, and that the surfaces are also evidence of a meditative approach to art- making. Fer wrote ‘It is a surface that invites a contemplative gaze, bolting the viewer to it, as if the work of the work were to open on to an immaterial and meditative space’ (2004:47). Haskell noted that Martin used geometry to focus attentiveness and awareness (1992:102). My practical research is a dialogue with Martin’s body of work; an analysis of a contemplative practice where her paintings invite a close engagement to examine nuanced tonalities and subtle plays in the materiality of the work. Through practice, I seek to discover how small irregularities of mark, surface and tone can offer
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